ខ្លៅ
khlaw
The English word "stupid" can be translated into Khmer in several ways, most commonly as ខ្លៅ (khlaw). Wiktionary also lists កំលៅ (kɑmlɨw) and ងងីងងើ (ngɔɔngiingngəə).
Meaning: lacking in intelligence (adj)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ខ្លៅ | khlaw |
| កំលៅ | kɑmlɨw |
| ងងីងងើ | ngɔɔngiingngəə |
| ងីងើ | ngii ngəə |
| ទុប្បញ្ញា | tupbɑɑññiə |
| ពភ្លីពព្លើ | pɔɔphliippləə |
| ពភ្លើ | pɔɔpɔphləə |
| ល្ងីល្ងើ | lngii lngəə |
While the general meaning across these terms is a lack of intelligence, the specific nuance depends on the form used. ខ្លៅ is a way to say someone is lacking in intelligence. ល្ងីល្ងើ is used colloquially to describe someone being clueless, naive or acting foolishly due to a lack of common sense in a particular moment. ងងីងងើ is also used colloquially to describe a person who is acting in a dazed, confused or bewildered, slow-witted manner.
Which one should you use?
The terms differ in their register and nuance. ទុប្បញ្ញា is a formal or literary way to describe a lack of intelligence, whereas ខ្លៅ is more colloquial. For describing specific mental states, ល្ងីល្ងើ focuses on being clueless or naive, while ងងីងងើ focuses on being dazed or bewildered.
How do you pronounce it?
khlaw
Did you know?
- The form កំលៅ is created through a process called infixation, where a specific sound cluster is inserted into the middle of the word ខ្លៅ to change its grammatical result.
- The formal term ទុប្បញ្ញា is rooted in Pali, an ancient liturgical language used in Theravada Buddhism.
- Khmer has a wide variety of specific words for 'stupid', such as ពភ្លើ and ពភ្លីពព្លើ, which carry different nuances of ignorance.
Examples in context
- គាត់ពិតជាខ្លៅណាស់។koat pit chea khlao nah.He is really stupid.
- កុំធ្វើខ្លួនខ្លៅពេក។kom thveu khluon khlao pek.Don't act so stupid.
- ក្មេងនេះខ្លៅជាងគេ។kmeng nih khlao cheang ke.This kid is the stupidest.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “stupid” translations and entries ខ្លៅ, កំលៅ, ងីងើ, ពភ្លើ, ល្ងីល្ងើ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries កំលៅ, ខ្លៅ, ងីងើ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
