សម្ល
samla
The English word "soup" is translated into Khmer as សម្ល (samla).
The term សម្ល refers to a wide variety of liquid-based dishes, ranging from light soups to hearty stews.
Meaning: dish (noun)
Which one should you use?
While English distinguishes between "soup" and "stew", the Khmer term សម្ល is used broadly for both depending on the thickness and ingredients. For example, a very common type of Khmer soup is the sour soup, called សម្លម្ជូរ.
How do you pronounce it?
samla
Did you know?
- The word សម្ល is built using an 'instrumental infix', a grammatical tool that turns the action of 'making soup' into the object itself.
- In Cambodia, the term សម្ល is used for dishes that may not contain much liquid at all, such as thick curries or braised meats, as long as they are cooked in a pot with a sauce.
- Many សម្ល dishes are designed to be eaten as part of a meal with rice rather than as a separate starter course, making them more like side dishes than traditional Western soups.
Examples in context
- សម្លនេះមានរសជាតិឆ្ងាញ់ណាស់។samla nih mean rous cheat chnganh nas.This soup is very delicious.
- តើអ្នកចង់ញ៉ាំសម្លអ្វី?tae neak chong nham samla avei?What soup do you want to eat?
Example conversation
Sokha and Sok are having lunch together.
- សុខា Sokhaសុខ តើអ្នកចង់ញ៉ាំសម្លទេ?Sok, tae neak chong nham samlor te?Sok, do you want to eat some soup?
- សុខ Sokបាទ សុខា ខ្ញុំចង់ញ៉ាំ។Bat, Sokha, knhom chong nham.Yes, Sokha, I want to eat some.
- សុខា Sokhaសម្លនេះក្តៅខ្លាំងណាស់។Samlor nih kdao khlang nah.This soup is very hot.
- សុខ Sokអរគុណដែលបានប្រាប់ខ្ញុំ។Or kun dael ban prab knhom.Thank you for telling me.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries សម្ល, CC BY-SA 4.0.
