Kmhmu'
Khmu
Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer, Khmuic)
Khmu (Kammu, ภาษาขมุ) is the principal language of the Khmu people, one of the largest minority groups in Laos (~600K of total ~700K speakers), with additional speakers in northern Vietnam, Thailand (Nan, Chiang Rai), and China (Yunnan). Part of the Khmuic branch of Austroasiatic, considered the closest mainland Southeast Asian relative of the Khasi-Munda branches. Khmu is a register language using two phonation types (clear vs. breathy/tense) where many neighboring Tai-Kadai languages would use tone — making it a transitional case between non-tonal and tonal Southeast Asian linguistic types. Multiple competing Latin orthographies due to absence of a single national standard.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Khmu
Water
ɔm
/ʔɔm/
Fire
ʔus
/ʔus/
Sun
maŋ
/maŋ/
Moon
kee
/keː/
Mother
mɔɔʔ
/mɔːʔ/
Father
ʔaaʔ
/ʔaːʔ/
Eat
caa
/tʃaː/
Drink
ɲɔɔp
/ɲɔːp/
Love
kɔɔh
/kɔːh/
Heart
kruɛŋ
/kruɛŋ/
Tree
cmuul
/tʃmuːl/
House
kaaŋ
/kaːŋ/
Dog
cɔ
/tʃɔ/
Cat
meeo
/meːo/
Hand
tii
/tiː/
Eye
ŋtaa
/ŋtaː/
Hello
lɔh
/lɔh/
Thank you
ɔrkun
/ʔɔrkun/
One
muei
/muei/
Good
gee
/ɡeː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer, Khmuic) languages
| Meaning | Khmu | Shwe Palaung | Mlabri | Jiamao | Wa | Old Thai (Sukhothai) | Northern Khmer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ɔm /ʔɔm/ | ʔoːm /ʔoːm/ | om /om/ | noːm /noːm/ | rom /rɔm/ | น้ำ /naːm/ | ទឹក /tək/ |
| Fire | ʔus /ʔus/ | ŋal /ŋal/ | ʔus /ʔus/ | hoːi /hoːi/ | ngo /ŋo/ | ไฟ /faj/ | ភ្លើង /pʰlɤːŋ/ |
| Sun | maŋ /maŋ/ | saŋi /saŋi/ | ŋay /ŋai/ | mau /mau/ | cangaiʔ /tʃaŋaiʔ/ | ตะวัน /tawan/ | ថ្ងៃ /tŋai/ |
| Moon | kee /keː/ | kɨr /kɨr/ | thel /tʰel/ | naː /naː/ | khaiʔ /kʰaiʔ/ | เดือน /dɯːan/ | ខែ /kʰae/ |
| Mother | mɔɔʔ /mɔːʔ/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | mɛʔ /mɛʔ/ | miə /miə/ | yaʔ /jaʔ/ | แม่ /mɛː/ | ម៉ែ /maɛ/ |
| Father | ʔaaʔ /ʔaːʔ/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | paʔ /paʔ/ | paː /paː/ | paiʔ /paiʔ/ | พ่อ /pʰɔː/ | ប៉ា /paː/ |
| Eat | caa /tʃaː/ | cha /tʃa/ | ʔiʔ /ʔiʔ/ | kɛːn /kɛːn/ | cha /tʃa/ | กิน /kin/ | ស៊ី /siː/ |
| Drink | ɲɔɔp /ɲɔːp/ | ʔoːk /ʔoːk/ | ʔaa /ʔaː/ | ɲom /ɲom/ | ɔk /ɔk/ | กิน /kin/ | ផឹក /pʰək/ |
| Love | kɔɔh /kɔːh/ | ʔiŋ /ʔiŋ/ | kraʔ /kraʔ/ | kʰaː /kʰaː/ | hak /hak/ | รัก /rak/ | ស្រឡាញ់ /sralaɲ/ |
| Heart | kruɛŋ /kruɛŋ/ | rɔŋ /rɔŋ/ | kɛm /kɛm/ | kə /kə/ | nuim /nuim/ | ใจ /tɕaj/ | ចិត្ត /tɕit/ |
| Tree | cmuul /tʃmuːl/ | siʔ /siʔ/ | tɔn /tɔn/ | mai /mai/ | maiʔ /maiʔ/ | ไม้ /maːj/ | ដើមឈើ /daəm tʃʰəː/ |
| House | kaaŋ /kaːŋ/ | ɲɛh /ɲɛh/ | tu /tu/ | vɛn /vɛn/ | nyiex /ɲiɛʔ/ | เรือน /rɯːan/ | ផ្ទះ /ptʰeah/ |
| Dog | cɔ /tʃɔ/ | so /so/ | cɛn /tɕɛn/ | mɛ /mɛ/ | so /so/ | หมา /maː/ | ឆ្កែ /tʃʰkae/ |
| Cat | meeo /meːo/ | mioʔ /mioʔ/ | meo /meo/ | miau /miau/ | meo /meo/ | แมว /mɛːw/ | ឆ្មា /tʃʰmaː/ |
| Hand | tii /tiː/ | tiː /tiː/ | tiʔ /tiʔ/ | baː /baː/ | tai /tai/ | มือ /mɯː/ | ដៃ /daj/ |
| Eye | ŋtaa /ŋtaː/ | ŋai /ŋai/ | mɔt /mɔt/ | ta /ta/ | ngai /ŋai/ | ตา /taː/ | ភ្នែក /pʰnɛːk/ |
| Hello | lɔh /lɔh/ | vaː piə /vaː piə/ | hahɔ /haho/ | niː /niː/ | sao /sao/ | — /—/ | សួស្តី /suːəsdəj/ |
| Thank you | ɔrkun /ʔɔrkun/ | kun cɔm /kun tʃɔm/ | knɔŋ /knoŋ/ | χaːi /χaːi/ | ban prix /ban priʔ/ | — /—/ | អរគុណ /ʔɔːkun/ |
| One | muei /muei/ | mu /mu/ | mɔy /mɔi/ | tsuː /tsuː/ | ti /ti/ | หนึ่ง /nɯŋ/ | មួយ /muːj/ |
| Good | gee /ɡeː/ | ʔɔm /ʔɔm/ | laʔ /laʔ/ | pʰaː /pʰaː/ | dim /dim/ | ดี /diː/ | ល្អ /lʔɑː/ |
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