ឆ្វេង
chveeng
The Khmer word for left is ឆ្វេង (chveeng).
To express the specific action of turning left, you can use the verb phrase បត់ឆ្វេង (to turn left). In an informal context, the phrase ទៅពីឆ្វេង can be used to mean 'go from the left'.
Meaning: west side of the body when one is facing north (adj)
How do you pronounce it?
chveeng
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, it is considered impolite to use the ឆ្វេង or 'left' hand to give or receive items, as that hand is traditionally associated with hygiene and cleaning.
- Khmer has different registers of speech, and while ឆ្វេង is common, higher registers of language may use different terms when describing the 'left' side of royalty or monks.
- In many traditional Khmer contexts, the concept of 'left' is often associated with being 'unlucky' or 'wrong', whereas 'right' is linked to being 'correct' or 'proper'.
Examples in context
- ឡានបត់ឆ្វេង ។The car turned left.This sentence shows how to use ឆ្វេង to describe a vehicle turning.Tatoeba #4506271 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #3639547 by MTC
- ដាក់ទឹកកកនៅលើជើងឆ្វេង ។Put some ice on your left leg.This sentence demonstrates using ឆ្វេង to specify a body part.Tatoeba #4505993 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4708154 by Jesse
- ខាងឆ្វេងLeft sideThis sentence shows how to use the phrase ខាងឆ្វេង to mean 'left side'.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ratanah and Sreyny are looking at a photo together.
- រតនៈ Ratanakអ្នកនៅខាងឆ្វេងជានរណា?Neak nov khang chveng chea nor na?Who is the person on the left?
- ស្រីនី Sreynyគាត់គឺជាបងប្រុសខ្ញុំ។Koat keu chea bong proh khnhom.He is my older brother.
- រតនៈ Ratanakគាត់សង្កេតឃើញដៃឆ្វេងរបស់គាត់។Koat sangket kheunh dai chveng robos koat.He noticed his left hand.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyបាទ គាត់មានស្នាមនៅលើនោះ។Baht, koat mean snam nov lue neah.Yes, he has a scar there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “left” translations and entries ឆ្វេង, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR, Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
