I've been plugging away at my Khmer language skills over the past few weeks, and after 3 lessons I am now able to (sort of) direct tuk-tuks, make purchases in the market, and enter into conversation -but I'm still at a loss for what to say beyond, "How are you?" All in all, my progress has been slow but steady!
I don't know if Khmer will stay with me beyond my time in Cambodia, but it's definitely left an impression on me in terms of how interesting languages can be. I mentioned in a previous post how much I loved the vocabulary of Khmer, and how words are often compounds of smaller words. When you are learning vocabulary, it's easy to focus on just memorizing the words, but the real enjoyment comes when you actually begin to understand the meaning of each part.
Here are a few of my recent favorites:
chol chet = to enter the heart (to like)
- So when you say you like something, you are actually saying that this thing enters your heart. Swoon!
kit luy = think of money (the bill)
- So when you request the bill at a restaurant, you are requesting to "think of the money." And when something is free, it's "ot kit luy," or "don't think of the money."
Finally, one of my new favorite (and very useful) words is: chngan (delicious)
- I love this word simply because it's so fun to say. It's very nasal and you don't open your mouth much say it... so it's actually kind of similar to when I say, "Yuuummmmmm!"
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