Khmer Pronunciation: Mango vs. Woman

How do you say mango and woman in Khmer? Be careful, they sound almost the same.

The difference

ស្វាយ (svay) contains a diphthong: the វ glides from a /v/-like sound toward a long /i/, so it shifts within the syllable (roughly /ʋaj/).

ស្រី (srei) uses a simple long vowel ី, a steady high front /i/ like the "ee" in "see", so it lands close to /sriː/.

In short: "svay" moves through the vowel, "srei" holds it steady. That glide is the tell.

Example sentence

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