Khmer is natively spoken by about 16 million people, primarily in Cambodia, where it is the official language. It is integral to Khmer cultural identity, known for its ancient temples such as Angkor Wat, traditional dance, and music. Written in the Khmer script, Khmer grammar features a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order and a complex system of particles and affixes to indicate tense, aspect, and mood.
Stats
Language Family: Austroasiatic
Writing System: Khmer
Writing System Type: Abugida
Writing Direction: L to R
Tones / Pitch Accent: N
Morphology: Analytic
Cases: 0
Grammatical Gender / Noun Class: 0
Number of Verb Tenses: 3
Word Order: SVO
Number of Vowels (Monophthongs): 25
Number of Consonants: 18
Areas Where Spoken
Cambodia (official) (88.6%) (14.9 mil)
Laos (16.5%) (1.24 mil)
Resources
Dictionary
Grammar
Intro to Khmer Textbook Online - Mischigan State University
SEAsite Conversation - Practical lessons
SEAsite Grammar Note - Basic grammar guide
SEAsite Writing System - Guide to script
FSI - Basic language course with audio
ilanguages.org - Vocab, grammar, flashcards, etc
Videos
Khmer Lessons - Alphabet and brief grammar
cvbienert - Grammar, alphabet, culture