Khmer (Cambodian) alphabet: every letter to copy
Khmer (ភាសាខ្មែរ) is the national language of Cambodia, spoken by about 17 million people. The Khmer script is one of the oldest in Southeast Asia, with inscriptions from the 7th century, and it is carved on the temples of Angkor Wat. It has 33 consonants, from ក to អ, along with many vowels, signs and digits. This page lists them all.
Tap any letter to copy it.
What you will find
- Consonants: ក ខ គ ឃ ង, ច ឆ ជ ឈ ញ, ដ ឋ ឌ ឍ ណ, ត ថ ទ ធ ន, ប ផ ព ភ ម, យ រ ល វ ស ហ ឡ អ.
- Dependent vowels: ា ិ ី ឹ ឺ ុ ូ ួ ើ ឿ ៀ េ ែ ៃ ោ ៅ.
- Independent vowels: ឥ ឦ ឧ ឩ ឪ ឫ ឬ ឭ ឮ ឯ ឰ ឱ ឳ.
- Signs: ្ coeng, ់ bantoc, ៈ yuukaleapintu and more.
- Digits: ០ ១ ២ ៣ ៤ ៥ ៦ ៧ ៨ ៩.
One of the largest alphabets
Khmer is often called the largest alphabet in the world, with 74 letters when you count all the consonants and vowels. Each consonant belongs to one of two series, and the series changes how the following vowel sounds. That is why one vowel sign can have two pronunciations, depending on the letter it follows.
Subscript consonants
When two consonants come together without a vowel between them, Khmer writes the second one as a small subscript below the first. To make it, type the first consonant, then the coeng ្, then the second consonant. For example, ក + ្ + ស makes ក្ស. Most consonants have a subscript form. When you copy the coeng alone it may show on a dotted circle, which is normal.
Khmer digits and the riel
Khmer has its own digits ០ ១ ២ ៣ ៤ ៥ ៦ ៧ ៨ ៩, which are still common in Cambodia on prices, signs and documents. The riel sign ៛ is used for the Cambodian currency. Khmer also has special signs for lunar dates and old number systems.
Khmer culture and greetings
Copy Khmer letters to write Khmer New Year (Choul Chnam Thmey) wishes in April, Pchum Ben messages, or simple greetings like សួស្តី (hello) and អរគុណ (thank you). Khmer is written without spaces between words, with spaces marking phrases.
Typing Khmer
Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone include Khmer keyboards. For a subscript consonant, a rare vowel or a digit, copying from this page is easiest.
Frequently asked questions
- How many letters are in the Khmer alphabet?
- Khmer has 33 consonants and dozens of vowels, about 74 letters in all.
- What is the coeng ្?
- The coeng is a sign that turns the next consonant into a small subscript, used for consonant clusters.
- What are Khmer numbers?
- Khmer digits are ០ ១ ២ ៣ ៤ ៥ ៦ ៧ ៨ ៩.
- What is the symbol for the Cambodian riel?
- The riel sign is ៛.
- Is Khmer written with spaces?
- Spaces separate phrases, not individual words.
- How do I say thank you in Khmer?
- Thank you is អរគុណ (arkoun).
- Why does Khmer have two consonant series?
- Each consonant belongs to one of two series, and the series decides how the vowel after it sounds.