Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| បងស្រី | bɑɑng srəy |
| ប្អូនស្រី | pʼoun srəy |
| ភគិនី | phĕəʼkinii |
In Khmer, the term for sister changes based on whether the woman is older or younger than you. Beyond biological siblings, these terms serve as polite or friendly ways to address women in social situations. You can use បងស្រី to address a woman who is slightly older than you, even if you are not related. Similarly, ប្អូនស្រី can be used as a friendly or polite way to address a girl or woman who is younger than you.
What does it mean word for word?
The term បងស្រី is composed of bɑɑng (older sibling) and srəy (female/woman). The term ប្អូនស្រី is composed of pʼoun (younger sibling) and srəy (female/woman).
Which one should you use?
While English uses the single word "sister" for any female sibling, Khmer distinguishes between an older sister, បងស្រី and a younger sister, ប្អូនស្រី. You must use បងស្រី specifically for an older sister and ប្អូនស្រី for a younger sister.
How do you pronounce it?
bɑɑng srəy
Did you know?
- The formal term ភគិនី is not a native Khmer word but is actually borrowed from the ancient Pali language. It is used in much more formal, literary, or religious contexts than the everyday terms used in conversation.
- In Khmer culture, the term បង is gender-neutral and can refer to both an older brother and an older sister unless the word ស្រី is added for clarity.
- Because Khmer kinship terms are relative, you might call a woman បងស្រី and she might call you បង back if she perceives herself as younger than you.
Examples in context
- គាត់គឺជាបងស្រីរបស់ខ្ញុំ។koat keu chea bong srey robos khnom.She is my older sister.
- តើអ្នកមានបងស្រីប៉ុន្មាននាក់?tae neak mean bong srey ponman neak?How many older sisters do you have?
- បងស្រីរបស់ខ្ញុំរស់នៅភ្នំពេញ។bong srey robos khnom ros nov phnom penh.My older sister lives in Phnom Penh.
Example conversation
A man asks a woman about her family members.
- ចិន្តា Chindaតើអ្នកមានបងស្រីឬទេ?tae neak mean bong srey reu te?Do you have an older sister?
- សុខ Sokបាទ ខ្ញុំមានបងស្រីម្នាក់។bat khnom mean bong srey mnak.Yes, I have one older sister.
- ចិន្តា Chindaតើបងស្រីរបស់អ្នកធ្វើការនៅទីណា?tae bong srey robos neak tveu kar nov ti na?Where does your sister work?
- សុខ Sokគាត់ធ្វើការនៅមន្ទីរពេទ្យ។koat tveu kar nov monti pet.She works at a hospital.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries បងស្រី, ប្អូនស្រី, ភគិនី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries បងស្រី, ប្អូនស្រី, ភគិនី, CC BY-SA 4.0.
