Ways to say it
| Khmer | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| អ្នក | nĕək | |
| លោកស្រី | look srəy | |
| នាងស្រី | niəngsrəy | |
| ឯង | ʼaeng | |
| លោក | look | masculine |
These terms serve as subject pronouns to address the person being spoken to.
Which one should you use?
While អ្នក is a standard way to say 'you', លោក is more respectful and functions similarly to the English 'Sir' or 'Mr.' When addressing a man formally, use លោក and for a woman, use លោកស្រី.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The level of formality varies significantly between these forms. លោក is used to address a man formally, while លោកស្រី is used to address a woman formally. អ្នក is a neutral and common way to address someone formally, often used for strangers or general acquaintances, but it is also used with peers of similar social status. ឯង is an informal and often blunt way to say 'you', used between close friends or by an elder speaking to a younger person.
How do you pronounce it?
nĕək
Did you know?
- The formal term for 'you' (masculine), លោក, does not actually mean 'you' in its original sense, but literally translates to 'the world'.
- When speakers want to be extremely polite, they often omit the word for 'you' entirely and use the person's title or kinship term instead.
- While អ្នក is the standard neutral term, in very intimate settings, Khmer speakers may use kinship terms like 'older brother' or 'older sister' to mean 'you'.
Examples in context
- ឯងរត់។You run.This sentence shows the use of ឯង to indicate an action performed by the subject.Tatoeba #11475006 by Vethya, translation #672252 by CK
- ឯងឮអត់?Did you hear?This sentence demonstrates a question using ឯង.Tatoeba #11517297 by Vethya, translation #7910324 by adiante19
- យើងឮឯង។We hear you.This sentence illustrates the use of ឯង as an object in the sentence.Tatoeba #11517301 by Vethya, translation #9269196 by CK
- 131 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sokha and Ratana are talking about a book.
- សុខា Sokhaអ្នកចូលចិត្តអានសៀវភៅទេ?neak chol chet an siew phov te?Do you like reading books?
- រតនៈ Ratanakបាទ ខ្ញុំចូលចិត្តណាស់។bat khnhom chol chet nah.Yes, I like it very much.
- សុខា Sokhaតើអ្នកមានសៀវភៅថ្មីទេ?tae neak mean siew phov thmei te?Do you have any new books?
- រតនៈ Ratanakខ្ញុំមានមួយ ខ្ញុំនឹងឱ្យអ្នកមើល។khnhom mean mouy khnhom nung oy neak merl.I have one, I will let you see it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “you” translations and entries អ្នក, លោកស្រី, នាងស្រី, ឯង, លោក, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries នាងស្រី, លោក, លោកស្រី, អ្នក, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
