លោកសង្ឃ
look sɑng
The English word monk is translated into Khmer as លោកសង្ឃ (look sɑng). Wiktionary also lists ព្រះសង្ឃ (prĕəh sɑng) and អ្នកបួស (nĕək buəh).
Meaning: male member of monastic order (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| លោកសង្ឃ | look sɑng |
| ព្រះសង្ឃ | prĕəh sɑng |
| អ្នកបួស | nĕək buəh |
The term is used to refer to a male member of a monastic order.
Which one should you use?
While លោកសង្ឃ means monk, ព្រះសង្ឃ is used when speaking about monks in a religious or highly respectful context. Additionally, អ្នកបួស is a more general term that can refer to any person in religious practice or asceticism, rather than specifically a Buddhist monk.
How do you pronounce it?
look sɑng
Did you know?
- In Khmer culture, certain verbs used for everyday people, like 'to eat' or 'to sleep', must be replaced with specific 'monk language' verbs when referring to a លោកសង្ឃ.
- In Cambodia, it is a common tradition for young men to briefly become a លោកសង្ឃ for a short period to earn merit for their parents. This temporary ordination is seen as a vital rite of passage in many families.
- The term ព្រះសង្ឃ uses the word ព្រះ, which is the same prefix used for deities and royalty in Khmer. This elevates the monk from a human practitioner to a sacred being.
Examples in context
- យើងគួរគោរពលោកសង្ឃ។yeung kuor korop lok songkh.We should respect the monk.
- លោកសង្ឃរូបនោះមានចិត្តបុណ្យ។lok songkh roup noh mean chet bon.That monk has a meritorious heart.
Example conversation
Narong and Mali are walking past a pagoda.
- ម៉ាលី Malyមើលនោះ ឃើញលោកសង្ឃដើរមកហើយ។Meul noh, kheun lok song der mok haey.Look, I see the monk walking here.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongបាទ ពួកយើងគួរតែសំពះគាត់។Bat, pouk yeung kuor tae sompeah koat.Yes, we should pay respect to him.
- ម៉ាលី Malyតើលោកសង្ឃមានឈ្មោះអ្វី?Tae lok song mean chmous avei?What is the monk's name?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongខ្ញុំមិនដឹងឈ្មោះគាត់ទេ។Knhom mun deng chmous koat te.I don't know his name.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “monk” translations and entries លោកសង្ឃ, ព្រះសង្ឃ, អ្នកបួស, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
