Writing System
Khmer
The script of Cambodia, with consonants, vowels and stacked letters
The Khmer script is used to write Khmer, the official language of Cambodia.
It is an abugida: consonant letters carry an inherent vowel sound, and vowel signs can change that sound.
Overview
Modern Khmer uses 33 consonant letters.
The script is written from left to right.
Spaces are not used between words in the same way as in English; they often separate phrases instead.
Consonants and vowels
Each consonant belongs to a sound series and has an inherent vowel.
Dependent vowel signs are added around consonants to create syllables.
Some vowels can have different sounds depending on the consonant series.
Stacked letters
Khmer can stack consonants: a smaller form of one consonant can appear below another.
This helps write consonant clusters inside a word.
For beginners, recognizing the basic consonants first is the best starting point.