ទេ
tei
The English word 'no' is expressed in Khmer using the particle ទេ (tei). Wiktionary also lists អត់ទេ (ʼɑt tei) and បាទទេ (baat tei).
Meaning: used to show disagreement or negation (particle)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ទេ | tei |
| អត់ទេ | ʼɑt tei |
| បាទទេ | baat tei |
In Khmer, the negation particle ទេ is used to show disagreement or negation. ទេ is typically placed at the end of a sentence to negate a statement or answer a question.
Which one should you use?
While ទេ is the standard way to say no, you may also encounter អត់ទេ, which is a more colloquial version. For men wishing to be particularly polite, the form បាទទេ is used, combining the polite particle បាទ with the negation particle ទេ. Female speakers use ចាសទេ to achieve the same polite effect by combining ចាស with ទេ.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The negation particle ទេ is generally positioned at the end of the sentence.
How do you pronounce it?
tei
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, a polite 'no' is often accompanied by a 'sampeah' gesture, where the palms are pressed together in a prayer-like position. This softens the negation and shows respect to the listener.
- Khmer speakers may avoid using ទេ directly to avoid being blunt. Instead, they might use a hesitant 'maybe' or a vague phrase to signal a 'no' without causing a loss of face.
- In casual speech, the word អត់ from the phrase អត់ទេ can also function as a verb meaning 'to not have', meaning the word for 'no' and 'to not possess' are often the same.
Examples in context
- អត់ទេ ។No.This sentence shows a simple use of ទេ for 'no'.Tatoeba #3780969 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #477061 by Ricardo14
- អត់មានទេ!No way!This sentence uses ទេ to express 'no way!'Tatoeba #4568090 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #2175 by CM
- មិនមានប្រព័ន្ធល្អឥតខ្ចោះទេ។There's no perfect system.This sentence uses ទេ to negate the existence of a perfect system.Tatoeba #13073384 by Vethya, translation #5072005 by CK
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Vibol asks Mali if she is tired.
- វិបុល Vibolម៉ាលី អូនហត់ទេ?Mali, oun hot te?Mali, are you tired?
- ម៉ាលី Malyអូនមិនហត់ទេ វិបុល។Oun mun hot te, Vibol.I am not tired, Vibol.
- វិបុល Vibolតើចង់សម្រាកទេ?Tae chong som-reak te?Do you want to rest?
- ម៉ាលី Malyទេ អូនមិនចង់សម្រាកទេ។Te, oun mun chong som-reak te.No, I don't want to rest.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “no” translations and entries ទេ, អត់ទេ, បាទទេ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
