Relative Clauses with 'ដែល'

01

Noun + 'ដែល' + Clause

The describing clause follows the noun, introduced by ដែល (dael) — the same order as English.

• ឆ្កែដែលខ្ញុំស្រឡាញ់

  chkae dael khñom srɑlañchkae dael khnom sralan

  the dog that I love

• មនុស្សដែលខ្ពស់

  mɔnuh dael khpŭəhmonuh dael khpueh

  the person who is tall

02

One Word for Who / Which / That

You never have to choose between "who" and "which" — ដែល (dael) serves for people and things alike. Unlike English "that", which can be dropped only when it's the object of its own clause ("the book (that) I read" — but not "the person who is tall", where "who" can't be dropped), Khmer speakers often drop ដែល (dael) altogether in casual speech, simply placing the clause right after the noun with no relativizer at all. Including ដែល (dael), as every example here does, is always correct and is the clearer, safer choice while you're learning.

• អ្នកគឺជាមនុស្សដំបូងដែលកត់សម្គាល់!

  nĕək kɨɨ ciə mɔnuh dɑmboung dael kɑtsɑɑmkŏəlneek kuu cie monuh damboung dael katsaamkoel

  You are the first person who noticed!

• សៀវភៅដែលខ្ញុំអាន

  siəw phɨw dael khñom ʼaansiew phuw dael khnom aan

  the book that I read

03

'ណា' Before 'ដែល' — Asking "Which One"

When the head noun itself is the unknown — you're asking WHICH one fits the description — the question word ណា (naa, "which") slots in right after the noun (or its classifier), and ដែល (dael) still introduces the clause exactly as before: Noun (+ classifier) + ណា (naa) + ដែល (dael) + Clause.

• តើភាពយន្តណាដែលអ្នកចូលចិត្តជាងគេ?

  taə phiəpyŭən naa dael nĕək coul cət ciəng keitae phiepyuen naa dael neek coul cet cieng kei

  Which movie do you like best?

• តើរសជាតិមួយណាដែលអ្នកចូលចិត្ត?

  taə rŭəh ciət muəy naa dael nĕək coul cəttae rueh ciet muey naa dael neek coul cet

  Which flavor do you prefer?

• ណា (naa) is the ordinary word for "which", the one that follows a noun to ask which one is meant. Combined with a ដែល (dael) clause it asks "which [noun] that …?".

04

Building Longer Descriptions

Relative clauses are how Khmer expands a simple noun into a precise one — "the restaurant that I like", "the car that is fast". The clause can itself contain its own verbs, tense markers and objects.

• ភោជនីយដ្ឋានដែលខ្ញុំចូលចិត្ត

  phoocĕəʼniiyĕəʼthaan dael khñom coul cətphooceeniiyeethaan dael khnom coul cet

  the restaurant that I like

• ភោជនីយដ្ឋានដែលខ្ញុំបានណែនាំឱ្យមិត្ត

  phoocĕəʼniiyĕəʼthaan dael khñom baan nae nŏəm ʼaoy mɨtphooceeniiyeethaan dael khnom baan nae noem aoy mut

  the restaurant that I recommended to a friend

05

'ពេល' ('Time') + 'ដែល' — How Khmer Says "When…"

ពេល (peel, "time") is just another head noun, so ពេល (peel) + ដែល (dael) + Clause is the exact same pattern as above — literally "the time that …". English rarely phrases it that way; it says "when I study" instead, so this combination is translated with "when" far more often than with "that" or "which".

• ពេលដែលខ្ញុំរៀន ខ្ញុំហត់ខ្លាំងណាស់។

  peel dael khñom riən khñom hɑt khlang nahpeel dael khnom rien khnom hat khlang nah

  When I study, I am very tired.

• Watch for ពេលដែល (peel dael) glossed as "when" in the example sentences below — it isn't a new word, just ពេល (peel) ("time") plus the same ដែល (dael) relativizer you already know.

06

Common Fixed Expressions

ដែល (dael) shows up in set phrases, notably the polite រីករាយ (riik riəyriik riey) … ដែល (dael) … type "glad that …".

• រីករាយដែលបានស្គាល់អ្នក

  riik riəy dael baan skŏəl nĕəkriik riey dael baan skoel neek

  Glad to have met you.

• Here ដែល (dael) follows the adjective រីករាយ (riik riəy, "glad"), not a noun — it works as a complementizer ("glad THAT …"), not the relative pronoun from the sections above. Treat it as a fixed phrase rather than a template for new sentences.

07

Not the Negation Idiom 'មិនដែល...ទេ'

Don't confuse this ដែល (dael) with the look-alike word មិនដែល (mɨn daelmun dael), a single fused word meaning "never" that pairs with a sentence-final ទេ (tei). It has nothing to do with relative clauses.

• មិនដែលមានថោកជាងនេះទេ

  mɨn dael miən thaok ciəng nih teimun dael mien thaok cieng nih tei

  It's never been cheaper than this.