Khmer numerals ០ ១ ២ ៣ ៤ ៥ ៦ ៧ ៨ ៩ are the numerals used in the script for the Khmer language. They have been in use since at least the early 7th century.
Numerals
Having been derived from the Hindu numerals, modern Khmer numerals also represent a decimal positional notation system. It is the script with the first extant material evidence of zero as a numerical figure, dating its use back to the seventh century, two centuries before its certain use in India. Old Khmer, or Angkorian Khmer, also possessed separate symbols for the numbers 10, 20, and 100.
Each multiple of 20 or 100 would require an additional stroke over the character, so the number 47 was constructed using the 20 symbol with an additional upper stroke, followed by the symbol for number 7. This inconsistency with its decimal system suggests that spoken Angkorian Khmer used a vigesimal system.
As both Thai and Lao scripts are derived from Old Khmer, their modern forms still bear many resemblances to the latter, demonstrated in the following table:
Value Khmer Thai Lao0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Modern Khmer numbers The spoken names of modern Khmer numbers represent a biquinary system, with both base 5 and base 10 in use. For example, 6 () is formed from 5 () plus 1 ().
Numbers from 0 to 5 With the exception of the number 0, which stems from Sanskrit, the etymology of the Khmer numbers from 1 to 5 is of proto-Austroasiatic origin.
Value Khmer Word Form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes0 From Sanskrit 1 Before a classifier, is reduced to in regular speech.2 , 3 4 5
For details of the various alternative romanization systems, see Romanization of Khmer. Some authors may alternatively mark as the pronunciation for the word two, and either or for the word three. In neighbouring Thailand the number three is thought to bring good luck. However, in Cambodia, taking a picture with three people in it is considered bad luck, as it is believed that the person situated in the middle will die an early death.
Comparison to other Austroasiatic languages 1-5 Whilst Vietnamese vocabulary is very Sinicized, the numbers 1-5 retain proto-Austroasiatic origins. ValueKhmerWord FormIPAUNGEGNVietnameseMuong languageMon languageBru language Khmu language 1muŏymộtmốchmo̤amui/mò:j/2, pirhaihalɓa bar/pà:r/3beibapapɔeʔ pei /péɂ/ 4buŏnbốnpổnpɔnpon/sí:/ 5brămnămđằmpəsɔnshăng/há:/
Numbers from 6 to 20 The numbers from 6 to 9 may be constructed by adding any number between 1 and 4 to the base number 5 (), so that 7 is literally constructed as 5 plus 2. Beyond that, Khmer uses a decimal base, so that 14 is constructed as 10 plus 4, rather than 2 times 5 plus 4; and 16 is constructed as 10+5+1.
Colloquially, compound numbers from eleven to nineteen may be formed using the word preceded by any number from one to nine, so that 15 is constructed as , instead of the standard .
Value Khmer Word Form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes6 brămmuŏy brammuoy prāṃmuay 7 , brămpir brampir prāṃbīr 8 brămbei brambei prāṃpī 9 brămbuŏn brambuon prāṃpuan 10 dáb dab ṭáp From an archaic Chinese form *.11 dábmuŏy dabmuoy ṭápmuay Colloquially muŏydândáb .20 , , mphey mphey mbhai Contraction of + (i.e. one + twenty)
In constructions from 6 to 9 that use 5 as a base, may alternatively be pronounced ; giving , , , and . This is especially true in dialects which elide , but not necessarily restricted to them, as the pattern also follows Khmer's minor syllable pattern.
Numbers from 30 to 90 The modern Khmer numbers from 30 to 90 are as follows:
Value Khmer Word Form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes30 samsĕb samseb sāmsip From Thai สามสิบ sam sip40 sêsĕb saeseb saesip From Thai, si sip50 hasĕb haseb hāsip From Thai, hasip60 hŏksĕb hokseb huksip From Thai, hoksip70 chĕtsĕb chetseb citsip From Thai, chetsip80 pêtsĕb paetseb p″aetsip From Thai, paetsip90 kausĕb kauseb kausip From Thai, kaosip
The word , which appears in each of these numbers, can be dropped in informal or colloquial speech. For example, the number 81 can be expressed as instead of the full .
Historically speaking, Khmer borrowed the numbers from 30 to 90 from a southern Middle Chinese variety by way of a neighboring Tai language, most likely Thai. This is evidenced by the fact that the numbers in Khmer most closely resemble those of Thai, having already gone through Tai-Kadai sound changes rather than being directly borrowed from said Chinese variety, as well as the fact that the numbers cannot be deconstructed in Khmer. For instance, is not used on its own to mean "four" in Khmer and is not used on its own to mean "ten", while they are in Thai (see Thai numerals). The table below shows how the words in Khmer compare to other nearby Tai and Sinitic languages.
+ Language comparison Value Khmer Southwestern Tai Northern Tai Sinitic Thai Archaic Thai Lao S. Zhuang Nanning Cantonese Teochew Hokkien Mandarin3 ‒ sam sǎam sãam ɬaːm1 ɬam41 saam1 sã1 sa1 (sam1) sān4 ‒ si sài sii ɬi5 ɬi55 sei3 si3 si3 (su3) sì5 ‒ ha ngùa hàa ha3 ŋ̩13 ng5 ŋou6 go2 (ngo2) wǔ6 ‒ hok lòk hók huk7 løk24 luk6 lak8 lak2 (liok8) liù7 ‒ chet jèd jét tɕit7 tsʰɐt33 cat1 tsʰik4 chit2 qī8 ‒ paet pàed pàet pet7 pat33 baat3 poiʔ4 pueh4 (pat4) bā9 ‒ kao jao kâo kau3 kou33 gau2 kao2 kau4 (kiu2) jiǔ10 ‒ sip jǒng síp ɬip7 ɕɐp22 sap6 tsap8 tzhap2 (sip8) shí Words in parentheses indicate literary pronunciations, while words preceded by an asterisk only occur in specific constructions and are not used for basic numbers from 3 to 10.
Prior to using a decimal system and adopting these words, Khmer used a base 20 system, so that numbers greater than 20 were formed by multiplying or adding on to the cardinal number for twenty. Under this system, 30 would've been constructed as (20 × 1) + 10 "twenty-one ten" and 80 was constructed as 4 × 20 "four twenties / four scores". See the section Angkorian numbers for details.
Numbers from 100 to 10,000,000
The standard Khmer numbers starting from one hundred are as follows: Value Khmer Word Form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes100 (, ) muŏy rôy muoy roy muay raya From Thai, roi.1,000 muŏy poăn muoy poan muaya bân From Thai, phan.10,000 muŏy mœn muoy mueun muaya mȳna From Thai, muen.100,000 muŏy sên muoy saen muaya saena From Thai, saen.1,000,000 muŏy léan muoy lean muaya lâna From Thai, lan.10,000,000 muŏy kaôdĕ muoy kaot muaya koṭi From Sanskrit and Pali koṭi.
Although is most commonly used to mean ten million, in some areas this is also colloquially used to refer to one billion (which is more properly ). In order to avoid confusion, sometimes is used to mean ten million, along with for one hundred million, and ("one thousand million") to mean one billion.
Different Cambodian dialects may also employ different base number constructions to form greater numbers above one thousand. A few of the such can be observed in the following table: Value Khmer Word Form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes10,000 dáb poăn dab poan ṭáp bân lit. "ten thousand"100,000 dáb mœŭn dab mueun ṭáp mȳna lit. "ten ten-thousand"100,000 muŏy rôy poăn muoy roy poan muaya raya bân lit. "one hundred thousand"1,000,000 muŏy rôy mœn muoy roy mueun muaya raya mȳna lit. "one hundred ten-thousand"10,000,000 dáb léan dab lean ṭáp lāna lit. "ten million" 100,000,000 muŏy rôy léan muoy roy lean muaya raya lāna lit. "one hundred million"1,000,000,000 muŏy poăn léan muoy poan lean muaya bân lāna lit. "one thousand million"
Counting fruits Reminiscent of the standard base 20 Angkorian Khmer numbers, the modern Khmer language also possesses separate words used to count fruits, not unlike how English uses words such as a "dozen" for counting items such as eggs. Value Khmer Word form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes4 , dâmbâ, dâmbâr damba ṭaṃpa 40 phlon phloun phlūna From (pre-)Angkorian *plon "40"80 , pir phlon pi phloun bīra phlūna Lit. "two forty"400 slœ̆k sloek slẏka From (pre-)Angkorian *slik "400"
Sanskrit and Pali influence As a result of prolonged literary influence from both the Sanskrit and Pali languages, Khmer may occasionally use borrowed words for counting. Generally speaking, aside from a few exceptions such as the numbers for 0 and 100 for which the Khmer language has no equivalent, they are more often restricted to literary, religious, and historical texts than they are used in day-to-day conversations. One reason for the decline of these numbers is that a Khmer nationalism movement, which emerged in the 1960s, attempted to remove all words of Sanskrit and Pali origin. The Khmer Rouge also attempted to cleanse the language by removing all words which were considered politically incorrect.
Value Khmer Word form IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC Notes10 tôs tos dasa From Sanskrit and Pali, dasa12 , tvéatôs tveatos, tveateaksak dvādasa From Sanskrit and Pali dvādasa13 or 30 or treitôs treitos trīdasa From Sanskrit and Pali, trayodasa28 âsdapisâ asdapisa ‛astābīsa From Sanskrit (8, aṣṭá-) (20, vimsati)100 sâtâ saktak sata From Sanskrit, sata
Ordinal numbers Khmer ordinal numbers are formed by placing the word in front of a cardinal number. This is similar to the use of ที่ thi in Thai, and thứ (次) in Vietnamese. Meaning Khmer IPA UNGEGN GD ALA-LC NotesFirst ti muŏy ti muoy dī muaya Second , ti pir ti pi dī bīra Third ti bĕi ti bei dī pī
Angkorian numbers It is generally assumed that the Angkorian and pre-Angkorian numbers also represented a dual base (quinquavigesimal) system, with both base 5 and base 20 in use. Unlike modern Khmer, the decimal system was highly limited, with both the numbers for ten and one hundred being borrowed from the Chinese and Sanskrit languages respectively. Angkorian Khmer also used Sanskrit numbers for recording dates, sometimes mixing them with Khmer originals, a practice which has persisted until the last century.
The numbers for twenty, forty, and four hundred may be followed by multiplying numbers, with additional digits added on at the end, so that 27 is constructed as twenty-one-seven, or 20×1+7.
Value Khmer Orthography Notes1 mvay 2 vyar 3 pi 4 pvan 5 pram (7 : pramvyar or pramvyal)10 tap From an archaic Chinese form *.20 bhai 40 plon 80 bhai pvan Literally "four twenty"100 çata Sanskrit (100, sata).400 slik
Proto-Khmer numbers Proto-Khmer is the hypothetical ancestor of the modern Khmer language bearing various reflexes of the proposed proto-Mon–Khmer language. By comparing both modern Khmer and Angkorian Khmer numbers to those of other Eastern Mon–Khmer (or Khmero-Vietic) languages such as Pearic, Proto-Viet–Muong, Katuic, and Bahnaric; it is possible to establish the following reconstructions for Proto-Khmer.
Numbers from 5 to 10 Contrary to later forms of the Khmer numbers, Proto-Khmer possessed a single decimal number system. The numbers from one to five correspond to both the modern Khmer language and the proposed Mon–Khmer language, while the numbers from six to nine do not possess any modern remnants, with the number ten *kraaj (or *kraay) corresponding to the modern number for one hundred. It is likely that the initial *k, found in the numbers from six to ten, is a prefix.
Value Khmer Reconstruction Notes5 *pram 6 * 7 *knuul 8 *ktii Same root as the word hand, *tii.9 *ksaar 10 *kraaj Corresponds to present-day (one hundred).
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