Want to Da-Leng with Me?

"Leng" is a great word in the Khmer language. It roughly means to play or have fun. You can use leng by itself in a sentence. For example- I "leng" the guitar. It is also commonly joined with other words to give a sense or style of doing something. For example, I can sit down to study or I can sit-"leng" (sit down for fun, hang out...). I can have a serious discussion or I can just talk-"leng" with friends over a meal.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to go to the River on Saturday morning. I ate breakfast, read a book and went for a stroll before taking a motorbike taxi home. The moto driver seemed a little perplexed at 1. why I would want to go by myself? 2. why I would choose to read a book for pleasure? and 3. why I would bother walking at all if I could have caught the moto the whole way?

By the third round of questioning I was getting a little tired so I reached into my Khmer vocab and told him I just went to "da-leng" (walk around). I knew he understood when he said, "Oh...ummmm...do you want to da-leng with me?" No thank you. I am very busy studying Khmer every day. Sorry. I have no free time. At all.