ព្រះនាង
prĕəh niəng
The English phrase "princess" is translated into Khmer as ព្រះនាង (prĕəh niəng). If unsure, use ព្រះនាង. Wiktionary also lists រាជបុត្រី (riəc botrəy).
Meaning: female member of royal family (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ព្រះនាង | prĕəh niəng |
| រាជបុត្រី | riəc botrəy |
Both terms are used to refer to a female member of the royal family.
What does it mean word for word?
The term រាជបុត្រី is composed of the words for 'royal' and 'daughter'.
Which one should you use?
រាជបុត្រី is a more formal, technical term for a royal daughter, whereas ព្រះនាង is the more common way to refer to a princess.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ព្រះនាង is a royal register term used when referring to female members of the royal family.
How do you pronounce it?
prĕəh niəng
Did you know?
- In Cambodian culture, a princess is often expected to be an expert in របាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. This dance is considered a sacred art that connects the monarchy to the divine.
- Khmer uses a complex system called 'royal language' or រាជសព្ទ. Using common words instead of royal terms like ព្រះនាង when addressing royalty is considered a serious social error.
- The word ព្រះ in ព្រះនាង is a prefix used for deities and royalty. It elevates the noun to a sacred status, reflecting the belief that the monarchy is divinely ordained.
Examples in context
- ព្រះនាងមានរូបរាងស្អាតណាស់។preah neang mean rub reang s'at nah.The princess is very beautiful.
- យើងត្រូវគោរពព្រះនាង។yeung trov korop preah neang.We must respect the princess.
- ព្រះនាងកំពុងអានសៀវភៅ។preah neang kompung arn siev phov.The princess is reading a book.
Example conversation
Sok and Sreyny are looking at a book of royal history.
- សុខ Sokតើព្រះនាងអង្គនេះជានរណា?Tae preah neang ang nis chea nor na?Who is this princess?
- ស្រីនី Sreynyគាត់គឺជាព្រះនាងម្នាក់ពីប្រទេសបារាំង។Koat keu chea preah neang mnak pi prates Barang.She is a princess from France.
- សុខ Sokគាត់មានសម្លៀកបំពាក់ស្អាតណាស់។Koat mean somliak bompak saat nah.She has very beautiful clothes.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyបាទ ព្រះនាងពិតជាស្អាតមែន។Bat, preah neang pit chea saat men.Yes, the princess is truly beautiful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “princess” translations and entries ព្រះនាង, រាជបុត្រី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
