Khmer Learning(6)

Vowel Symbol	Name of Vowel in IPA	Vowel
		First Series	Second Series
|	Sraq AA	AA	OO
ា	Sraq aa	aa	ie
ិ	Sraq e	e	i
ី	Sraq ey	ey	ii
ឹ	Sraq e	e	h
ឺ	Sraq eh	eh	hh
ុ	Sraq o	o	u
ូ	Sraq ou	ou	uu
ួ	Sraq ue	ue	ue
ើ	Sraq ae	ae	ee
ឿ	Sraq he	he	he
ៀ	Sraq ie	ie	ie
េ	Sraq ei	ei	ee
ែ	Sraq ae	ae	EE
ៃ	Sraq ay	ay	hy
ោ	Sraq ao	ao	oo
ៅ	Sraq aw	aw	hw
ុំ	Sraq om	om	um
ំ	Sraq Am	Am	um
ាំ	Sraq am	am	oe(m
ះ	Sraq ah	ah	ee(h
ុះ	Sraq oh	oh	uh
េះ	Sraq eh	eh	ih
ោះ	Sraq Ah	Ah	uh

VI. Independent Vowel

Khmer Learning(5)

V. Vowels
The Cambodian vowel may consist of one or a combination of elements written before, above, below, or after the initial consonant. There are 24 vowels in Khmer. Since the abstract vowel (AA) is embedded in a consonant, there are only 23 vowels shown in the table below. The pronunciation of a vowel in Khmer is determined by the series of the initial consonant that it accompanies. Click on the vowels to listen to their pronunciation and practice with the consonants.

The pronunciation of a vowel in Cambodian is determined by the two series of consonants (first and second series). Examples of how to pronounce a vowel with the first and second series consonant are found in the Vowels page. The table below provides the symbol of all vowel sounds in IPA symbol with the first and second series sound. (Huffman, 1970)

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Khmer Learning(5)

When two consonants are pronounced consecutively within a word, the second consonant's symbol is written in a special sub-consonant form which is placed below the first consonant. The sub-consonant always follows the consonant in the pronunciation. The form of the sub-consonant is in most cases a smaller version of its consonant version but some look completely different from the superscript. The tables provided here are the lists of the sub-consonant and the consonant. (Huffman, 1970)

ក្ក	ខ្ខ	គ្គ	ឃ្ឃ	ង្ង
ច្ច	ឆ្ឆ	ជ្ជ	ឈ្ឈ	ញ្ញ
ដ្ដ	ឋ្ឋ	ឌ្ឌ	ឍ្ធ	ណ្ណ
ត្ត	ថ្ថ	ទ្ទ	ធ្ធ	ន្ន
ប្ប	ផ្ផ	ព្ព	ភ្ភ	ម្ម
យ្យ	រ្រ	ល្ល	វ្វ
ស្ស	ហ្ហ	ឡ	អ្អ

V. Vowels

Khmer Learning(4)

As mentioned above, the consonants in modern Cambodian have two series. The first series is voiceless and the second series is voiced (sometimes are called light voiced and heavy voiced). Here is a table to compare the two different sounds in the first and second series.

First Series	Pronunciation 1st Series	Second Series	Pronunciation 2nd Series
ក	kAA	គ	kOO
ខ	khAA	ឃ	khOO
ច	cAA	ជ	cOO
ឆ	chAA	ឈ	chOO
ណ	nAA	ន	nOO
ដ	dAA	ឌ	dOO
ឋ	thAA	ធ	thOO
ត	tAA	ទ	tOO
ថ	thAA	ឍ	thOO
ផ	phAA	ភ	phOO
ឡ	lAA	ល	lOO
ង៉	NAA	ង	NOO
ញ៉	n)AA	ញ	n)OO
ប៉	pAA	ព	pOO
ម៉	mAA	ម	mOO
យ៉	yAA	យ	yOO
រ៉	rAA	រ	rOO
វ៉	wAA	វ	wOO
ស	sAA	ស៊	sOO
ហ	hAA	ហ៊	hOO
ប	bAA	ប៊	bOO
អ	qAA	អ៊	qOO

IV. Sub-consonant

Khmer Learning(3)

III. Consonant
There are thirty-three letters in the Cambodian writing system. They are arranged in five groups according to the position of the articulation, proceeding from the back to the front of the mouth, and a sixth group labeled as miscellaneous. The consonants in modern Cambodian are also divided into two categories or series. The first series is voiceless and the second series is voiced (sometimes are called light voiced and heavy voiced). The table below provides the symbol of all consonants sounds in IPA symbol with the first and second series sound. (Huffman, 1970)

Num	Consonants	IPA	Pronunciation 1st Series	Pronunciation 2nd Series
1	ក	k	kAA
2	ខ	kh	khAA
3	គ	k		kOO
4	ឃ	kh		khOO
5	ង	N		NOO
6	ច	c	cAA
7	ឆ	ch	chAA
8	ជ	c		cOO
9	ឈ	ch		chOO
10	ញ	n)		n)OO
11	ដ	d	dAA
12	ឋ	th	thAA
13	ឌ	d		dOO
14	ធ	th		thOO
15	ណ	n	nAA
16	ត	t	tAA
17	ថ	th	thAA
18	ទ	t		tOO
19	ធ	th		thOO
20	ន	n		nOO
21	ប	b	bAA
22	ផ	ph	phAA
23	ណ	p		pOO
24	ភ	ph		phOO
25	ម	m		mOO
26	យ	y		yOO
27	រ	r		rOO
28	ល	l		lOO
29	វ	w		wOO
30	ស	s	sAA
31	ហ	h	hAA
32	ឡ	l	lAA
33	អ	q	qAA

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