Term of endearment?

[JohnnyScratch]

I hate this "brother" nonsense. Not quite sure where it came from but I wish they would stop. I don't even like my brother calling me brother! And no, "bro" is not on either.

Johnny

It's ok brother Johnny, relaaaaax.

[Jamie_Lambo]

Cambodia like other Asian countries address each other with honorific titles, and its mainly to do with the age of the person you are addressing, whether you are related or not, to show respect,

to keep it in its simplest common terms...

Oun/P'oun: used when addressing someone noticeably younger than yourself, used for both male and female, basically means younger brother/sister, but be careful if you use Oun to a female of a similar age or slightly older, it is also used as a term of endearment

Bong: used when addressing someone of similar age to yourself or a little older, used for both male and female, basically means brother/sister, you can make it more gender specific especially to show more respect when addressing someone a little older by using the terms Bong Bros (brother) and Bong Srey (Sister)

Pu: used when addressing someone of similar age to your parents or a little younger, used for males it basically means Uncle, Pu is usually used to address males of an age who could be a younger sibling of your parents

Ming: same as above but for a female, meaning Aunty

Om: used when addressing someone older than your parents, basically means older Uncle/Aunt, can make it more gender specific for a female by saying Om Srey

Ta/Yeay: used when addressing someone at grandparents age, Ta = Grandfather, Yeay = Grandmother

there are others to take not of, such as...
G'oun: when addressing/talking about your Son or Daughter, or talking about someone elses Child specifically,
Kmouy: same as above but means Niece or Nephew
(if wanting to be gender specific when talking about the above you can add Bros or Srey... G'oun/Kmouy Bros = Son/Nephew or G'oun/Kmouy Srey = Daugher/Niece)

Mae/Mak/Mday: when addressing/talking about your Mother, or talking about someone elses Mother specifically
Pa/Puk: same as above but means Father
Lork: Mister/Sir
Lork Srey: Madam

they are just the basics, also when it comes to terms of endearment when addressing a loved one, there are literally hundreds!

[Lucky Lucan]

That's a pretty concise explanation there, well done. With this:

Bong: used when addressing someone of similar age to yourself or a little older, used for both male and female, basically means brother/sister, you can make it more gender specific especially to show more respect when addressing someone a little older by using the terms Bong Bros (brother) and Bong Srey (Sister)

I often address drivers as "Bong", maybe just out of laziness and some are obviously younger than me. My son gave me a lot of flack a few years back for calling a driver who was was younger than me "Pu", I knew it meant "uncle" but thought it was also just a general term for drivers/ soldiers whatever. What else could anyone suggest for a driver?

[ផោមក្លិនស្អុយ]

The whole thing is very flexible.
I know a couple whom I call Pu and Ming, they are around my parents age.
They also call me Pu, because that is what they wanted their son to call me. He initially called me Bong but they wanted him to call me Pu - they thought he was being too casual and not respectful enough.
So they started calling me Pu. It was weird at first but now seems normal, even if others get surprised when they do it in public.

[Jamie_Lambo]

The whole thing is very flexible.
I know a couple whom I call Pu and Ming, they are around my parents age.
They also call me Pu, because that is what they wanted their son to call me. He initially called me Bong but they wanted him to call me Pu - they thought he was being too casual and not respectful enough.
So they started calling me Pu. It was weird at first but now seems normal, even if others get surprised when they do it in public.

i was out in the province in my friends village for the new year, and there was a large group of us eating and drinking and talking,
i respectfully called their next door neighbor, an elder gentleman Om,
i then called another lady Ming, to which a number of friends noticed and pointed out that it was his wife and so we all had a laugh about it and it was an on going joke for the night, and everytime we cheersed id do them both together saying Pu Ming Pu Ming

[Lucky Lucan]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

[Jamie_Lambo]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

yeah thats why in my post i said of similar age or older, i guess it might be a bit different between me and you as im only 30, so i could get away with calling most lads in their 20s Bong, girls id be a bit more careful

[violet]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

That Bo-anh is what many pronounce /write in English as oun, isn't it?

[RainMan]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

yeah thats why in my post i said of similar age or older, i guess it might be a bit different between me and you as im only 30, so i could get away with calling most lads in their 20s Bong, girls id be a bit more careful

Does colloquialism in the Khmer language exist or would that be considered disrespectful, this is related to someone you don't know. As LL wrote, it 's hard to know which term to use.
Don't hear the colloquial term 'mate' from Khmers although once from a younger tuk driver who seemed Indian/Pakistani.

[ផោមក្លិនស្អុយ]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

You aren’t alone.
I speak a lot of Khmer every day and I still feel awkward with that one.
I tend to use the more formal ‘nek’ as I feel weird using p’oun - just because I’m conscious that it may be misunderstood, especially by females.
I only use it when I know the person very well and know they won’t take it the wrong way.

[Marinaris]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

You aren’t alone.
I speak a lot of Khmer every day and I still feel awkward with that one.
I tend to use the more formal ‘nek’ as I feel weird using p’oun - just because I’m conscious that it may be misunderstood, especially by females.
I only use it when I know the person very well and know they won’t take it the wrong way.

If they are younger, I just go by the name, if I don't know their name, I'd just go by "Srey Srey", I don't use "Oun" with unfamiliar people.

Sometimes, I show respect, they show respect then we go by "bong" to each other. This is one of the reason, khmer like to ask for your age when you start talking a bit.

The new generation likes to go by "bro/sis".

[Ot Mean Loi]

Don't overlook the common use of - Ah - for persons you are close to but not romantically involved with.

For example - Ah Seang - Ah Moi - Ah Tidah etc.

OML

[Jamie_Lambo]

Is it normal to call someone "bong" when they might be a little bit younger or older than you ? I feel a bit weird using "Bo-anh" unless it's someone obviously much younger than me. I know all the common terms of address but sometimes find it hard to know which to use. What should you call someone on an equal standing? Does such a concept even exist in the culture here?

That Bo-anh is what many pronounce /write in English as oun, isn't it?

close, P'oun is the more formal variant of Oun,
Oun is used between close friends and loved ones,
P'oun would be used when talking to/about people other than close friends, or if wanting to show more respect when talking with/about friends or family

[spitthedog]

After the brother number one experience i'm thinking ''brother'' can mean alot of things.

Moto's and tuktuk drivers often call me brother.