ស្អាត
sʼaat
The English phrase "pretty" is translated into Khmer as ស្អាត (sʼaat).
The word ស្អាត is used to describe something as pleasant or attractive, especially when referring to women and children. Depending on the context, it can also mean "clean" or "neat".
Meaning: especially of women and children: pleasant, attractive (adj)
Which one should you use?
The compound form ស្រស់ស្អាត is a more formal or poetic way to say "beautiful" or "lovely" compared to the simple ស្អាត.
How do you pronounce it?
sʼaat
Did you know?
- The word ស្អាត is a cognate with the Thai word สะอาด and the Lao word ສະອາດ, all meaning 'clean' or 'tidy'.
- In some contexts, ស្អាត can be used to describe a 'clean' or 'perfect' execution of a task, such as a piece of calligraphy.
- The term ស្រស់ស្អាត combines ស្អាត with a word meaning 'fresh', suggesting a beauty that is vibrant and blooming.
Examples in context
- រូបភាពទាំងនេះស្រស់ស្អាតណាស់!These photos are very pretty!This sentence shows how to use ស្អាត to describe photos as being very pretty.Tatoeba #4427400 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #4429582 by Bianquita
- ក្មេងស្រីនោះស្អាតណាស់។kmeng srei noh sa'at nah.That girl is very pretty.
- នាងមើលទៅស្អាតណាស់។neang merl tov sa'at nah.She looks very pretty.
Example conversation
Narong compliments Chinda's new dress.
- ណារ៉ុង Narongចិន្តា អ្នកស្លៀកសម្លៀកបំពាក់ស្អាតណាស់។Chinda, neak sleak som-liek-bom-peak sa-at nah.Chinda, you are wearing a very pretty outfit.
- ចិន្តា Chindaអរគុណ ណារ៉ុង!orkun Narong!Thank you, Narong!
- ណារ៉ុង Narongតើអ្នកទិញវាពីណា?tae neak tinh vea pi na?Where did you buy it from?
- ចិន្តា Chindaខ្ញុំទិញវានៅផ្សារ។khnhom tinh vea nov phsar.I bought it at the market.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ស្អាត, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ស្អាត, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
