cambodian

IPA/kæmˈbəʊ.di.ən/
KK[kˌæmbˈodiən]IPA/kæmˈboʊ.di.ən/

cambodian — adjective

  • cambodianpositive
  • more cambodiancomparative
  • most cambodiansuperlative

1. relating to Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia, or to its people, language, c

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

relating to Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia, or to its people, language, culture, or products.

Example

The Cambodian government announced new trade agreements with neighbouring countries.

Cambodian + government (attributive use)

The market sells Cambodian silk scarves handwoven by local artisans.

Cambodian + silk scarves (product origin)

Common collocations
  • Cambodian government
  • Cambodian culture
  • Cambodian silk
  • Cambodian cuisine
  • Cambodian art
  • Cambodian history

Grammar Patterns

Cambodian + noun

Usage Note

Attributive only — place directly before a noun. Covers both the national/cultural sense (✓ Cambodian government, Cambodian art) and the place-of-origin sense for products and food (✓ Cambodian silk, Cambodian curry).

Common Mistakes

I ate Cambodian in a restaurant.
I ate Cambodian food in a restaurant.
'Cambodian' as an adjective needs a noun following it.

cambodian — noun

Word family

  • Cambodia
    nounB1
  • Khmer
    nounB2
  • Khmer
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Both 'Cambodian' and 'Khmer' can refer to people from Cambodia, but they are not exact synonyms. 'Cambodian' (noun) is the broader, everyday term for any citizen or national of Cambodia, regardless of ethnic background. 'Khmer' is more specific: it refers to the dominant ethnic group in Cambodia and to their language. A person from a Chinese-Cambodian or Vietnamese-Cambodian family might call themselves 'Cambodian' but not 'Khmer'. In cultural and academic contexts, 'Khmer' is preferred when discussing the language, classical dance, art, and the pre-modern Khmer Empire. For everyday use, 'Cambodian' is the safer choice — for example, saying 'Nia met a Cambodian' is natural, while 'Nia met a Khmer' would sound overly technical unless the context is specifically about ethnicity.

Cambodian ↗Khmer

Common collocations

Nouns

Prepositions

  • from Cambodia
  • in Cambodia

Etymology

FrenchKhmerEnglish

From the country name 'Cambodia' (derived from French 'Cambodge', from Khmer 'Kampuchea') plus the suffix '-ian', which turns place names into adjectives meaning 'relating to' or nouns meaning 'a person from'.

First known use

1613

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1