ព្រិល
prɨl
The English word "snow" is translated into Khmer as ព្រិល (prɨl). If unsure, use ព្រិល. Wiktionary also lists ហិមៈ (hemĕəʼ).
Meaning: partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes, falling of such flakes, accumulation of them as a white layer (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ព្រិល | prɨl |
| ហិមៈ | hemĕəʼ |
The term refers to the crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as flakes or the accumulation of these flakes on the ground. To specifically describe the phenomenon of snowfall, speakers often combine the noun ព្រិល with the verb ធ្លាក់ (to fall) to create the phrase ព្រិលធ្លាក់.
Which one should you use?
ព្រិល is the standard everyday word used in common speech, whereas ហិមៈ is a formal or literary term for snow.
How do you pronounce it?
prɨl
Did you know?
- The term ហិមៈ is a cognate of the Sanskrit word for 'snow', which is also the root of 'Himalayas', meaning the 'abode of snow'.
- While ព្រិល is the standard word for snow, its linguistic cousins in other Austroasiatic languages actually mean 'ice' or 'hail'.
- If you use the word ហិមៈ, you are using a term derived from Sanskrit, which gives the word a high-class, poetic, or 'royal' feeling compared to the common ព្រិល.
Examples in context
- ព្រិលកំពុងធ្លាក់។Snow is falling.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of ព្រិល to describe the action of snow falling.Tatoeba #11475121 by Vethya, translation #272536 by shekitten
- ខ្ញុំមិនដែលឃើញព្រិលទេ។khnhom min dael khernh preal te.I have never seen snow.
- ព្រិលធ្វើឱ្យផ្លូវរអិល។preal tveu oy phlov ro' l.Snow makes the road slippery.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a trip to a cold country.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyសុខ តើឯងធ្លាប់ឃើញព្រិលទេ?Sok, tae eng thloab kheunh pril te?Sok, have you ever seen snow?
- សុខ Sokទេ ខ្ញុំមិនដែលឃើញទេ។te, khnhom min dael kheunh te.No, I have never seen it.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyយើងទៅមើលព្រិលជាមួយគ្នាទៅ!yeung tov meul pril cheamuoy knea tov!Let's go see the snow together!
- សុខ Sokយល់ព្រម ខ្ញុំចង់ទៅណាស់។yol prom, khnhom chong tov nah.Agreed, I really want to go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snow” translations and entries ព្រិល, ហិមៈ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ព្រិល, ហិមៈ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
