Khmer terms and phrases found in the Angkor area

Most temples’ names in the Angkor area make use of special terms from the Khmer language. Here you can see a list comprising some of those terms and examples:

• Angkor:  Literally means “city”.  Angkor comes from the Sanskrit word nagara.
• Banteay: It means “citadel” or “fortress” and it’s used for walled temples.
• Baray: It means “reservoir”.
• Phnom:  It means “mountain” or “hill”. Even small hills are named Phnom.
• Prasat:  It means “temple”.  Prasat comes from the Sanskrit word prasada.
• Preah: It means “God” or “King” and it can also be used as adjective meaning “sacred” or “holy”. ( For instance, Preah Khan means sacred sword.)
• Srei:  It means “woman”. (For instance, Banteay Srei means citadel of women.)
• Ta: It means “grandfather”, or sometimes “ancestor”. (For instance, Ta Prohm means Ancestor Brahma.)
• Thom: It means “large”.  (For instance, Angkor Thom means large city.)
• Wat: It comes from the Sanskrit word vattaram and it means “temple”. (For instance, Angkor Wat means temple city.)

It´s pretty easy, right? Just with these few words you are able to understand most Angkorian temple names. Here we go:

Khmer terms of Angkor: Try by yourself

• Angkor Wat = city temple /  temple city
• Angkor Thom = city large /  large city
• Banteay Srei = citadel of women
• Preah Khan = sacred sword
• Prasat  Kravan = Temple Artabotrys Odoratissimus  : -)
• Ta Prohm = ancestor Brahma
• Wat Bo = Even not knowing the meaning of Bo, now you know this is a temple! :)

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