ចាន
caan
The English word plate is translated into Khmer as ចាន (caan).
ចាន is a noun used to refer to a flat dish.
Meaning: flat dish (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The word is romanized as caan.
Did you know?
- While ចាន refers to the dish, the act of eating from a 'plate' in Cambodia often involves using a spoon and fork, with the fork used only to push food onto the spoon.
- Because ចាន shares the same root as the Chinese character 盏 (zhǎn), it is part of a much larger network of words across East and Southeast Asia.
- When serving food in a traditional Khmer setting, it is common to place a small 'plate' or bowl of fish sauce inside a larger one for sharing.
Examples in context
- សូមដាក់ចាននៅលើតុ។som dak chan nov leu tok.Please put the plate on the table.
- តើមានចាននៅលើតុទេ?tae mean chan nov leu tok te?Is there a plate on the table?
- ខ្ញុំត្រូវការចានមួយ។khnom trov kar chan mouy.I need a plate.
Example conversation
Maly and Narong are preparing dinner in the kitchen.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongម៉ាលី ជួយយកចានឱ្យខ្ញុំបន្តិច។Maly, chuoy yok chan oy knhom bon-tich.Maly, please get me a plate.
- ម៉ាលី Malyចាននៅឯណា ណារ៉ុង?Chan nov ae na, Narong?Where are the plates, Narong?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongវាស្ថិតនៅក្នុងទូខាងនោះ។Veas thit nov knong tou khang noh.They are in that cabinet over there.
- ម៉ាលី Malyចាស ខ្ញុំឃើញវាហើយ។Chas, knhom kheunh veas haey.Yes, I see them now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “plate” translations and entries ចាន, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ចាន, CC BY-SA 4.0.
