ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ
chəə cak thmɨñ
The English word 'toothpick' can be said in Khmer as ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ (chəə cak thmɨñ). Wiktionary also lists ស្ទន់ (stŭən).
Meaning: stick for removing food residue from the area between the teeth (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ | chəə cak thmɨñ |
| ស្ទន់ | stŭən |
A toothpick is a stick used for removing food residue from the area between the teeth.
What does it mean word for word?
The term ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ is a compound made of three parts: ឈើ meaning wood or stick, ចាក់ meaning to poke or pierce and ធ្មេញ meaning tooth.
Which one should you use?
While ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ is the standard descriptive term, ស្ទន់ is a shorter, more colloquial way to refer to a toothpick.
How do you pronounce it?
chəə cak thmɨñ
Did you know?
- In Cambodia, it is common and polite to use a toothpick in public after a meal, whereas in many English-speaking cultures this is considered a breach of etiquette.
- The word ចាក់ used in ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ also means 'to inject' or 'to give a shot', describing the piercing action of the toothpick.
- In traditional Cambodian settings, toothpicks were often hand-carved from bamboo, which is a plant but treated as ឈើ in this context.
Examples in context
- ខ្ញុំត្រូវការឈើចាក់ធ្មេញមួយ។khnhom troukar cheu chak thmenh mouy.I need a toothpick.
- តើមានឈើចាក់ធ្មេញនៅក្បែរនេះទេ?tae mean cheu chak thmenh nov kbae nis te?Is there a toothpick nearby?
Example conversation
Sok and Chinda are finishing a meal together.
- ចិន្តា Chindaសុខ តើអ្នកមានឈើចាក់ធ្មេញទេ?Sok, tae neak mien chheu chak thmenh te?Sok, do you have a toothpick?
- សុខ Sokបាទ ខ្ញុំមាន។ នេះនីមួយៗ។bat, khnhom mien. nih nimoey nimoey.Yes, I do. Here is one.
- ចិន្តា Chindaអរគុណច្រើន សុខ។orkun chreun Sok.Thank you very much, Sok.
- សុខ Sokមិនអីទេ ចិន្តា។min ey te Chinda.You're welcome, Chinda.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “toothpick” translations and entries ឈើចាក់ធ្មេញ, ស្ទន់, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
