Negative Commands with 'កុំ' — Khmer Grammar

To tell someone NOT to do something, Khmer does not use the ordinary negator (mɨnmun). It uses a dedicated command word, (kom), placed before the verb.

The Basic Prohibition

កុំភ្លេច
kom phlɨckom phluc
Don't forget.
កុំផឹកស្រា
kom phək sraakom phek sraa
Don't drink alcohol.
កុំបើកទ្វារ
kom baək tviəkom baek tvie
Don't open the door.

Softening with 'សូម'

Putting the polite request word (soum) in front makes a gentle "please don't".

សូមកុំភ្លេច
soum kom phlɨcsoum kom phluc
Please don't forget.

Commands vs. Statements

Keep the two negations apart. (kom) forbids an ACTION ("don't do it!"); (mɨnmun) … (tei) denies a FACT ("it isn't / I don't"). Compare:

កុំញ៉ាំ
kom ñamkom nam
Don't eat (it)!
ខ្ញុំមិនញ៉ាំទេ
khñom mɨn ñam teikhnom mun nam tei
I don't eat (it).

Used for Advice and Warnings

(kom) is not only for sharp orders; it is the everyday way to give advice or a caution. It's often followed by the particle (ʼəyey), and the very same phrase can land anywhere from a gentle nudge to a sharp warning, depending on the situation and how it's said:

កុំសោកសៅអី។
kom saoksaw ʼəykom saoksaw ey
Don't be sad.
កុំខ្ជិលអី។
kom khcɨl ʼəykom khcul ey
Don't be lazy.
កុំផឹកអី! នោះជាគ្រឿងស្រវឹង!
kom phək ʼəy nuh ciə krɨəngsrɑɑvɨngkom phek ey nuh cie kruengsraavung
Don't drink that — that's alcohol!

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Khmer course

12 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 48. A few of them, with the words “Negative Commands with 'កុំ'” is about in bold:

កុំញ៉ាំអី! នោះជាសាច់ជ្រូក!
kom ñam ʼəy! nuh ciə sac cruuk!kom nam ey! nuh cie sac cruuk!
Don't eat that! That's pork!
Lesson 366
កុំភ្លេចយកឈីសសម្រាប់អាហារសម្រន់របស់យើង។
kom phlɨc yɔɔk chiih sɑmrap ʼaahaa sɑmrɑn rɔbɑh yəəng.kom phluc yook chiih samrap aahaa samran robah yeeng.
Don't forget the cheese for our picnic.
Lesson 477

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