ខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នក
khnhom noek nak
To say "I miss you" in Khmer, say ខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នក (khnhom noek nak).
Use ខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នក to tell someone that you miss them while they are away.
Meaning: I miss you (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is made of ខ្ញុំ, meaning I, នឹក, meaning to miss or to think of and អ្នក, meaning you.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb នឹក does not change its form for tense. Time is shown by adding particles before the verb instead.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced khnhom noek nak.
Did you know?
- Khmer kinship terms used in this phrase, such as បង ('bong') and អូន ('oun'), are used for romantic partners even if they are not actually related as siblings.
- Because Khmer uses a complex system of pronouns based on social status, a speaker would rarely use the neutral អ្នក to say 'I miss you' to a lover. Instead, they would replace ខ្ញុំ and អ្នក with intimate terms like 'bong' (older sibling) or 'oun' (younger sibling).
- When expressing longing, Khmer speakers use ខ្លាំង, which literally means 'strong', rather than words for 'much' or 'a lot'.
Examples in context
- ខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នករាល់ថ្ងៃ។khnhom neuk neak roal thngai.I miss you every day.
- តើអ្នកដឹងថាខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នកទេ?tae neak deng tha khnhom neuk neak te?Do you know that I miss you?
Example conversation
A couple talking on the phone.
- សុខ Sokសួស្តីសុខា ខ្ញុំនឹកអ្នកណាស់។suosdei Sokha, khnhom neuk neak nahHello Sokha, I miss you very much.
- សុខា Sokhaខ្ញុំក៏នឹកអ្នកដូចគ្នា សុខ។khnhom ko neuk neak doch knea, SokI miss you too, Sok.
- សុខ Sokតើពេលណាអ្នកត្រឡប់មកវិញ?tae pel na neak trolob mok vinhWhen are you coming back?
- សុខា Sokhaខ្ញុំនឹងត្រឡប់មកវិញសប្តាហ៍ក្រោយ។khnhom neng trolob mok vinh sabdah krouyI will be back next week.
