អាន
ʼaan
The Khmer verb for 'to read' is អាន (ʼaan). Wiktionary also lists មើល (məəl).
Meaning: to look at and interpret letters or other information (verb)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| អាន | ʼaan |
| មើល | məəl |
អាន is used when you are looking at and interpreting letters or other information. If you want to specify that you are reading aloud, you can add ឮ (to hear) after the verb to form អានឮ (to read aloud).
Which one should you use?
While អាន specifically refers to reading text, the word មើល means to look at or watch. In informal or colloquial speech, មើល is sometimes used loosely to mean 'to look over' something.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the ability to read, such as saying 'I can read', use the verb អាន followed by the auxiliary verb បាន (can/able to) to form អានបាន.
How do you pronounce it?
ʼaan
Did you know?
- Be careful with pronunciation, as the word អាន (to read) sounds identical to the Thai word for 'saddle', an object used to sit on a horse.
- The Khmer script used in អាន is an abugida, meaning consonants carry an inherent vowel that changes based on the marks added around it.
- In very formal contexts, such as reading a royal decree, a specific register of language is used that differs from the everyday អាន.
Examples in context
- សៀវភៅនេះ ត្រូវនឹងខ្ញុំស្រួលអាន ។This book is easy enough for me to read.This sentence uses អាន to describe how easy a book is to read.Tatoeba #4544706 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #56944 by CK
- ក្នុងនិស្សិតម្ភៃនាក់ តែម្នាក់បានអានសៀវភៅនោះ។Out of twenty students, only one has read the book.This sentence uses អាន to show that one student has read a book.Tatoeba #2910524 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #2591195 by CK
- ខ្ញុំចេះអានអាល្លឺម៉ង់ ប៉ុន្តែខ្ញុំមិនចេះនិយាយវាទេ ។I can read German, but I can't speak it.This sentence uses អាន to express the ability to read a specific language.Tatoeba #2850069 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #255146 by CK
- សូមអានឯកសារនេះPlease read this document.
Example conversation
Two students are discussing a textbook in a library.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyណារ៉ុង តើអ្នកបានអានសៀវភៅនេះហើយឬនៅ?Narong, tae neak ban an siev-phov nih haey reu nov?Narong, have you read this book yet?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongខ្ញុំមិនទាន់បានអានវាទេ។Knhom min toan ban an vea te.I haven't read it yet.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyសៀវភៅនេះពិបាកអានណាស់មែនទេ?Siev-phov nih pibak an nah men te?Is this book very difficult to read?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongបាទ ខ្ញុំគិតថាវាពិបាកអានមែន។Bat, knhom kit tha vea pibak an men.Yes, I think it is difficult to read.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “read” translations and entries អាន, មើល, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries អាន, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
