ព្រះអាទិត្យ
preah adit
The English word "sun" is translated into Khmer as ព្រះអាទិត្យ (preah adit).
The term ព្រះអាទិត្យ refers specifically to the star around which the Earth revolves. Other related terms include អាទិត្យ and សុរិយ for a star at the center of a solar system, and ថ្ងៃ which can refer to the sun or the sunlight and warmth received from it.
Meaning: the star around which the Earth revolves (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The word ព្រះអាទិត្យ is composed of the honorific prefix ព្រះ, meaning 'sacred' or 'divine' and អាទិត្យ, meaning 'sun'.
Which one should you use?
While ព្រះអាទិត្យ refers specifically to the celestial object, the word ថ្ងៃ is used colloquially to refer to 'sunlight' or 'the sun' in a general sense, such as when saying 'the sun is out'. The word អាទិត្យ can be used as a standalone noun for 'sun' without the honorific prefix, which remains more formal than ថ្ងៃ.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ព្រះអាទិត្យ is the formal or poetic term for the sun, often used in literature and formal speech or when referring to the celestial body with respect.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
preah adit
Did you know?
- The word អាទិត្យ is used in Khmer to mean both 'sun' and 'Sunday'.
- The word អាទិត្យ is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Aditya', referring to the solar deities in Hindu mythology.
- In Khmer, the word for 'day' is ថ្ងៃ, which is the same word used to describe 'sunlight' in common conversation.
Examples in context
- ព្រះអាទិត្យកំពុងរះ។preah artit kampong reah.The sun is rising.
- ពន្លឺព្រះអាទិត្យក្តៅណាស់។ponleu preah artit kdov nas.The sunlight is very hot.
- ខ្ញុំចូលចិត្តពន្លឺព្រះអាទិត្យពេលព្រឹក។khnom chol chet ponleu preah artit pel prek.I like the morning sunlight.
Example conversation
Sreyni and Vipul are talking about the weather while walking outside.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyថ្ងៃនេះព្រះអាទិត្យក្តៅខ្លាំងណាស់។thngai nis preah artit kdov khlang nas.The sun is very hot today.
- វិបុល Vibolត្រូវហើយ ស្រីនី។trow haey, Sreyni.That's right, Sreyni.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyតើវិបុលមានឆត្រទេ?tae Vipul mien chhath te?Do you have an umbrella, Vipul?
- វិបុល Vibolបាទ ខ្ញុំមាន។bat, khnom mien.Yes, I have one.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ព្រះអាទិត្យ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ព្រះអាទិត្យ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
