Khmer

/kəˈmɛə(ɹ)/

//kəˈmɛə(ɹ)// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"khmer" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Khmer” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,582. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,582
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The national language of Cambodia, part of the Mon-Khmer language family.

Corpus desk

Index EN-khmer · Khmer · English

Khmer · rank #23,582 · 8 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,582
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH KL

Nearest frequency peer: KL (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Khmer”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Khmer” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Khmer vs Kumar
60% similar
Khmer vs Kramer
67% similar
Khmer vs Kohler
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Khmer
PropertyValue
HeadwordKhmer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/kəˈmɛə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#23,582
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Khmer”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Khmerlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “KL” (#23,583), “kern” (#23,580), “knitted” (#23,584). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “Khmer” is #23,582. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Khmer (IPA /kəˈmɛə(ɹ)/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #23,582 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Khmer, with forms such as "hkmer", "khemr", and "khhmer". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Kumar", "Kramer", "Kohler", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Khmer ខ្មែរ (khmae). Attributed to the Pali term khemara (“one who is wholesome”). The elision form, ក្មេរ (kmera), is found in ancient stone inscriptions, or a borrowing from Northern Khmer เขมร (/⁠khmɛːr⁠/). The correct English form is Khmer, spelled K-H-M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The national language of Cambodia, part of the Mon-Khmer language family.
  2. 2
    An abugida used to write the Khmer language and sometimes Pali.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Khmer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Despite my mother speaking Khmer to us at home, I hadn’t retained it through my formative years.

Etymology

From Khmer ខ្មែរ (khmae). Attributed to the Pali term khemara (“one who is wholesome”). The elision form, ក្មេរ (kmera), is found in ancient stone inscriptions, or a borrowing from Northern Khmer เขมร (/⁠khmɛːr⁠/).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hkmer
  • khemr
  • khhmer
  • khmerr
  • khmmer
  • khmre
  • kkhmer
  • kmher

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Khmer - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hkmer2khemr2khhmer1khmerr1khmmer1khmre2kkhmer1kmher2
Edit distance from "Khmer"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Khmer"?
"Khmer" is spelled K-H-M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈmɛə(ɹ)/.
What does "Khmer" mean?
As a proper noun, "Khmer" means: The national language of Cambodia, part of the Mon-Khmer language family.
What words are commonly confused with "Khmer"?
"Khmer" is commonly confused with "Kumar", "Kramer", "Kohler". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Khmer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Khmer" is /kəˈmɛə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Khmer"?
From Khmer ខ្មែរ (khmae). Attributed to the Pali term khemara (“one who is wholesome”). The elision form, ក្មេរ (kmera), is found in ancient stone inscriptions, or a borrowing from Northern Khmer เขมร (/⁠khmɛːr⁠/). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Khmer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lager#23,585laird#23,586Jiang#23,577infer#23,568

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Ithaca8 variantsMeryl8 variantsneuron8 variantsGaddafi8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list