Below are the 15 Khmer proverbs you asked for, this time written exactly as they appear in Khmer script and followed by an easy‑to‑sound‑out Latin‑letter line so you can pronounce each one straight from the page.
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!