អ្វី
ʼvəy
The English word 'what' is translated into Khmer as អ្វី (ʼvəy). Wiktionary also lists អី (ʼəy) and ស្អី (sʼəy).
Meaning: what? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| អ្វី | ʼvəy |
| អី | ʼəy |
| ស្អី | sʼəy |
The phrase functions as an interrogative pronoun.
Which one should you use?
While អ្វី is used in formal contexts and written text, អី is the preferred version for casual conversation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form អ្វី is the formal or standard version of 'what' used in writing and polite speech. The form អី is a common colloquial shortening of អ្វី used in everyday spoken Khmer. The form ស្អី is a highly informal, often blunt or slightly rude way to say 'what' in spoken Khmer.
How do you pronounce it?
ʼvəy
Did you know?
- In very formal royal language, a different set of vocabulary is used to ask 'what', as អ្វី would be considered too common for the monarchy.
- When asking 'what' in a polite way, Cambodians often accompany the word អ្វី with a 'sampeah' gesture, placing their palms together in a prayer-like position.
- The word អ្វី can be used at the end of a sentence to turn a statement into a question, whereas in English 'what' almost always begins the sentence.
Examples in context
- ឈ្មោះអី?What is your name?This sentence is useful for asking for a name using the form អី.Tatoeba #5670311 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #70623 by frpzzd
- ចង់ទិញអី?What do you want to buy?This sentence is useful for asking about a purchase using the form អី.Tatoeba #6986616 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #703319 by papabear
- ចង់បានអី?What do you want?This sentence is useful for asking what someone wants using the form អី.Tatoeba #4567981 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #1622 by CK
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sreynee and Ratanak are talking about a gift.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyរតនៈ ចង់បានអ្វីសម្រាប់ថ្ងៃខួបកំណើត?Ratanak, chong ban avei samrap thngai khuob kamnaert?Ratanak, what do you want for your birthday?
- រតនៈ Ratanakខ្ញុំចង់បានសៀវភៅថ្មីមួយក្បាល។Knhom chong ban sievphou thmei mouy kbal.I want a new book.
- ស្រីនី Sreynyតើសៀវភៅអ្វីដែលអ្នកចូលចិត្ត?Tae sievphou avei del neak choul chett?What kind of book do you like?
- រតនៈ Ratanakខ្ញុំចូលចិត្តសៀវភៅប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រ។Knhom choul chett sievphou provattisash.I like history books.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what” translations and entries អ្វី, អី, ស្អី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
