Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ស្ដេច | sdac |
| ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ | prĕəh mĕəʼhaaksat |
| ហ្លួង | luəng |
| ជននាថ | cŭən niət |
| រាជ | riəc |
| រាជា | riəciə |
The term refers to a male member of a royal family who is the supreme ruler of a nation. In a colloquial sense, the phrase ស្ដេចខូច is an idiom used to describe someone, frequently a child, who is exceptionally naughty or mischievous.
Which one should you use?
The word ស្ដេច is the standard, everyday term for a king. In contrast, ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ translates to "monarch" or "great king" and is used to convey a higher level of formality and respect. The forms ហ្លួង, ជននាថ, រាជ and រាជា also exist in the language.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ស្ដេច is the common word used in general conversation and everyday idioms. ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ is a more formal and respectful term used for a monarch than the common word ស្ដេច.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form រាជ functions as an adjective or a prefix, used to denote something that is related to a king or royalty.
How do you pronounce it?
sdac
Did you know?
- Khmer has a complex system of royal language called រាជសព្ទ (reach-sop), where different words are used depending on the rank of the royal person being addressed.
- The word ស្ដេច shares a common linguistic ancestor with the Thai word เสด็จ, which is used as a royal verb meaning to go or come.
- The formal title ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ incorporates the word ព្រះ, a term often used to denote divinity or sacredness in Khmer.
Examples in context
- ក្មេងនេះចំជាស្ដេចខូចThis child is very naughty (literally, this child is the king of naughty)This sentence shows how ស្ដេច is used idiomatically to describe a naughty child.
- ស្ដេចមានអំណាចខ្លាំងណាស់។sdach mien amnach khlang nas.The king has great power.
- គេនិយាយអំពីស្ដេចក្នុងរឿងព្រេង។ke niyay ampi sdach knong rueung preng.They talk about the king in the legend.
Example conversation
Two people are talking about a history book.
- សុខា Sokhaសៀវភៅនេះនិយាយអំពីស្ដេចម្នាក់។Siev-phov nis niyay om-pi sdech mneak.This book is about a king.
- សុខ Sokគាត់ជាស្ដេចនៃប្រទេសណា?Koat chea sdech nei prateh na?Which country was he the king of?
- សុខា Sokhaគាត់ជាស្ដេចនៃប្រទេសថៃ។Koat chea sdech nei prateh Thai.He was the king of Thailand.
- សុខ Sokពិតជាគួរឱ្យចាប់អារម្មណ៍ណាស់។Pit chea kuor oy chap-aram-nom nah.That is very interesting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “king” translations and entries ស្ដេច, ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ, ហ្លួង, ជននាថ, រាជ, រាជា, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ជននាថ, ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ, ស្ដេច, ហ្លួង, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
