Signification
Resting from work or activities.
Contexte culturel
During the Khmer New Year (April), the entire country effectively 'ឈប់សម្រាក' for 3-7 days. It is the most significant period of rest in the culture. It is common for employees to take a 'ឈប់សម្រាក' after lunch for about 30 minutes. This is a cultural leftover from the agricultural midday break. When visiting elders, they will often tell you to 'ឈប់សម្រាក' as a sign of hospitality, meaning 'make yourself at home and relax'. On 'Thngai Sil' (Holy Days), some devout Buddhists 'ឈប់សម្រាក' from their usual work to visit the pagoda and meditate.
Use it as a suggestion
If someone looks busy, just say 'ឈប់សម្រាកខ្លះទៅ' (Take some rest). It's a very polite and caring thing to say in Khmer culture.
Don't forget the 'Sam-reak'
Saying 'I want to Chhob' to your boss might get you fired! Make sure to add 'Sam-reak' to clarify you're coming back.
Signification
Resting from work or activities.
Use it as a suggestion
If someone looks busy, just say 'ឈប់សម្រាកខ្លះទៅ' (Take some rest). It's a very polite and caring thing to say in Khmer culture.
Don't forget the 'Sam-reak'
Saying 'I want to Chhob' to your boss might get you fired! Make sure to add 'Sam-reak' to clarify you're coming back.
Duration matters
Always put the time after the phrase. 'ឈប់សម្រាក ៥ នាទី' (Rest 5 minutes) sounds very natural.
The 'Srok' connection
When people say they are taking a long 'ឈប់សម្រាក', they almost always mean they are going back to their home province (Srok).
Teste-toi
Fill in the blank with the correct phrase.
ខ្ញុំហត់ណាស់ ខ្ញុំចង់ ______។
If you are tired (ហត់), you want to rest (ឈប់សម្រាក).
Which sentence is the most formal way to ask for a break?
Asking your boss for a break:
Adding 'សុំអនុញ្ញាត' (ask permission) makes it formal and polite for a boss.
Match the Khmer phrase with its English meaning.
Match the following:
These are all standard collocations using the base phrase.
Complete the dialogue.
A: តើអ្នកនឹងទៅណានៅសប្តាហ៍ក្រោយ? B: ខ្ញុំនឹង ______ ទៅលេងសៀមរាប។
Going to Siem Reap (ទៅលេងសៀមរាប) implies taking a break/vacation.
🎉 Score : /4
Aides visuelles
Chhob vs. Chhob Sam-reak
Banque d exercices
4 exercicesខ្ញុំហត់ណាស់ ខ្ញុំចង់ ______។
If you are tired (ហត់), you want to rest (ឈប់សម្រាក).
Asking your boss for a break:
Adding 'សុំអនុញ្ញាត' (ask permission) makes it formal and polite for a boss.
Associez chaque element a gauche avec son pair a droite :
These are all standard collocations using the base phrase.
A: តើអ្នកនឹងទៅណានៅសប្តាហ៍ក្រោយ? B: ខ្ញុំនឹង ______ ទៅលេងសៀមរាប។
Going to Siem Reap (ទៅលេងសៀមរាប) implies taking a break/vacation.
🎉 Score : /4
Questions fréquentes
12 questionsYes! It's the perfect phrase. You can say 'ឈប់សម្រាកផឹកកាហ្វេ' (Take a break to drink coffee).
Yes, it is neutral-formal. For a very formal request, use 'សុំច្បាប់ឈប់សម្រាក' (Requesting leave).
សម្រាក is just 'to rest'. ឈប់សម្រាក is 'to stop and rest'. They are often used interchangeably, but ឈប់សម្រាក is more common for work breaks.
You usually say 'រីករាយថ្ងៃឈប់សម្រាក' (Happy rest day/holiday).
Usually no. For retirement, we say 'ចូលនិវត្តន៍'. However, informally, someone might say they are 'ឈប់សម្រាករហូត' (resting forever/permanently), but it's rare.
Yes, if a water buffalo stops working to rest in the shade, you can say the buffalo is ឈប់សម្រាក.
Younger people often use the English word 'break' or 'relax' transliterated into Khmer script, but ឈប់សម្រាក remains the standard.
You say 'ខ្ញុំត្រូវការឈប់សម្រាក' (Khnhom trov-kar chhob sam-reak).
Yes, for 'half-time' or 'time-out', coaches will call for a ឈប់សម្រាក.
The opposite would be 'បន្តធ្វើការ' (Continue working) or 'ខំធ្វើការ' (Work hard).
Yes, you could say 'ឈប់សម្រាកមួយឆ្នាំ' (Rest for one year).
Not necessarily. It implies stopping work. You could be reading, eating, or just sitting.
Expressions liées
សម្រាកបន្តិច
similarRest a little
វិស្សមកាល
specialized formVacation/Holiday
បន្ធូរអារម្មណ៍
similarTo relax/unwind
ឈប់ធ្វើការ
contrastStop working
ដេកលេង
informalLying around/Chilling
