ម្ដាយ
mdaay
The Khmer word for mother is ម្ដាយ (mdaay). Wiktionary also lists ម៉ែ (mae).
Meaning: female (human) who gives birth to or parents a child (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ម្ដាយ | mdaay |
| ម៉ែ | mae |
The term refers to a female human who has given birth to or is parenting a child.
Which one should you use?
ម្ដាយ is the more formal or standard term for mother used in writing and polite speech, whereas ម៉ែ is a more colloquial or informal way to say mother, often used in spoken language or within families.
How do you pronounce it?
mdaay
Did you know?
- In some regional dialects or very informal settings, ម៉ែ can be used as an exclamation of surprise or frustration, similar to how some English speakers use 'Oh boy' or 'My goodness'.
- The informal term ម៉ែ shares the same ancient root as the Vietnamese word mẹ, a connection stemming from their shared Austroasiatic language family.
- While ម្ដាយ is the standard term, in very traditional poetic Khmer, different words for mother are used depending on the social caste of the speaker and the subject.
Examples in context
- អ្នកមិនមែនជាម្ដាយខ្ញុំទេ ។You aren't my mother.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of ម្ដាយ in a negative statement.Tatoeba #4486590 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #1841511 by CK
- ម្ដាយរបស់ខ្ញុំចិត្តល្អណាស់។mday robors khnhom chet lor nah.My mother is very kind.
- គាត់គឺជាម្ដាយដ៏ល្អម្នាក់។koat keu chea mday dor lor mnak.She is a wonderful mother.
Example conversation
Vibol and Chinda are talking about their families.
- វិបុល Vibolតើម្ដាយរបស់អ្នកឈ្មោះអ្វី?tae mday robos neak chmoh avei?What is your mother's name?
- ចិន្តា Chindaម្ដាយរបស់ខ្ញុំឈ្មោះសុខា។mday robos khnhom chmoh Sokha.My mother's name is Sokha.
- វិបុល Vibolគាត់មានសុខភាពល្អទេ?koat mean sokhapheap l'or te?Is she in good health?
- ចិន្តា Chindaបាទ គាត់មានសុខភាពល្អណាស់។bat, koat mean sokhapheap l'or nah.Yes, she is very healthy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mother” translations and entries ម្ដាយ, ម៉ែ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ម៉ែ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
