Making Comparisons

This unit introduces making comparisons, including colors and counting objects in different positions. Students learn color words (/póa/ + color), ask ‘how many’ with /pemaan/, and identify objects by color and location. The grammar note covers equational sentences — sentences with noun predicates and no verb. Drills practice counting objects by type, identifying colors, and asking which object is in which location.

Basic Dialogue

Cambodian (romanized)	English
khñom mian khmaw-day pemaan niŋ?	How many pencils do I have here?
baat, look mian bey.	You have three.
muoy niw khaŋ-chveeŋ nih póa əy?	What color is the one on the left here?
baat, póa lieŋ.	It’s yellow.
haəy muoy khaŋ-sdam póa əy?	And what color is the one on the right?
baat, póa khiew.	It’s blue.
coh muoy kondaal póa əy?	And the one in the middle, what color is it?
baat, póa krohoom.	It’s red.
haəy reboh aetiet nih cia khmaw-day dae ri-əy?	And this other thing, is it a pencil too?
tee, min mɛɛn tee. cia dooŋ pakaa tee.	No, it isn’t. It’s a (fountain) pen.
dooŋ pakaa póa əy?	What color (is the) pen?
baat, póa khmaw.	It’s black.
mian khmaw-day póa khmaw tee?	Are there any black pencils?
tee, khmian tee.	No, there aren’t.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
pemaan	how many
niŋ	here (in this context)
póa	color
lieŋ	yellow
khiew	blue
krohoom	red
khmaw	black
kondaal	middle
dooŋ pakaa	fountain pen
aetiet	other
dae	also, too
ri-əy	or what
khmian	there is not, there are not
somrap	for (purpose)

Grammar Notes

Equational Sentences

There is one fairly common kind of Khmer sentence in which the predicate is a noun expression, and there is no verb or adjective at all. These are equational sentences:

Cambodian	English
khmaw-day póa lieŋ.	‘The yellow pencils.’ or ‘The pencils are yellow.’

/póa/ ‘color’ is a noun, and /póa lieŋ/ is a noun expression. It is only when a negative statement or a question is involved that we can tell what the construction is:

• khmaw-day min mɛɛn póa lieŋ tee. — ‘The pencils are not yellow.’
• khmian khmaw-day póa lieŋ tee. — ‘There are no yellow pencils.’
• mian khmaw-day póa lieŋ tee? — ‘Are there any yellow pencils?‘

Asking ‘How Many’ with /pemaan/

pemaan follows the noun to ask about quantity:

• khñom mian khmaw-day pemaan niŋ? — How many pencils do I have here?
• look mian siew-phiw pemaan? — How many books do you have?
• look mian phaen-tii pemaan? — How many maps do you have?

Practice Drills

Drill A: Counting Objects (Response)

Teacher	Student
khñom mian khmaw-day pemaan niŋ? (bey)	look mian khmaw-day bey.
khñom mian siew-phiw pemaan niŋ? (prampil)	look mian siew-phiw prampil.
khñom mian phaen-tii pemaan niŋ? (prambuon)	look mian phaen-tii prambuon.
khñom mian kumnuu pemaan niŋ? (pram)	look mian kumnuu pram.
khñom mian dooŋ pakaa pemaan niŋ? (pii-ndop)	look mian dooŋ-pakaa pii-ndop.

Drill B: Identifying Colors

Teacher	Student
khmaw-day niw khaŋ-chveeŋ póa əy? (lieŋ)	muoy khaŋ-chveeŋ póa lieŋ.
siew-phiw niw khaŋ-sdam póa əy? (khmaw)	muoy khaŋ-sdam póa khmaw.
ruup thoot niw cit khdaa-khien póa əy? (khiew)	muoy niw cit khdaa-khien póa khiew.
phaen-tii kraoy khnooŋ look kruu póa əy? (krohoom)	muoy niw kraoy khnooŋ look kruu póa krohoom.

Drill C: Which One Is Which?

Teacher	Student
khmaw-day naa-muoy póa lieŋ? (khaŋ-chveeŋ)	muoy khaŋ-chveeŋ póa lieŋ.
siew-phiw naa-muoy somrap boŋrien oŋglee? (khaŋ-sdam)	muoy khaŋ-sdam somrap boŋrien oŋglee.
phaen-tii naa-muoy cia phaen-tii srok khmae? (kraoy khnooŋ look kruu)	muoy kraoy khnooŋ look kruu cia phaen-tii srok khmae.