ជីវិត
ciivɨt
The English word 'life' is expressed in Khmer using the default form ជីវិត (ciivɨt). If unsure, use ជីវិត. Wiktionary also lists ជីព (ciip) and ជន្មា (cɔɔcŭənmiə).
Meaning: the state of being alive (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ជីវិត | ciivɨt |
| ជីព | ciip |
| ជន្មា | cɔɔcŭənmiə |
| ឋិតិ | theteʼ |
The words in this pack all refer to the state of being alive.
Which one should you use?
ជីវិត is the standard, most common word used in everyday conversation and general contexts. In contrast, ជន្មា is a highly formal or literary term often found in poetry, religious texts or classical literature.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ជីវិត is a formal and widely used word, but it also serves as the standard term for everyday speech. ជន្មា is reserved for much more formal or literary situations. ជីវភាព is also a formal way to convey the idea of life.
How do you pronounce it?
ciivɨt
Did you know?
- The word ឋិតិ comes from a root meaning 'to stand' or 'to stay', focusing on the stability of existence rather than the act of living.
- The term ជីវភាព is specifically used to refer to 'life' in the context of living conditions and the cost of living, rather than the biological state of being alive.
- The term ជីព is a much more ancient, shorter root that is often felt to be more primal than the standard ជីវិត.
Examples in context
- ថម ស្រលាញ់ ម៉ារី លើសពីជីវិតគាត់ ។Tom loves Mary more than his own life.This example shows how to use ជីវិត when expressing how much someone loves another person.Tatoeba #4506350 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4506476 by Jesse
- ជីវិតនៅទីនេះមានសេចក្តីសុខ។cheevit nov ti nis mien sechkdey sok.Life here is peaceful.
- គាត់ប្រាថ្នាចង់បានជីវិតថ្មី។koat prathna chong ban cheevit thmey.He wishes to have a new life.
Example conversation
Vibol and Chintara are sitting in a cafe talking about their future.
- វិបុល Vibolតើអ្នកចង់បានជីវិតបែបណា?tae neak chong ban cheevit baeb na?What kind of life do you want?
- ចិន្តា Chindaខ្ញុំចង់មានជីវិតសាមញ្ញមួយ។khnhom chong mien cheevit samanh mouy.I want to have a simple life.
- វិបុល Vibolជីវិតសាមញ្ញក៏មានក្តីសុខដែរ។cheevit samanh kor mien kdey sok dae.A simple life is also happy.
- ចិន្តា Chindaត្រូវហើយ វិបុល។trow haey, Vibol.That's right, Vibol.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “life” translations and entries ជីវិត, ជីព, ជន្មា, ឋិតិ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ជន្មា, ជីព, ជីវិត, ឋិតិ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
