I use a light version of the UNGEGN/Huffman romanisation system—no special symbols except the breve (˘) for the short “aw/ô” sound—so one line is enough to guide an English‑speaker’s mouth without needing IPA charts.
Quick guide to the sounds
- ă / ŏ / ŭ = a very short, unstressed “uh/aw/oo”.
- ae / ai / ao = long English‐like diphthongs.
- kh / th / ph = strong un‑aspirated consonants (a soft puff of air, not “k‑h”).
- r is lightly trilled; ng is the “sing” sound, even at the start of a word.
- Vowels shown twice (aa, ee, oo) are long; otherwise keep them quick.
The proverb list with
English‑friendly pronunciation
- តក់ៗពេញបំពង់
tŏk‑tŏk pénh bâm‑pông (“Drop by drop fills the bucket”) - ដៃដើមមិនទទេ ពោះមិនឃ្លាន
dai dœm mĭn tœ‑té, pŭəh mĭn kléan (“Busy hands, no empty stomach”) - ត្រូវហែលទន្លេតាមកោងរបស់វា ចូលប្រទេសតាមទម្លាប់របស់វា
trəv haél tôn‑lé tam kâong rô‑bâh va, chol prâ‑tés tam tŭm‑láp rô‑bâh va (“Go with the river’s bends; follow a country’s customs”) - ដុតឲ្យខ្លួនឆ្កួត ឬទុកឲ្យឆៅ
dôt aoey kluan chkuôt rœ tŭk aoey chhɨv (“Burn it or leave it raw”) - បើអត់ធ្មត់ពេលខឹងមួយ នឹងជៀសផុតមួយ‑រយថ្ងៃទុក្ខ
bœ ăt‑thmât pél kʰəng muôy, nɨng chiéh phŏt rŏy thngai tŭk (“Patient in one anger, spared a hundred days of sorrow”) - កុំឲ្យបុរសខឹងលាងចាន កុំឲ្យបុរសឃ្លានថែអង្ករ
kŏm aoey bô‑rŏh kʰəng liêng chān; kŏm aoey bô‑rŏh kléan thaé âng‑kâw (“Don’t let an angry man wash dishes, nor a hungry man guard rice”) - សួរព័ត៌មានពីចិត្ត សួរពីមុខមាត់
suŏ poa‑méan pi chət; suŏ pi mukh‑mât (“For news of the heart, look at the face”) - ដើមស្រូវមិនទាន់ទុំឈរត្រង់ រីឯដើមទុំមានគ្រាប់ធ្ងន់ត្រដូង
dœm srŏw mĭn tŏan tŭm chhŏ trông, ri‑ae dœm tŭm mean krâp tʰŋŏn trâ‑doŋ (“Unripe rice stands tall; ripe rice bows heavy”) - សំពុំឈើច្រើន មិនអាចបាក់
sâm‑pôm chhœ chrœn mĭn ách bak (“A bundle of sticks cannot be broken”) - សត្វខ្លាពឹងព្រៃ ព្រៃពឹងខ្លា
sât kʰla pœng préi; préi pœng kʰla (“The tiger needs the forest and the forest the tiger”) - មនុស្សឆាប់យករបស់ គេអោយ ក៏ខូច
mân‑uh chʰap yok rô‑bâh kê aoey, kôr khōch (“People may give, but grab too fast and you lose honour”) - លួចអាចចំណេញ ប៉ុន្តែការសូត្រ អាចបាត់ជីវិត
luŏch ách châm‑nɨnh, pôn‑té kar sôt ách bat chi‑vĭt (“Stealing can profit, but hanging takes the life”) - កុំកាត់ដើមឈើ ដើម្បីយកផ្លែ
kŏm kat dœm chʰœ dœm‑bây yok phlé (“Don’t fell the tree just for its fruit”) - ទូកទៅកំពង់នៅ
tûk tov kâm‑pông nŏ (“The boat goes; the pier remains”) - ធ្វើស្រែនឹងទឹក ធ្វើសឹកនឹងបាយ
tʰvœ sré nɨng tœk; tʰvœ sœk nɨng bai (“We farm rice with water; we fight wars with rice”)
How to practise
- Say the consonant skeleton first, then flow the vowels through, keeping them short unless doubled.
- Record yourself and compare to the Khmer speaker clips linked in the cited articles (especially drop‑by‑drop and tiger‑forest).
- Use a metronome—Khmer syllables are quicker and flatter than English, so steady beats help lock in rhythm.
With these lines you can read every proverb aloud in less than a minute—drop by drop, your Khmer confidence will fill the bucket!