Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Khmer verbs do not change for person or tense, making them incredibly simple to use in basic sentences.
- Verbs never change form: 'I eat' (ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំ) and 'They eat' (ពួកគេញ៉ាំ) use the same word.
- Place the verb directly after the subject: 'Subject + Verb + Object'.
- Add 'អត់' (ot) or 'មិន' (min) before the verb to make it negative.
Verb Invariance Table
| Subject | Verb (Eat) | Object |
|---|---|---|
|
ខ្ញុំ (I)
|
ញ៉ាំ
|
បាយ
|
|
អ្នក (You)
|
ញ៉ាំ
|
បាយ
|
|
គាត់ (He/She)
|
ញ៉ាំ
|
បាយ
|
|
យើង (We)
|
ញ៉ាំ
|
បាយ
|
|
ពួកគេ (They)
|
ញ៉ាំ
|
បាយ
|
Meanings
Action verbs describe physical or mental activities. In Khmer, these are the core of the sentence and remain invariant regardless of the subject.
Physical Action
Actions involving body movement.
“ខ្ញុំដើរ (I walk)”
“គាត់រត់ (He runs)”
Mental/State Action
Internal processes.
“ខ្ញុំដឹង (I know)”
“គាត់គិត (He thinks)”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
S + V + O
|
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំបាយ
|
|
Negative
|
S + មិន + V + O
|
ខ្ញុំមិនញ៉ាំបាយ
|
|
Question
|
S + V + O + ឬ?
|
អ្នកញ៉ាំបាយឬ?
|
|
Past
|
S + បាន + V + O
|
ខ្ញុំបានញ៉ាំបាយ
|
|
Future
|
S + នឹង + V + O
|
ខ្ញុំនឹងញ៉ាំបាយ
|
|
Continuous
|
S + កំពុង + V + O
|
ខ្ញុំកំពុងញ៉ាំបាយ
|
フォーマル度スペクトル
ខ្ញុំកំពុងទទួលទានអាហារ។ (Dining)
ខ្ញុំកំពុងញ៉ាំបាយ។ (Dining)
ញ៉ាំបាយនៅ? (Dining)
ស៊ីបាយនៅ? (Dining)
Action Verb Core
Subjects
- ខ្ញុំ I
- អ្នក You
Objects
- បាយ Rice
- ទឹក Water
レベル別の例文
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំបាយ។
I eat rice.
គាត់ទៅផ្ទះ។
He goes home.
យើងមើលទូរទស្សន៍។
We watch TV.
គេរត់។
They run.
ខ្ញុំមិនទៅផ្សារទេ។
I am not going to the market.
តើអ្នកធ្វើការឬ?
Do you work?
គាត់អត់ញ៉ាំសាច់ទេ។
He does not eat meat.
ពួកគេមកទីនេះ។
They come here.
ខ្ញុំបានញ៉ាំបាយរួចហើយ។
I have already eaten rice.
គាត់នឹងទៅលេងស្រុក។
He will go visit his hometown.
តើអ្នកធ្លាប់ទៅអង្គរវត្តទេ?
Have you ever been to Angkor Wat?
កុំនិយាយខ្លាំងពេក។
Don't speak too loudly.
ទោះបីជាគាត់ហត់ ក៏គាត់នៅតែធ្វើការ។
Even though he is tired, he still works.
ខ្ញុំចង់ឱ្យអ្នកជួយខ្ញុំ។
I want you to help me.
គាត់កំពុងតែរៀនភាសាខ្មែរ។
He is currently learning Khmer.
សូមកុំឱ្យគាត់ដឹង។
Please don't let him know.
ការងារនេះទាមទារឱ្យមានការអត់ធ្មត់។
This job requires patience.
គាត់បានសម្រេចចិត្តឈប់ធ្វើការ។
He has decided to quit working.
យើងត្រូវតែគោរពច្បាប់។
We must respect the law.
គាត់ត្រូវបានគេជ្រើសរើស។
He was chosen.
គាត់បានបដិសេធមិនព្រមទទួលយកសំណើនេះ។
He refused to accept this proposal.
ការវិវត្តនៃភាសាខ្មែរគឺមានភាពស្មុគស្មាញ។
The evolution of the Khmer language is complex.
សូមមេត្តាពិចារណាលើសំណើរបស់យើង។
Please kindly consider our proposal.
គាត់បានបង្ហាញពីសមត្ថភាពដ៏អស្ចារ្យ។
He demonstrated remarkable ability.
間違えやすい
Both mean 'eat'.
Directional confusion.
Both mean 'not'.
よくある間違い
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំសបាយ
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំបាយ
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំអត់
ខ្ញុំអត់ញ៉ាំ
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំបាយហើយ
ខ្ញុំញ៉ាំបាយ
គាត់ញ៉ាំស
គាត់ញ៉ាំ
តើអ្នកញ៉ាំបាយឬទេ?
អ្នកញ៉ាំបាយឬ?
ខ្ញុំនឹងញ៉ាំបាយទៅ
ខ្ញុំនឹងញ៉ាំបាយ
គាត់មិនមែនញ៉ាំបាយ
គាត់មិនញ៉ាំបាយ
ខ្ញុំបានទៅរួចហើយផ្សារ
ខ្ញុំបានទៅផ្សាររួចហើយ
គាត់ត្រូវទៅ
គាត់ទៅ
ខ្ញុំកំពុងញ៉ាំបាយនៅ
ខ្ញុំកំពុងញ៉ាំបាយ
ការសម្រេចចិត្តនេះត្រូវបានធ្វើដោយគាត់
គាត់បានសម្រេចចិត្ត
គាត់បានបដិសេធមិនព្រម
គាត់បានបដិសេធ
គាត់បង្ហាញពីសមត្ថភាព
គាត់បង្ហាញសមត្ថភាព
文型パターン
ខ្ញុំ ___ បាយ។
គាត់ ___ ទៅផ្សារ។
តើអ្នក ___ ទៅណា?
ខ្ញុំមិន ___ ទៅទីនោះទេ។
Real World Usage
ញ៉ាំនៅ?
ខ្ញុំយកបាយមួយ។
ខ្ញុំចង់ធ្វើការនៅទីនេះ។
តើទៅអង្គរវត្តយ៉ាងដូចម្តេច?
ខ្ញុំកំពុងមើលរឿង។
ខ្ញុំបញ្ជាទិញបាយ។
Focus on Vocabulary
Don't Conjugate
Use Time Markers
Greeting with Verbs
Smart Tips
Don't change the verb; just add 'បាន' before it.
Add 'នឹង' before the verb.
Add 'កំពុង' before the verb.
Use a simple verb and add context words.
発音
Vowel length
Khmer has long and short vowels; changing length changes meaning.
Question
Sentence + ឬ? (rising tone)
Indicates a yes/no question.
暗記しよう
記憶術
Khmer verbs are like a solid rock; they never change shape no matter who stands next to them.
視覚的連想
Imagine a statue of a person eating. No matter who walks past the statue, the statue stays exactly the same.
Rhyme
Khmer verbs stay the same, they never change their name.
Story
Imagine a king and a beggar. Both go to the market. In English, we say 'The king goes' and 'The beggar goes'. In Khmer, they both just 'ទៅ'. It is the ultimate democratic verb system.
Word Web
チャレンジ
Write 5 sentences about your day using 5 different verbs, ensuring you keep the verb form identical for each.
文化メモ
Eating is a central social activity. Asking 'Have you eaten?' is a common greeting.
Khmer is an Austroasiatic language, and its verbal structure has remained largely analytic for centuries.
会話のきっかけ
តើអ្នកញ៉ាំបាយនៅ?
តើអ្នកទៅណា?
តើអ្នកចូលចិត្តធ្វើអ្វីនៅថ្ងៃឈប់សម្រាក?
តើអ្នកមានគម្រោងអ្វីសម្រាប់ថ្ងៃស្អែក?
日記のテーマ
よくある間違い
Test Yourself
ខ្ញុំ ___ បាយ។
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
គាត់ញ៉ាំសបាយ។
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
I go home.
Answer starts with: ខ្ញ...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
អ្នកទៅផ្សារ___?
Subject: គាត់, Verb: ធ្វើការ
Score: /8
練習問題
8 exercisesខ្ញុំ ___ បាយ។
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
គាត់ញ៉ាំសបាយ។
បាយ / ញ៉ាំ / ខ្ញុំ
I go home.
Match: ញ៉ាំ, ទៅ, មើល
អ្នកទៅផ្សារ___?
Subject: គាត់, Verb: ធ្វើការ
Score: /8
よくある質問 (8)
No, they do not. You use time markers like 'ម្សិលមិញ' (yesterday) to indicate tense.
Place 'មិន' or 'អត់' before the verb.
Yes, it follows the Subject-Verb-Object pattern.
No, you do not need 'to be' (like 'am/is/are') when using action verbs.
ញ៉ាំ is neutral, while ហូប is slightly more formal.
You might be seeing different particles or auxiliary verbs, but the main verb remains the same.
Yes, if the context is clear, you can drop the subject.
Add 'ឬ' at the end of the sentence.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Conjugated verbs
Khmer is invariant; Spanish is highly inflected.
Conjugated verbs
Khmer lacks person-based conjugation.
Conjugated verbs
Khmer uses particles for tense instead of endings.
Verb conjugation
Khmer word order is SVO; Japanese is SOV.
Root-based conjugation
Khmer is isolating; Arabic is fusional.
Invariant verbs
Khmer uses more particles for aspect.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
Related Grammar Rules
Stative Verbs as Adjectives
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