Days and Weeks

This unit focuses on comparing sizes and positions of objects, and introduces the four most common Khmer verbs equivalent to English ‘to be’: cia, niw, mian, and kii. You will also learn to negate equational sentences.

Basic Dialogue

Cambodian (romanized)	English
siew-phiw naa thom ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh?	Which books are the biggest?
siew-phiw pii niw khaaŋ-kraom thom ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh.	The two books on the bottom are the biggest.
siew-phiw naa touc ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh?	Which books are the smallest?
siew-phiw pii niw khaaŋ-lee touc ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh.	The two books on top are the smallest.
coh siew-phiw sosee?	And the notebooks?
siew-phiw sosee thom ciaŋ siew-phiw mɔel téŋ-buon.	The notebooks are bigger than all four books.
siew-phiw póa meek niw-aɛnaa?	Where is the light blue book?
niw kraom kee.	It’s on the bottom.
coh siew-phiw póa khiew caɁ?	And the dark blue book?
niw lee kee.	It’s on the top.
haey siew-phiw pii tiet niw-aɛnaa?	And where are the other two books?
niw kondaal kee.	They’re in the middle.
baan, lʔoo.	Good.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
thom	big
touc	small
ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh	the most (of all)
thom ciaŋ	bigger than
touc ciaŋ	smaller than
cia	to be (a member of the class of)
niw	to be (located in the position of)
mian	to exist; there is/are; to have
kii	to be (equivalent to)
mɛɛn	to be (characterized by)
min-mɛɛn	is not (negative equational)
khmian	there aren’t, doesn’t have
baan	good
lʔoo	good, fine
tiet	other, more
pii	two
buon	four

Grammar Notes

The Four Most Common ‘To Be’ Verbs

Khmer has several verbs translatable as ‘to be,’ each with distinct usage:

1. cia — ‘to be a (member of a class)’: nih cia siew-phiw. (This is a book.)
2. niw — ‘to be at (a location)’: siew-phiw póa khiew niw kraom kee. (The blue book is on the bottom.)
3. mian — ‘to exist, there is/are’: mian siew-phiw pii. (There are two books.)
4. kii — ‘to be (the one that is)’: siew-phiw thom ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh kii siew phɛw kraom kee boŋ-oh. (The biggest book is the one on the very bottom.)
5. (zero) / mɛɛn — ‘to be (characterized by)’: siew-phiw khñom póa soo. (My book is white.)

Negation

The negative of each ‘to be’ verb is different: min-mɛɛn cia (is not a), min-mɛɛn niw (is not at), khmian (there aren’t / doesn’t have), min mɛɛn (is not the / isn’t characterized by).

Practice Drills

Drill A. Negating /cia/

Cambodian	English
khñom cia koun seh. → khñom min-mɛɛn cia koun seh tee.	I’m a student. → I’m not a student.
look cia kruu boŋrien. → look min-mɛɛn cia kruu boŋrien tee.	You’re a teacher. → You’re not a teacher.
aanih cia siew-phiw sosee. → aanih min-mɛɛn cia siew-phiw sosee tee.	This is a notebook. → This is not a notebook.
rɔboh pii nuh cia dooŋ pakaa. → rɔboh pii nuh min-mɛɛn cia dooŋ pakaa tee.	Those two things are pens. → Those two things are not pens.

Drill B. Negating /niw/

Cambodian	English
khmaw-day póa lieŋ tum niw khaaŋ-sdam. → khmaw-day póa lieŋ tum min-mɛɛn niw khaaŋ-sdam tee.	The orange pencil is on the right. → The orange pencil is not on the right.
siew-phiw touc ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh niw khaaŋ-lee. → siew-phiw touc ciaŋ kee boŋ-oh min-mɛɛn niw khaaŋ-lee tee.	The smallest book is on top. → The smallest book is not on top.