ឈ្លើយ
chləəy
The English word "rude" is translated into Khmer as ឈ្លើយ (chləəy).
ឈ្លើយ is used to describe someone who lacks social etiquette or behaves disrespectfully toward others.
Meaning: bad-mannered (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
To say someone is "very rude", you add the intensifier ណាស់ after the adjective to form ឈ្លើយណាស់.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is [chləəy].
Did you know?
- The word ឈ្លើយ has a surprising connection to the concept of 'captivity'. It is a cognate with the Thai word เชลย, which refers to a 'captive' or 'prisoner of war'.
- In Khmer culture, rudeness is often judged not just by words, but by the height of one's head relative to others. For example, standing taller than a monk or an elder can be seen as a form of being ឈ្លើយ.
- In some contexts, ឈ្លើយ can describe someone who is 'bold' or 'cheeky' in a way that challenges authority, rather than just being mean.
Examples in context
- ឈ្លើយណាស់!How rude of you!This example is useful for expressing how rude someone is behaving using the form ឈ្លើយ.Tatoeba #3813375 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #16444 by CK
- ក្មេងនោះឈ្លើយណាស់។kmeng noh chhleuy nah.That child is very rude.
- កុំធ្វើចរិតឈ្លើយដាក់គេ។kom thveu chorit chhleuy dak ke.Don't act with a rude attitude toward others.
Example conversation
A woman is scolding her brother for his behavior at a restaurant.
- ម៉ាលី Malyឯងឈ្លើយពេកហើយ វិបុល។eng chhleuy pek houy, vipul.You are being too rude, Vipul.
- វិបុល Vibolខ្ញុំមិនបានធ្វើអ្វីសោះ។khnhom min ban thveu avei soh.I didn't do anything at all.
- ម៉ាលី Malyឯងនិយាយដាក់គេមិនសមរម្យ។eng niyay dak ke min somrom.You spoke to them inappropriately.
- វិបុល Vibolយល់ហើយ ខ្ញុំសុំទោស។yol houy, khnhom som toh.I understand, I am sorry.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ឈ្លើយ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ឈ្លើយ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
