Introduction

 

Khmer is spoken by 16,000,000 people in Cambodia. The total number of users in all countries is 17,591,230. Khmer is considered a statutory national language (1993, Constitution, Article 5).

The speakers refer to this language as ខ្មែរ‎, using the Khmer script. Some call this language Cambodian. The ISO code is [khm]. It is classified as Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Khmer. There are five dialects of Khmer: Khmer Kandal (Central Khmer), Khmer Krom (Southern Khmer), Battambang Khmer, Khmer Keh (Stung Treng), and Cardamom Khmer. The Khmer spoken in Cambodia is distinct from Northern Khmer [kxm] of Thailand.

Khmer is an SVO language (subject verb object) and non-tonal. There are 21 consonants, 17 vowels, and 13 diphthongs. In addition, there are 5 social registers. We hope that this dictionary will facilitate reading Khmer.