gomaddog31

Here's a silly question. What is the correct pronunciation of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap?

Thanks

lcuy

Naam pen and see-im reep worked for us; at least no one laughed or corrected us! The P in the front of Phnom is just slightly pronounced.

easywalker

When I visited Siem Reap, the locals were calling it SIM-RIP. The Cambodian locals always made a point of telling me that the city's name meant Siam Defeated, in reference to a battle centuries ago that Siam (Thailand) lost to Cambodia. Your question, gomaddog31, was not silly; it was actually quite appropriate.

Kathie

Note than Khmer and Thai (as examples) are tonal languages. It is often difficult to translate the tonal subtleties of the languages.

To my ear, the locals pronunciation sounded like see-im reep. Note that it is not said like Siam in Thailand - in Thai, they pronounce it See-am.

Also, I'm interested in easywalker being told that it means Siam defeated - I've also heard the reverse that it means Siam destroys (both interpretations obviously come from the period of wars between the Thais and the Khmers). It likely means different things to Thais and Khmers.

Cookiew

I just got back from Siem Reap and heard basically 100% of the locals and expats I met pronounce it "Seem-reep" with a slight trill to the R almost like a spanish R. It probably depends too on how you personally interpret what you're hearing.

rhkkmk

cambodia

stpaulflavor

Our Cambodian guides said pA-nomm pen and seem reap (with a slight trill on the R, as Cookie suggested)