How to Say "Good Morning" in Khmer (Cambodian)

In Khmer (Cambodian), "Good morning" is:

អរុណ​សួស្ដី
Arun Suosdei (pronounced ah-roon suu-suh-day)

Breakdown

• អរុណ (Arun) = Morning / Dawn (from Sanskrit aruṇa)
• សួស្ដី (Suosdei) = Hello / Greetings / Well-wishes (all-purpose polite greeting)

Usage Notes

• Used from dawn until ~11 AM.
• Polite, formal, appropriate for elders, monks, strangers.
• With Sampeah (palms together at chest/nose, slight bow) — depth varies by status.
• Informal/close friends: Just Suosdei (សួស្ដី) works anytime.

Related Greetings

• Good afternoon: សួស្ដី (Suosdei) — same word, context tells time.
• Good evening/night: រាត្រីសួស្ដី (Reatrei Suosdei) — "Night greeting."
• Goodbye: លាហើយ (Lea haey) — "Go already" (casual); ជំរាបសួរ (Chomreap suor) — formal.

Script note: Khmer is an abugida (consonant+vowel diacritics). The Unicode rendering above requires Khmer font support.