Invitations and Social Calls

This unit focuses on invitations and social calls — inviting someone to dinner, discussing food and drink preferences, and making plans. You will learn vocabulary for food, beverages, and social arrangements.

Basic Dialogue

Cambodian (romanized)	English
thŋay saw’ niŋ, look tumnee’ tee ih?	Are you free this Saturday?
baat, pɔhaɛl tumnee’ tee, mɔel tiw.	Yes, I guess I am free.
khñom coŋ ñiceeñ look móo pesaa baay phtéh khñom.	I’d like to invite you to come and eat at my house.
baat, mian ɛy?	Sure, why not?
look skól phtéh khñom’ iniw?	Do you know where my house is yet?
baat, khñom skól m-sew chbah’ tehJ	Well, I don’t remember too clearly.
leek pii hòoy haa-sep phlew pastɔl.. niw cɨt ambasaat ameriʔkaŋ.	Number 250 Pasteur Street, near the American Embassy.
ou, ñceŋ khñom m-bac baek laan’ tehJ	Oh, in that case I won’t have to drive my car.
look mian ñiceeñ phñiew móo craen’ teh?	Have you invited a lot of guests?
baat, min-ce cɔ̀en pɔmaan’ tehJ	No, not very many.
khñom haw te puoʔ-maaʔ khñom pii-bey néʔ’ tehJ	I’ve just asked two or three of my friends.
ñceŋ sùol’ eh.	Well, that’s nice.
look coŋ ñam mɔhoup ɛy, soum pɛ̀ap khñom’ mɔel.	Whatever kind of food you want to eat, just let me know.
baat, mɔhoup ɛy ko baan’ dɛh, taɛ khñom coŋ saaʔ mɔhoup khmaɛ mɔdooŋJ	Well, any kind of food is all right, but I would like to try Cambodian food once.
ñceŋ sùol’ eh. pepún khñom pesop thee mɔhoup khmaɛ’ nah.	That’s good. My wife is very skillful at making Cambodian food.
coh sɛ̀a, look coul-cɔt sɛ̀a ɛy?	And what about liquor, what kind of liquor do you like?
baat, viskii’ ko baan, byɛɛ’ ko baan.	Oh, either whiskey or beer would be fine.
look coul-cɔt sɛ̀a tepéŋ baay-cuu’ eh?	Do you like wine?
baat, sɛ̀a tepéŋ baay-cuu, khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ tehJ	Well, I don’t particularly care for wine.
ñceŋ thŋay saw maoŋ pmmuoy ñiceeñ móo’ neh?	Then you’ll come on Saturday at 6 o’clock, will you?
baatJ ñceŋ khñom som lia sen’ neh.	Sure! Well, I’ll be seeing you.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
tumnee	free (not busy)
ñiceeñ	to invite (honorific); to go/come (respectful)
pesaa baay	to eat (polite)
mɔhoup	food
mɔhoup khmaɛ	Cambodian food
kafee	coffee
sɛ̀a	liquor, alcohol
viskii	whiskey
byɛɛ	beer
tepéŋ baay-cuu	wine
skoo	sugar
tik-doh-koo	cream
cmnoul	to care for, to be fond of
pesop	skillful at
saaʔ	to try, to taste
haw	to call, to invite
phñiew	guest
craen	many
min-ce	not very
skól	to know (a place), to recognize
chbah	clear, clearly
baek laan	to drive a car
laan	car
lia sen	see you later, goodbye
maoŋ	o’clock, hour
pmmuoy	six

Grammar Notes

Invitations and Polite Requests

To invite someone: khñom coŋ ñiceeñ look móo pesaa baay phtéh khñom. (‘I’d like to invite you to come and eat at my house.’). ñiceeñ serves dual purpose as both an honorific pre-verbal modifier (respectful motion) and a main verb meaning ‘to invite.‘

Expressing Preferences

coul-cɔt (to like) and cmnoul (to care for) express preference. Negative preference: khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ tehJ (‘I don’t particularly care for [it].’). Positive: khñom coul-cɔt mɔhoup khmaɛ. (‘I like Cambodian food.’)

The Modifier /ko baan/

ko baan after a noun or clause means ‘would be all right, would be fine’: viskii’ ko baan, byɛɛ’ ko baan. (‘Whiskey would be fine, or beer would be fine.’) It indicates easy acceptance or indifference between options.

Practice Drills

Drill K. Alternative Preferences

Cambodian	English
look coŋ pàɛ ɛy, dmbey tesee sɔbot? (khmaw-day, dooŋ pakaa) → baat, khmaw-day’ ko baan,, dooŋ pakaa’ ko baan.	What would you like to use to write the letter with? (pencil, pen) → Well, a pencil would be all right, or a pen would be all right.
look coŋ niyiey phiasaa ɛy? (onglee, pɛ̀aŋ) → baat, onglee’ ko baan,, pɛ̀aŋ ko baan.	What language do you want to speak? (English, French) → Well, English would be fine, or French would be fine.
look coul-cɔt rien peel naa? (yup, thŋay) → baat, yup’ ko baan,, thŋay’ ko baan.	What time do you like to study? (night, day) → Well, at night is all right, or in the day time is all right.
look coŋ pesaa baay niw-inaa? (phtéh khñom, phtéh baay) → baat, phtéh khñom’ ko baan,, phtéh baay’ ko baan.	Where would you like to eat? (my house, a restaurant) → Well, at my house would be all right, or at a restaurant would be all right.

Drill L. Response — Expressing Indifference

Cambodian	English
look coul-cɔt sɛ̀a tepéŋ baay-cuu’ teh? → baat, sɛ̀a tepéŋ baay-cuu, khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ nehJ	Do you like wine? → Well, I don’t particularly care for wine.
look coul-cɔt mɔhoup ameriʔkaŋ eh? → baat, mɔhoup ameriʔkaŋ, khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ nehJ	Do you like American food? → Well, I don’t particularly care for American food.
look coul-cɔt viskii’ teh? → baat, viskii, khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ nehJ	Do you like whiskey? → Well, I don’t particularly care for whiskey.
look coul-cɔt mɔhoup cɔn’ neh? → baat, mɔhoup cɔn, khñom douc min cmnoul pɔmaan’ nehJ	Do you like Chinese food? → Well, I don’t particularly care for Chinese food.