ស្រី
srəy
The Khmer word for woman is ស្រី (srəy). If unsure, use ស្រី. Wiktionary also lists ឃរណី (khɔɔnəy).
Meaning: adult female person (noun)
Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ស្រី | srəy |
| ឃរណី | khɔɔnəy |
The term ស្រី refers to an adult female. While ស្រី can stand alone, you will often hear the phrase មនុស្សស្រី (human + female) used to express the concept of 'woman' more completely in certain contexts. You can also use the phrase Srey sa'at to mean 'pretty lady'.
Which one should you use?
ស្រី is the gender opposite of the word ប្រុស (male/man).
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural form 'women', you can reduplicate the word to form ស្រីៗ.
How do you pronounce it?
srəy
Did you know?
- The Sanskrit root of ស្រី is also the basis for the word 'Shri' in many other Indo-Aryan languages, which can mean 'splendor' or 'fortune', linking 'woman' to notions of prosperity in ancient texts.
- In traditional Khmer poetry and royal language, words for woman change entirely depending on the social rank of the person being described.
- While ស្រី is the common term, the word ឃរណី is a highly formal term derived from Pali that specifically evokes the idea of a 'house-holder' or 'matriarch'.
Examples in context
- ខ្ញុំគឺជាមនុស្សស្រី ។I am a woman.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of ស្រី to state one's gender.Tatoeba #3763369 by angkorsovannnaga, translation #740214 by CC
- ស្រី្តគឺជាអ្នកណា?Who is the woman?This sentence is useful for practicing the use of ស្រី to identify a person.Tatoeba #3868900 by Balamax, translation #3868903 by Balamax
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ratanak and Mali are discussing a new colleague at work.
- រតនៈ Ratanakតើនរណាជាអ្នកគ្រប់គ្រងថ្មី?tae norna chea neak krob kroung thmey?Who is the new manager?
- ម៉ាលី Malyអ្នកគ្រប់គ្រងថ្មីគឺជាមនុស្សស្រី។neak krob kroung thmey keu chea monous srey.The new manager is a woman.
- រតនៈ Ratanakតើគាត់មកពីណា?tae koat mok pi na?Where is she from?
- ម៉ាលី Malyគាត់មកពីភ្នំពេញ។koat mok pi phnom penh.She is from Phnom Penh.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “woman” translations and entries ស្រី, ឃរណី, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ឃរណី, ស្រី, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
