Subject-Adjective Sentences
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
In Khmer, adjectives act like verbs, so you don't need a 'to be' verb like 'is' or 'are'.
- No 'to be' verb: Just place the adjective directly after the subject. (Example: ខ្ញុំស្អាត - I am beautiful)
- Negation: Add 'មិន' before and 'ទេ' after the adjective. (Example: ខ្ញុំមិនស្អាតទេ - I am not beautiful)
- Questions: Add 'ឬ' at the end of the sentence. (Example: ស្អាតឬ? - Is it beautiful?)
Meanings
Khmer uses adjectives as stative verbs, meaning they function as the predicate without a copula.
Basic Description
Describing the state or quality of a subject.
“គាត់ខ្ពស់។”
“ផ្ទះនេះធំ។”
Basic Adjective Patterns
| Type | Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Subject + Adj | ខ្ញុំល្អ | I am good |
| Negative | Subj + មិន + Adj + ទេ | ខ្ញុំមិនល្អទេ | I am not good |
| Question | Subj + Adj + ឬ? | ល្អឬ? | Is it good? |
| Intensified | Subj + Adj + ណាស់ | ល្អណាស់ | Very good |
| Comparative | Subj + Adj + ជាង | ល្អជាង | Better |
| Superlative | Subj + Adj + ជាងគេ | ល្អជាងគេ | Best |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Subject + Adjective | គាត់ស្អាត |
| Negative | Subject + មិន + Adjective + ទេ | គាត់មិនស្អាតទេ |
| Question | Subject + Adjective + ឬ? | គាត់ស្អាតឬ? |
| Confirmation | Subject + Adjective + មែនទេ? | គាត់ស្អាតមែនទេ? |
| Intensified | Subject + Adjective + ណាស់ | គាត់ស្អាតណាស់ |
| Comparative | Subject + Adjective + ជាង | គាត់ស្អាតជាង |
| Superlative | Subject + Adjective + ជាងគេ | គាត់ស្អាតជាងគេ |
Formality Spectrum
ម្ហូបនេះមានរសជាតិឆ្ងាញ់។ (Dining)
ម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់។ (Dining)
ម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់ណាស់! (Dining)
ម្ហូបនេះអេម! (Dining)
Adjective Predicate Map
Positive
- ល្អ good
Negative
- មិនល្អទេ not good
Question
- ល្អឬ? is it good?
Examples by Level
ខ្ញុំសប្បាយ។
I am happy.
ផ្ទះនេះធំ។
This house is big.
គាត់មិនខ្ពស់ទេ។
He is not tall.
អាហារនេះឆ្ងាញ់។
This food is delicious.
ថ្ងៃនេះក្តៅណាស់។
Today is very hot.
សៀវភៅនេះល្អឬ?
Is this book good?
គាត់មិនមែនជាគ្រូទេ។
He is not a teacher.
ឡាននោះលឿន។
That car is fast.
ការងារនេះពិបាកជាងការងារមុន។
This job is harder than the previous one.
ខ្ញុំមិនសូវស្រួលខ្លួនទេ។
I don't feel very well.
វាពិតជាអស្ចារ្យណាស់។
It is truly amazing.
តើអ្នកគិតថាវាស្អាតដែរឬទេ?
Do you think it is beautiful?
បញ្ហានេះហាក់ដូចជាស្មុគស្មាញ។
This problem seems complicated.
ទោះបីជាវាពិបាក ក៏ខ្ញុំនៅតែចូលចិត្តដែរ។
Even though it is difficult, I still like it.
វាមានសារៈសំខាន់ណាស់សម្រាប់យើង។
It is very important for us.
អ្វីៗគ្រប់យ៉ាងនឹងប្រសើរឡើង។
Everything will get better.
ការសម្រេចចិត្តនេះគឺមានភាពចម្រូងចម្រាស។
This decision is controversial.
វាជាការចាំបាច់ដែលយើងត្រូវធ្វើបែបនេះ។
It is necessary that we do this.
ទិដ្ឋភាពនេះពិតជាគួរឱ្យចាប់អារម្មណ៍។
This view is truly interesting.
ស្ថានភាពនេះហាក់ដូចជាមិនច្បាស់លាស់។
This situation seems unclear.
ទង្វើរបស់គាត់គឺពិតជាគួរឱ្យស្ញប់ស្ញែង។
His actions are truly admirable.
វាជាការមិនសមហេតុផលទាល់តែសោះ។
It is completely irrational.
ភាពស្ងប់ស្ងាត់នេះគឺមានអត្ថន័យជ្រាលជ្រៅ។
This silence has profound meaning.
វាជាការលំបាកក្នុងការកំណត់ឱ្យបានច្បាស់។
It is difficult to define clearly.
Easily Confused
Learners use 'kue' for adjectives.
Forgetting 'te' at the end.
Mixing 'ru' and 'te'.
Common Mistakes
ខ្ញុំគឺស្អាត
ខ្ញុំស្អាត
ខ្ញុំមិនស្អាត
ខ្ញុំមិនស្អាតទេ
ស្អាតខ្ញុំ
ខ្ញុំស្អាត
ខ្ញុំមានស្អាត
ខ្ញុំស្អាត
គាត់ស្អាតឬទេ?
គាត់ស្អាតឬ?
វាគឺក្តៅ
វា(គឺ)ក្តៅ
ខ្ញុំមិនមែនល្អទេ
ខ្ញុំមិនល្អទេ
គាត់ស្អាតជាងខ្ញុំស្អាត
គាត់ស្អាតជាងខ្ញុំ
វាគឺជារឿងល្អ
វាជារឿងល្អ
ខ្ញុំមិនសូវជាល្អទេ
ខ្ញុំមិនសូវល្អទេ
វាគឺមានភាពស្អាត
វាស្អាត
គាត់គឺមានភាពល្បីល្បាញ
គាត់ល្បីល្បាញ
Sentence Patterns
___ នេះ ___ ណាស់។
ខ្ញុំមិន ___ ទេ ។
តើ ___ ___ ឬ?
___ នេះ ___ ជាង ___ នោះ។
Real World Usage
ក្តៅណាស់!
ម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់។
ខ្ញុំមានភាពវៃឆ្លាត។
កន្លែងនេះស្អាតណាស់។
ស្អាតខ្លាំងណាស់!
ឆ្ងាញ់!
Drop the subject
Avoid 'kue'
Use 'nas'
Be polite
Smart Tips
Always put the adjective after the noun.
Don't forget the 'te' at the end.
Use 'ru' for simple yes/no questions.
Use 'nas' for 'very'.
Pronunciation
Final Particle 'ទេ'
The 'te' is often pronounced very softly or clipped in fast speech.
Question Intonation
Subject + Adjective + ឬ↗
Rising pitch at the end indicates a question.
Memorize It
Mnemonic
Think of Khmer adjectives as 'sticky'—they stick right to the subject without needing a middleman like 'is'.
Visual Association
Imagine a person standing next to a giant sign that says their quality (e.g., 'Tall'). No bridge needed, just them and the sign.
Rhyme
No 'is' or 'are' in the Khmer land, just put the adjective right at hand.
Story
Sok is a happy man. He doesn't need a helper verb to show his joy. He just says 'Sok happy'. If he is sad, he says 'Sok not happy'. It is the simplest way to speak.
Word Web
Challenge
Describe 5 things in your room using the Subject + Adjective pattern in 5 minutes.
Cultural Notes
In Khmer culture, being direct with adjectives is common, but when describing elders, it is polite to add honorifics.
Khmer is an Austroasiatic language where adjectives are inherently stative verbs.
Conversation Starters
ថ្ងៃនេះអាកាសធាតុយ៉ាងណាដែរ?
តើម្ហូបនេះឆ្ងាញ់ទេ?
តើការងាររបស់អ្នកពិបាកទេ?
តើអ្នកគិតថាខ្សែភាពយន្តនេះល្អឬទេ?
Journal Prompts
Test Yourself
ខ្ញុំ ___ (happy).
Find and fix the mistake:
គាត់គឺខ្ពស់។
I am not tired.
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
The food is delicious.
Answer starts with: ម្ហ...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Is he tall?
It is very hot.
Score: /8
Practice Exercises
8 exercisesខ្ញុំ ___ (happy).
Find and fix the mistake:
គាត់គឺខ្ពស់។
I am not tired.
ស្អាត / នេះ / ផ្ទះ
The food is delicious.
ធំ
Is he tall?
It is very hot.
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
No, Khmer adjectives do not change based on the subject or tense.
There is no direct translation for 'is' when describing qualities.
Use `មិន` + Adjective + `ទេ`.
No, `គឺ` is only for noun-to-noun equations.
Add `ឬ` at the end of the sentence.
Yes, if the context is clear, you can just say the adjective.
No, Khmer adjectives are gender-neutral.
Add `ណាស់` after the adjective.
In Other Languages
Subject + be + Adjective
No 'to be' verb in Khmer.
Subject + wa + Adjective + desu
Khmer adjectives are verbs.
Subject + hen + Adjective
Khmer doesn't need a filler.
Subject + être + Adjective
No conjugation in Khmer.
Subject + sein + Adjective
No conjugation in Khmer.
Nominal sentence (Subject + Adjective)
Khmer is even simpler as it lacks gender/number agreement.
