Reduplication with 'ៗ' — Khmer Grammar

Khmer has a small written sign that tells you to repeat the word just before it. Rather than write the word twice, you write it once and add this mark — but you still pronounce it twice. You can see it on words such as (koun koun) and (chap chap).

Pluralising or Generalising a Noun

Repeating a noun spreads it out into a plural or general sense. From (koun) ("child") comes (koun koun) ("the children"); from (kmeeng) ("young/a youngster") comes (kmeeng kmeeng) ("children").

ខ្ញុំស្រឡាញ់កូនៗ
khñom srɑlañ koun kounkhnom sralan koun koun
I love the children.

Intensifying an Adjective or Adverb

On a describing word attached to a single thing, repetition strengthens the meaning rather than pluralising it. From (chap) ("soon") comes (chap chap) ("very soon / quickly"); from (thməythmey) ("new") comes (thməy thməythmey thmey) ("brand new / the latest").

ខ្ញុំនឹងមកឆាប់ៗ
khñom nɨng mɔɔk chap chapkhnom nung mook chap chap
I will come very soon.
នេះជាឡានថ្មីៗ។
nih ciə laan thməy thməynih cie laan thmey thmey
This is a brand-new car.

Same Mark, Two Jobs

The very same doubled form can do either job above, and only what it modifies tells you which. Doubling the describing word for a single thing (as with the car just above) intensifies it; doubling it for a plural or general noun instead spreads the quality across every member of the group — (thom thom) ("big-big") can mean "very big" describing one animal, or "big ones" describing several, depending on context. So when (thməy thməythmey thmey) modifies a plural, already-quantified noun like below, it marks "new" for each item rather than intensifying "new" itself.

នៅក្នុងមេរៀនបន្ទាប់ អ្នកនឹងរៀនពាក្យថ្មីៗជាច្រើន។
nɨw knong mei riən bɑntŏəp nĕək nɨng riən piək thməy thməy ciə craənnuw knong mei rien bantoep neek nung rien piek thmey thmey cie craen
In the next lesson, you will learn many new words.

A Reading Skill

Notice how the mark sits flush against the word it doubles, with no space in between — (koun koun) and (thməy thməythmey thmey) are each written as one unbroken unit, not two words with a gap. It also only ever reaches back to that one word, never further: it doesn't retroactively double an entire phrase, just the single word directly in front of it. So when you're reading aloud, treat the mark as glued to the word right before it — spot it, repeat just that word, and keep going.

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