Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| តាមពិត | taam pɨt |
| តាមការពិត | taamkaapɨt |
| មែនឬ? | mênrœ? |
| មែនឬទេ? | mênrœté? |
| មែនទេ? | mɛɛn tei? |
When you want to say 'actually' or 'in reality' to correct an assumption or state a fact, use តាមពិត or តាមការពិត. If you are using 'really' as an exclamation of surprise or a question to confirm something, different forms are used.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase តាមពិត is composed of តាម, meaning 'according to' and ពិត, meaning 'truth' or 'real'.
Which one should you use?
To express surprise or disbelief, like the English 'Really?', use មែនឬ? For a neutral way to seek confirmation, such as 'Is that so?' or 'Right?', use មែនទេ? The form តាមពិត is specifically for stating facts that contradict previous assumptions.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form មែនឬ? functions as a short question to express surprise or to confirm if something is true. The form មែនទេ? is a standard way to turn a statement into a confirmation question.
How do you pronounce it?
taam pɨt
Did you know?
- Using តាមពិត to correct someone can inadvertently sound like an accusation of lying if the speaker's tone is too sharp.
- While មែនឬ? is the textbook way to say 'Really?', in a casual setting like a market or cafe, it can sound overly formal or stiff to a native speaker.
- The word ពិត can be used to describe something 'genuine' like a diamond, but it is also the root for words meaning 'absolute' or 'certain' in Khmer.
Examples in context
- តាមពិត គាត់មិនដឹងទេ។tam pit koat mun deng te.Actually, he doesn't know.
- តាមពិត ខ្ញុំមិនទាន់បានញ៉ាំបាយទេ។tam pit khnom mun toan ban nham bay te.Actually, I haven't eaten yet.
- តាមពិត រឿងនេះគឺស្រួលណាស់។tam pit rueang nis keu sruol nah.Actually, this matter is very easy.
Example conversation
Maly and Narong are discussing a movie they watched.
- ម៉ាលី Malyតើអ្នកចូលចិត្តរឿងនេះទេ ណារ៉ុង?tae neak chol chett reueng nis te Narong?Do you like this movie, Narong?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongតាមពិត ខ្ញុំមិនសូវចូលចិត្តទេ។tam pit khnhom min sov chol chett te.Actually, I don't really like it.
- ម៉ាលី Malyហេតុអ្វីបានជាអ្នកមិនចូលចិត្ត?het ey ban chea neak min chol chett?Why don't you like it?
- ណារ៉ុង Narongព្រោះវាវែងពេក។prous vea veng pek.Because it is too long.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “really” translations and entries តាមពិត, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
