ប្រពន្ធ
prɑɑpŭən
In Khmer, the word for wife is ប្រពន្ធ (prɑɑpŭən). Wiktionary also lists ភរិយា (phĕəʼriyiə) and ឃរណី (khɔɔnəy).
Meaning: female partner in a marriage (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ប្រពន្ធ | prɑɑpŭən |
| ភរិយា | phĕəʼriyiə |
| ឃរណី | khɔɔnəy |
All forms refer to a female partner in a marriage.
Which one should you use?
ប្រពន្ធ is the most common, everyday way to express the concept of a wife. In contrast, ភរិយា is a more formal and polite term, suitable for official contexts or when speaking with respect.
How do you pronounce it?
prɑɑpŭən
When do people say it?
When addressing a woman as 'Mrs.', the title លោកស្រី is used.
Did you know?
- In traditional Khmer culture, it is common for a husband to refer to his wife using kinship terms like 'sister' or 'younger sister' rather than the word ប្រពន្ធ to show affection.
- The word ប្រពន្ធ is a doublet of ប្រព័ន្ធ, which means 'system' or 'network'. Both words share a root meaning 'binding' or 'arrangement'.
- Choosing between ប្រពន្ធ and ភរិយា is not just about the listener, but about the level of dignity and prestige the speaker wishes to grant the marriage itself.
Examples in context
- ប្រពន្ធខ្ញុំស្អាតជាងគេ។My wife is the prettiest.This sentence shows how to use ប្រពន្ធ when describing one's wife.Tatoeba #6986106 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #11454341 by ddnktr
- គាត់គឺជាប្រពន្ធរបស់ខ្ញុំ។koat keu chea propun robos khnhom.She is my wife.
- តើប្រពន្ធរបស់អ្នកធ្វើការនៅឯណា?tae propun robos nek thveu kar nov ae na?Where does your wife work?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families.
- រតនៈ Ratanakសុខា ជាប្រពន្ធដែលល្អម្នាក់។Sokha chea propun dael l-or mnak.Sokha is a good wife.
- សុខា Sokhaអរគុណ រតនៈ ដែលបានសរសើរខ្ញុំ។orkun Ratana dael ban sorseu khnhom.Thank you, Ratana, for praising me.
- រតនៈ Ratanakខ្ញុំពិតជាមានសំណាងដែលមានប្រពន្ធដូចអ្នក។khnhom pit chea mien somnang dael mien propun douch neak.I am really lucky to have a wife like you.
- សុខា Sokhaខ្ញុំក៏មានសំណាងដែរ។khnhom kor mien somnang dae.I am lucky too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wife” translations and entries ប្រពន្ធ, ភរិយា, ឃរណី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ឃរណី, ប្រពន្ធ, ភរិយា, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
