by the_purple_turtle » Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:19 pm
Many of my favourite khmer sayings are from a book called "Khmer Sayings" (ha!), published locally by Khmer Communtiy Development / GTZ and written by a guy called Alain Fressanges. The sayings are written in Khmer and have an English transliteration, with an explanation in English, French and German. I got it from Alain himself, but it is no doubt on sale somewhere like Monument.
Puk sra, klaa samday. (literally, drink alcohol, audacious speech) - a warning and an observation.
Tumpoang snang reusay (bamboo shoot represents bamboo) Children grow up influenced by their parents' behaviour.
meeun pnairk doich mnoah. (have eyes like a pineapple) eyes in the back of your head, eyes everywhere.
Baan svay nay groich, baan thom nay toich, baan grormom nay cha! (have mango forget orange, have big forget small, have a young girl forget the old wife!)
phnom thom khpor, tae teap jeeung smao (mountain big tall, but low more than grass) "This buddhist inspired saying reminds us that true modesty is, at the end, more highly regarded than a high social position."
luk prahok aoy korb kleak (put hand into fish paste, let sink deeply to armpit) I see this as "In for a penny, in for a pound." or 'go the whole hog'.
gom banghat grorberr aoy che hail tuk ( don't teach crocodile let know swim water) don't teach your grandma to such eggs.
gom put' srorlao, gom prordao srey koij (don't bend srolao wood, don't educate a prostitute.)
domrey jul knea, ngorb srormoach (elephants fight each other, die ants) the poor/small suffer from the misdeeds of the mighty
Klart, jole aoy jut. (fear, go to let near) face your fears
gom daik jam slab, gom onguy jam meeun (don't wait die, don't sit wait have) live life to the full?
no doubt many of my transliterations are not what others would use, but that's always the way.
I have shown this book to many Khmers, and all of them recognise a few, but none of them recognise them all. Also, they are often interpreted in different ways by different people, and I have often had a local smile after recognising a saying in the book that they remember from way back, only for their explanation of it to be seemingly completely wrong....
some others that I've heard are:
Meeun tuk meeun trei, meeun loy meeun srei (have water have fish, have money have girls!
)
another is something like:
gom twer antung veng chhnang veng - don't take a long pot to cook an eel.
kru laor, gror laoo (good teacher, poor ..........) not sure what laoo means!
And probably my all time favourite, which I shouldn't even share as you'll all be using it and making new friends with pretty girls.... They say
sok sabai, and....... wait for it...... you say
sai sabok! ah, just genius.
Many of my favourite khmer sayings are from a book called "Khmer Sayings" (ha!), published locally by Khmer Communtiy Development / GTZ and written by a guy called Alain Fressanges. The sayings are written in Khmer and have an English transliteration, with an explanation in English, French and German. I got it from Alain himself, but it is no doubt on sale somewhere like Monument.
[i]Puk sra, klaa samday[/i]. (literally, drink alcohol, audacious speech) - a warning and an observation.
[i]Tumpoang snang reusay[/i] (bamboo shoot represents bamboo) Children grow up influenced by their parents' behaviour.
[i]meeun pnairk doich mnoah.[/i] (have eyes like a pineapple) eyes in the back of your head, eyes everywhere.
[i]Baan svay nay groich, baan thom nay toich, baan grormom nay cha! [/i](have mango forget orange, have big forget small, have a young girl forget the old wife!)
[i]phnom thom khpor, tae teap jeeung smao[/i] (mountain big tall, but low more than grass) "This buddhist inspired saying reminds us that true modesty is, at the end, more highly regarded than a high social position."
[i]luk prahok aoy korb kleak[/i] (put hand into fish paste, let sink deeply to armpit) I see this as "In for a penny, in for a pound." or 'go the whole hog'.
[i]gom banghat grorberr aoy che hail tuk [/i]( don't teach crocodile let know swim water) don't teach your grandma to such eggs.
[i]gom put' srorlao, gom prordao srey koij [/i](don't bend srolao wood, don't educate a prostitute.)
[i]domrey jul knea, ngorb srormoach[/i] (elephants fight each other, die ants) the poor/small suffer from the misdeeds of the mighty
[i]Klart, jole aoy jut.[/i] (fear, go to let near) face your fears
[i]gom daik jam slab, gom onguy jam meeun[/i] (don't wait die, don't sit wait have) live life to the full?
no doubt many of my transliterations are not what others would use, but that's always the way.
I have shown this book to many Khmers, and all of them recognise a few, but none of them recognise them all. Also, they are often interpreted in different ways by different people, and I have often had a local smile after recognising a saying in the book that they remember from way back, only for their explanation of it to be seemingly completely wrong....
some others that I've heard are:
[i]Meeun tuk meeun trei, meeun loy meeun srei[/i] (have water have fish, have money have girls! ;) )
another is something like:
[i]gom twer antung veng chhnang veng[/i] - don't take a long pot to cook an eel.
[i]kru laor, gror laoo [/i](good teacher, poor ..........) not sure what laoo means!
And probably my all time favourite, which I shouldn't even share as you'll all be using it and making new friends with pretty girls.... They say [i]sok sabai[/i], and....... wait for it...... you say [i]sai sabok[/i]! ah, just genius. :-D