Calendar: Western calendar. First day of week: Monday. First week of year: week of 1 January.
Separator: space. -, /, . are also used.
Short date: dd-MM-yyyy. Example ១៧-០៣-២០១១
Long date: dd mmmm yyyy. Example ១៧ មីនា ២០១១
Additional short date 1: dd-MM-yy. Example ១៧-០៣-១១
Additional short date 2: d/M/yy. Example ១៧/៣/១១
Additional long date 1: Day of dd Month of MMMM Year of yyyy. Example ព្ងៃទី១៧ ដខមីនា ឆ្ន ំ២០១១
Additional long date 2: Day of dddd of dd Month of MMMM Year of yyyy. Example ព្ងៃរៃហសបតិ៍ ទី១៧ ដខមីនា ឆ្ន ំ២០១១
Leading zero in day field: yes, short and long. Leading zero in month field: yes, short and long.
Digits for year: 4, short and long.
Date format for correspondence: dd mmmm yyyy. Example ១៧ មីនា ២០០៤
Format codes: d = day (d no leading zero, dd leading zero, ddd abbreviated day name, dddd full day name); M = month (M no leading zero, MM leading zero, MMM abbreviated name, MMMM full name); y = year (yy two digits, yyyy four digits).
Sorting order of groups: 1. sorting consonant (u1780 to u17A2), 2. Khmer dependent vowel (u17B6 to u17C5), 3. Khmer subscript, 4. Khmer digit (u17E0 to u17E9), 5. numeric symbols for divination lore (u17F0 to u17F9), 6. Khmer lunar date (u19E0 to u19FF).
Khmer various signs: ignorable.
Khmer independent vowels sort in the range of the three consonants រ (6042), ល (6043), អ (6050).
Two collation levels: level 1 for base consonant, dependent and independent vowel; level 2 for various signs only.
Adapt the product to the target market. Check maps, flags, country/region, city and language names, art and graphics, and cultural content for sensitive or offensive material.
Keep the most current information. Check maps and other graphic representations of countries and regions for accuracy and political restrictions.
Re-check country/region, city and language names even when previously approved. They change often.
Check cultural content, clip art, religious symbols, body and hand gestures against the target culture.
No capitalization in Khmer. When the English text is all capitals, use a different font to mark the text.
en THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS". Except as… -> ខា ឹមស្វរព្នឯកស្វរដែលានផ្តល់ជូនលនះរ “លកខ ខ័ណ្ឌ សនែ ត់ ដផ្នករណ្ិជជកមែ”។ លលើកដលងដត...
Integrate English loan words into the Khmer noun class system. Check motivation (formal features that allow straightforward integration), analogy (an equivalent Khmer term), and frequency (the class used most often in other technical documentation).
Keep noun class consistent across the product.
en Vbscript variable. -> អលងរ Vbscript
en Assigning value to Vbscript variable. -> កំៃ៊ុងកំណ្ត់តព្មាឲយអលងរ Vbscript។
en How does Vbscript work? -> លតើ Vbscript ែំលណ្ើរការែូចលមតច?
en What is Vbscript? -> លតើអា ីជា Vbscript?
No plural formation. Words like នានា, ទងឡាំ យ, ជាលរចើន, រាល់។ល។ may be added, by context. Without them the translation is short and covers singular and plural.
en Clients -> អតិងិជននានា, without adding អតិងិជន
en adding or removing websites -> ការដងម ឬ ការល៊ុេវេទ្យ ព្សនានា, without adding ការដងម ឬ ការល៊ុេវេទ្យ ព្ស
en Security zones -> តំេន់ស៊ុវតនិភាៃទងំ ឡាយ, without adding តំេន់ស៊ុវតនិភាៃ
en Proxys -> រាល់រេូកស៊ុី, without adding រេូកស៊ុី
en Administrators -> អន កររេ់ររងជាលរចើន, without adding អន កររេ់ររង
Follow the English source. Keep the Khmer sentence smooth, above all with third person pronouns (He, She, It, They).
If the sentence is not smooth, name the person or thing instead of the third person pronoun.
en Areas with a potentially explosive atmosphere are often, but not always, clearly marked. They include below deck on boats… -> smooth កដនា ងដែលមានេរយាទ្យ កាសផ្្ ុះអាចលកើតលឡើង ជាញឹកញាេ់ េ៉ោ៊ុដនត មិនទងអំ ស់លទ រតវូ ានោក់សញ្ញា សមាោ ល់ឲយលឃើញចាស់។ កន្លែងទងាំ ន ោះរមួ មានជាន់លរកាមព្នទូក..., not smooth កដនា ងដែលមានេរយាទ្យ កាសផ្្ ុះអាចលកើតលឡើង ជាញឹកញាេ់ េ៉ោ៊ុដនត មិនទងំ អស់លទ រតូវានោក់សញ្ញា សមាោ ល់ឲយលឃើញចាស់។ ពួ កវារមួ មានជាន់លរកាមព្នទូក...
Comma breaks up list items and independent clauses in one sentence. Use a space instead of a comma to break up list items when the comma is not necessary.
en Copyright protection may prevent some images, music, and other content from being copied, modified, or transferred. -> ការការររសិទធិអន កនិៃនធ អាចេង្កា ររេូ តស្ត្នត ី និង ខា ឹមស្វរែព្ទលទៀតៃីការចមាង ការដក ឬ ការេញ្ជ ន។ូ
Use the comma when one sentence has two long independent clauses.
Never use a final comma in serial lists of items, functions or actions with និង or ឬ.
en Some of these factors include age, exercise frequency, and overall physical fitness. -> កត្តត ទងលំ នះរមមានួ អាយ៊ុ, ភាៃញឹកញាេ់ព្នការគត់រាណ្ និង ស៊ុខភាៃរាងកាយទូលៅ។
Camnuc Pii Kuuh ៖ equals the English colon : for introduction, additional information, direct speech and quotation.
en Here are some ways you can modify an existing library: -> ទងំ លនះរ ជាវធទ្យ ីខា ះដែលអន កអាចដកេណាណ ល័យដែលមានរស្វេ់៖
Hyphen divides words between syllables, links parts of a compound word, and connects the parts of an inverted or imperative verb form. Use as in English.
en Audio-in -> អូ ឌីយ៉ោូ -ចូ ល
En dash is the minus sign, usually with spaces before and after. Use as in English. Example – ១០ អងាលស
En dash also marks number ranges, with no spaces around it. Example ទំៃ័រ ៦–១០
Em dash: use only to emphasize an isolated element or to introduce a non-essential element. Not common in Khmer. Use as in English.
en A long time ago, this key actually did what it says—it sent the current screen of text to your printer. -> ជាយូ រមកលហើយ រគាេ់ច៊ុចលនះៃិតជាលធាើម៊ុខង្ករែូចដែលលរលៅវា—វាានលផ្ើលញ អរកង់ព្នអតនេទេចច ុេបនន លៅ មា៉ោ ស៊ុីនលាះៃ៊ុមពរេស់អន ក។ or …ដែលលរលៅវា គឺថាវាានលផ្ើលញ អរកង់ព្ន…
Ellipses: follow the English source exactly.
en If you are using Word version 7.0 or later... -> លេើអន កកំៃ៊ុងលរេើ Word កំ ដណ្ 7.0 ឬ លចញលរកាយលនះ...
Period marks abbreviations and acronyms. Example រីឡូ ដម៉ោរត = រ.ម.
Quotation marks mark quoted text, as in English. Example លោកស៊ុខនិយាយថា “ខ្ ុំចង់ានក៊ុំៃយូ ទ័រ ១ លររឿង”។
Parentheses give detail on what was just mentioned, explain the words outside them, or show the author name. No space between the parentheses and the text inside. Example ៃ.ស. (ៃ៊ុទធសករាជ)
ៗ repeats the same word twice.
។ល។ or -ល- equals etc.
? same as the English question mark.
! same as the English exclamation mark.
; same as in English.
[ ] substitutes parentheses inside parentheses.
{ } marks a set of elements.
Put a space before and after AND and OR.
en Foreign objects may damage the seals against water. -> smooth វតថ ុៃីខាងលរៅអាចលធាើឲយរលេើកររមេ និង រជាេទឹក។, not smooth វតថ ុៃីខាងលរៅអាចលធាើឲយរលេើកររមេ និងរជាេទឹក។
en Never charge the device when the bottom connector is wet or damp. -> smooth មិនរតវូ ស្វកឧេករណ្៍លទ លៅលៃលដែលកដនា ងភាជ េ់ខាងលរកាមលសើម ឬ ទទឹក។, not smooth មិនរតូវស្វកឧេករណ្៍លទ លៅលៃលដែលកដនា ងភាជ េ់ខាងលរកាមលសើម ឬទទឹក។
Put a space before ឬក៏ and no space after it: it links to the next clause.
en MICROSOFT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE THIS DOCUMENT OR WITHDRAW IT AT ANY TIME WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE. -> MICROSOFT រកាសិទធិកន ុងការដកដរេឯកស្វរលនះ ឬក៏លុបឯកស្វរលនះានររេ់លៃលលោយៃ៊ុំចាំាច់ជូន ែំណ្ឹងជាម៊ុន។
No plural formation. Words like នានា, ទងឡាំ យ, ជាលរចើន, រាល់។ល។ may be added, by context. Without them the translation is short and covers singular and plural.
en Clients -> អតិងិជននានា, without adding អតិងិជន
en adding or removing websites -> ការដងម ឬ ការល៊ុេវេទ្យ ព្សនានា, without adding ការដងម ឬ ការល៊ុេវេទ្យ ព្ស
en Security zones -> តំេន់ស៊ុវតនិភាៃទងំ ឡាយ, without adding តំេន់ស៊ុវតនិភាៃ
en Proxys -> រាល់រេូកស៊ុី, without adding រេូកស៊ុី
en Administrators -> អន កររេ់ររងជាលរចើន, without adding អន កររេ់ររង
Translate verbs as verbs. Add ាន for past tense, កំៃ៊ុង for continuous, នឹង for future.
en Windows 7 cannot start your system. If the problem persists, contact your network administrator. -> Windows 7 មិនអាចចាេ់លផ្តើមរេៃ័នធ រេស់អន ក។ លេើេញ្ញហ លៅដតលកើតលឡើង សូ មទក់ទងអន កររេ់ររងេណាត ញរេស់ អន ក។
Translate the English gerund of a continuous operation with កំៃ៊ុង.
Avoid overly polite language such as សូម or សូមលមត្តត.
en Read these simple guidelines. Not following them may be... -> OK អានការដណ្នាំែ៏ស្វមញ្ា ទងលំ នះ។ ការមិនលគារៃត្តមការដណ្នាំទងលំ នះអាច…, avoid សូ មលមត្តត អានការដណ្នាំែ៏ស្វមញ្ា ទងលំ នះ។ ការមិនលគារៃត្តមការដណ្នាំទងំ លនះអាច…
With two independent Khmer clauses in one sentence, use សូម instead of a comma. A comma is grammatically incorrect there.
en To remove the back cover, slide it upwards. -> OK លែើមបីលោះររមេលរកាយ សូ មរ៊ុញវាលឡើងលលើ។, avoid លែើមបីលោះររមេលរកាយ រ៊ុញវាលឡើងលលើ។, avoid លែើមបីលោះររមេលរកាយ, រ៊ុញវាលឡើងលលើ។
Never use សូម in independent clauses that are a sequence of actions.
en Scroll to your profile, select (X) and from the following: -> OK រំកិលលៅទរមង់រេស់អន ក, លរជើស (X) និង ៃីខាងលរកាម៖, avoid រំកិលលៅទរមង់រេស់អន ក លរជើស (X) និង ៃីខាងលរកាម៖, avoid រំកិលលៅទរមង់រេស់អន ក សូ មលរជើស (X) និង ៃីខាងលរកាម៖
Use positive sentences, not negative ones.
OK ជលរមើសដែលមានអាចខ៊ុសគាន ។ -> avoid ជលរមើសមិនទងអស់ំ លទដែលអាចមាន។
Where the language allows more than one correct solution, use one solution consistently across the whole product, in terminology, grammar and translation style.
Abbreviate in the UI (mainly button or option names) only for lack of space. Avoid abbreviated forms unless widely recognised. They interrupt understanding, are unfamiliar, and are hard to remember.
Khmer has no standardized abbreviations for words. Use the shortest available form of the word. Use the imperative to avoid longer words.
Use a point . for the abbreviation. For measurement under space restriction, the point is not necessary if the abbreviation stays understandable. Example រីឡូ ដម៉ោរត = រ.ម. = រម
If the abbreviation needs a space, use a non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR).
Where non-breaking spaces cannot be used, such as Help files, write the abbreviation without a space so one letter does not move to the next line.
ឧទហរណ្៍ -> ឧទ. or ឧ.
ឯកឧតតម -> ឯ.ឧ. or ឯឧ
កញ្ញា -> ក.
លសចកត ីជូនែំណ្ឹង -> ស.ជ.ណ្. or សជណ្
ជួស -> ជ.
លោក -> ល.
Gigabyte GB -> ជ.េ.
Gigabit GBit -> ជ.េ .
Kilobyte KB -> រ.េ.
Kilobit KBit -> រ.េ .
Megabyte MB -> ម.េ.
Megabit MBit -> ម.េ .
Terabyte TB -> ត.េ.
Terabit TBit -> ត.េ .
Bits per second Bit/s -> េ /វ. Use the same pattern for similar measurements, e.g. frames per second => F/s
Megabits per second MBit/s or Mbps -> ម.េ /វ
Kilobits per second KBit/s or Kbps -> រ.េ /វ
Bytes per second B/s -> េ/វ
Megabytes per second MB/s -> ម.េ/វ
Kilobytes per second KB/s -> រ.េ/វ
Point Pt. -> ផ្.. No plural form.
Inch “ -> អ.. “ is acceptable in packaging and tables, not in body text.
An acronym is made of the initial letters of the major parts of a compound term. Examples WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), RAM (Random Access Memory).
Khmer also builds acronyms from the first letter of each word. Examples អ.ស.េ. (អងោការសហរេជាជាតិ), ស.រ.អ. (សហរែឋអាលមរកទ្យ), រ.ជ.េ. (រណ្ៈកមាែ ការជាតិលរៀេចំការលាះលឆ្ន ត).
Localized acronym, form 1: Acronym (English full text - Khmer translation). Example ADO (ActiveX Data Objects - វតថ ុទិនន ន័យ ActiveX)
Localized acronym, form 2: Khmer translation (English full text, Acronym). Example វតថ ុចូ លលរេើទិនន ន័យ (Data Access Objects, DAO)
Many abbreviations and acronyms are standardized and stay untranslated. Keep their position, case and form from the English sentence.
en An introduction to the HTML and CSS developer tools -> ការដណ្នាំឲយស្វោ ល់ឧេករណ្៍អភ្ិវឌឍនករ HTML និង CSS
Most frequent errors are Khmer spelling. A word can be written in a few accepted ways: always use the spelling of the official Khmer dictionary (Samdech Sangkaraja CHUON NAT, 1967). Do not use dialect or region-specific words.
Always use the subscript form when the word has one. The simple form may be a spelling mistake. Check the dictionary when unsure.
A status bar message is an informational message about the active document, a selected command, or any active or selected interface item. It appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window and refers to actions being performed or already complete.
Follow the format below for menu and command status bar messages.
Copy to Folder... -> ចមាងលៅ ងត..., menu. en Copies the selected items to a new location -> ចមាងធាត៊ុដែលានលរជើស លៅទីកដនា ងងែី
New -> ងែី, command. en Creates a new document -> េលងាើតឯកស្វរងែី
en Make object visible? -> លធាើឲយលមើលលឃើញវតថ ុ?
en Word is converting the document. Press Esc to stop. -> Word កំៃ៊ុងេដមាងឯកស្វរ។ ច៊ុច Esc លែើមបីេញ្ឈេ់។
en Datasheet View -> ទិែឋភាៃសនា ឹកទិនន ន័យ
en Done -> លធាើរចួ
English interfaces phrase the same meaning in different ways. Translate by the English source or use the standard translation, keeping the same meaning.
en Press F1 to get Help -> ច៊ុច F1 លែើមបីទទួលជំនួយ។
en If you want Help press F1 -> លេើអន កចង់ទទួលជំនួយ សូ មច៊ុច F1
en To get Help press F1 -> លែើមបីទទួលជំនួយ សូ មច៊ុច F1
en Not enough memory -> អងោចងចាំមិនររេ់រគាន់
en Insufficient memory -> អងោចងចាំមិនររេ់រគាន់
en There is not enough memory -> មានអងោចងចាំមិនររេ់រគាន់
en Save changes to %1? -> រកាទ៊ុកការេត រូលៅ %1?
en Do you want to save changes to %1? -> លតើអន កចង់រកាទ៊ុកការេត រូលៅ %1?
An error message tells the user an error must be corrected for the program to keep running. It can prompt an action or report an error that requires rebooting the computer.
Use consistent terminology and language style in error messages.
Standardize standard phrases. The English source uses different forms for the same thing: use one standard Khmer phrase for the same meaning and purpose.
en Cannot …, Could not … -> មិនអាច.... en File could not be found, File cannot be found -> រកមិនលឃើញឯកស្វរ
en Failed to …, Failure of … -> េរាជ័យកន ុងការ.... en Failed to connect, Failure to connect -> េរាជ័យកន ុងការភាជ េ់
en Cannot find …, Could not find …, Unable to find …, Unable to locate … -> មិនអាចរក.... en Cannot find driver software, Could not find driver software, Unable to find driver software, Unable to locate driver software -> មិនអាចរកស៊ុហា ដវរ រោយវ ឺ
en Not enough memory, Insufficient memory, There is not enough memory, There is not enough memory available -> អងោចងចាំមិនររេ់រគាន់
en ... is not available, ... is unavailable -> ...មិនអាចលរេើាន. en The command is not available, The command is unavailable -> ការេញ្ញជ មិនអាចលរេើាន
With placeholders, find out what replaces the placeholder so the sentence stays grammatical.
%d, %ld, %u, %lu mean <number>. %c means <letter>. %s means <string>.
"Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!" means "Checking Web <number> of <number>".
INI file "%1!-.200s!" section means INI file "<string>" section.
Reword the translation to avoid an ungrammatical sentence.
en Replace invalid %s? (user sees Replace invalid data?, Replace invalid file?) -> ជំនួស %s អស៊ុៃលភាៃ?
en %s already exists (user sees File already exists, Name already exists) -> %s មានលហើយ
en %s is now set as your personal contact. (user sees Regina is now set as your personal contact, Mr. Kim is now set as your personal contact) -> ឥឡូ វ ានកំណ្ត់ %s ជាទំនាក់ទំនងផ្កទ ល់ខល នួ រេស់អន ក។
en %s stopped working and was closed (user sees The application stopped working and was closed, The program stopped working and was closed) -> %s ានឈ្េ់ែំលណ្ើរការ និង ាន េិទ
The keyboard is the primary input device for text. Most actions must also work from the keyboard, for accessibility and efficiency.
Key names such as arrow keys, function keys and numeric keys appear in normal text, not in small caps.
Access keys, also called hot keys, are the underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands and dialog boxes. They run commands and perform tasks faster.
Hot keys are key combinations such as ALT+F or Ctrl+S that move the focus to a menu, command or control without the mouse.
Slim characters as hot keys: allowed. Khmer slim characters are ក,ខ,ង,ច,ឆ,ែ,ត,ន,េ,ផ្,ម,រ,វ. Other slim characters need a key combination to type, so do not use them. Never use a character combined with a subscript as a hot key. Example រកា = Save
Characters with downstrokes (g, j, y, p, q) as hot keys: not allowed.
Extended characters as hot keys: not allowed. Example Optión
An additional letter after the item name, in brackets or not, as hot key: allowed. Example Option w / Option (w)
A number after the item name, in brackets or not, as hot key: not allowed. Example Option 3 / Option (3)
A punctuation sign after the item name, in brackets or not, as hot key: not allowed. Example Option > / Option (>)
Only single stroke characters can be hot keys in Khmer. None are case-sensitive.
English chapter titles often begin with How to …, Working with … or Using …. Follow the English source, but use Khmer style instead of a literal translation.
Keep titles parallel in structure, descriptive and concise.
en Get Started -> smooth ការចាេ់លផ្តើម, not smooth ទទួលការចាេ់លផ្តើម
No capitalization in Khmer. All characters have the same size and form. Use bold or another style to highlight a title or important words.
en Switching Between Windows -> ការេត រូរវាងវនក ែូវ