Khmer character tables

This document lists the per-character shaping information needed to shape Khmer text.

Contents

• Khmer character table

• Khmer Symbols character table

• Miscellaneous character table

Khmer character table

Khmer glyphs should be classified as in the following table. Codepoints in the Khmer block with no assigned meaning are designated as unassigned in the Unicode category column.

Assigned codepoints with a null in the Shaping class column evoke no special behavior from the shaping engine. Note that this does include some valid codepoints, such as currency marks, punctuation, and other symbols.

Note: the NUMBER and SYMBOL Shaping classes are important during syllable identification, but generally evoke no further special behavior during the rest of the shaping process.

The Mark-placement subclass column indicates mark-placement positioning for codepoints in the Mark category. Assigned, non-mark codepoints have a null in this column and evoke no special mark-placement behavior. Marks tagged with [Mn] in the Unicode category column are categorized as non-spacing; marks tagged with [Mc] are categorized as spacing-combining.

Some codepoints in the following table use a Shaping class that differs from the codepoint’s Unicode General Category. The Shaping class takes precedence during OpenType shaping, as it captures more specific, script-aware behavior.

Table 39 Khmer character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+1780	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ក Ka
U+1781	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ខ Kha
U+1782	Letter	CONSONANT	null	គ Ko
U+1783	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឃ Kho
U+1784	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ង Ngo
U+1785	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ច Ca
U+1786	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឆ Cha
U+1787	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ជ Co
U+1788	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឈ Cho
U+1789	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ញ Nyo
U+178A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ដ Da
U+178B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឋ Ttha
U+178C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឌ Do
U+178D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឍ Ttho
U+178E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ណ Nno
U+178F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ត Ta
U+1790	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ថ Tha
U+1791	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ទ To
U+1792	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ធ Tho
U+1793	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ន No
U+1794	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ប Ba
U+1795	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ផ Pha
U+1796	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ព Po
U+1797	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ភ Pho
U+1798	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ម Mo
U+1799	Letter	CONSONANT	null	យ Yo
U+179A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	រ Ro
U+179B	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ល Lo
U+179C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	វ Vo
U+179D	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឝ Sha
U+179E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឞ Sso
U+179F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ស Sa
U+17A0	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ហ Ha
U+17A1	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ឡ La
U+17A2	Letter	CONSONANT	null	អ Qa
U+17A3	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឣ Qaq
U+17A4	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឤ Qaa
U+17A5	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឥ Qi
U+17A6	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឦ Qii
U+17A7	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឧ Qu
U+17A8	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឨ Quk
U+17A9	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឩ Quu
U+17AA	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឪ Quuv
U+17AB	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឫ Ry
U+17AC	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឬ Ryy
U+17AD	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឭ Ly
U+17AE	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឮ Lyy
U+17AF	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឯ Qe
U+17B0	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឰ Qai
U+17B1	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឱ Qoo Type One
U+17B2	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឲ Qoo Type Two
U+17B3	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ឳ Qau
U+17B4	Mark [Mn]	null	null	឴ Inherent Aq
U+17B5	Mark [Mn]	null	null	឵ Inherent Aa
U+17B6	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ា Sign Aa
U+17B7	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ិ Sign I
U+17B8	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ី Sign Ii
U+17B9	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ឹ Sign Y
U+17BA	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ឺ Sign Yy
U+17BB	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ុ Sign U
U+17BC	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ូ Sign Uu
U+17BD	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	BOTTOM_POSITION	ួ Sign Ua
U+17BE	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_AND_LEFT_POSITION	ើ Sign Oe
U+17BF	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ឿ Sign Ya
U+17C0	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ៀ Sign Ie
U+17C1	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	េ Sign E
U+17C2	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ែ Sign Ae
U+17C3	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ៃ Sign Ai
U+17C4	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ោ Sign Oo
U+17C5	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ៅ Sign Au
U+17C6	Mark [Mn]	NUKTA	TOP_POSITION	ំ Nikahit
U+17C7	Mark [Mc]	VISARGA	RIGHT_POSITION	ះ Reahmuk
U+17C8	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ៈ Yuukaleapintu
U+17C9	Mark [Mn]	REGISTER_SHIFTER	TOP_POSITION	៉ Muusikatoan
U+17CA	Mark [Mn]	REGISTER_SHIFTER	TOP_POSITION	៊ Triisap
U+17CB	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	់ Bantoc
U+17CC	Mark [Mn]	CONSONANT_POST_REPHA	TOP_POSITION	៌ Robat
U+17CD	Mark [Mn]	CONSONANT_KILLER	TOP_POSITION	៍ Toandakhiat
U+17CE	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	៎ Kakabat
U+17CF	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	៏ Ahsda
U+17D0	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	័ Samyok Sannya
U+17D1	Mark [Mn]	PURE_KILLER	TOP_POSITION	៑ Viriam
U+17D2	Mark [Mn]	INVISIBLE_STACKER	null	្ Sign Coeng
U+17D3	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	៓ Bathamasat
U+17D4	Punctuation	null	null	។ Khan
U+17D5	Punctuation	null	null	៕ Bariyoosan
U+17D6	Punctuation	null	null	៖ Camnuc Pii Kuuh
U+17D7	Letter	null	null	ៗ Lek Too
U+17D8	Punctuation	null	null	៘ Beyyal
U+17D9	Punctuation	null	null	៙ Phnaek Muan
U+17DA	Punctuation	null	null	៚ Koomuut
U+17DB	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	៛ Riel
U+17DC	Letter	AVAGRAHA	null	ៜ Avakrahasanya
U+17DD	Mark [Mn]	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP_POSITION	៝ Atthacan
U+17DE	unassigned
U+17DF	unassigned
U+17E0	Number	NUMBER	null	០ Digit Zero
U+17E1	Number	NUMBER	null	១ Digit One
U+17E2	Number	NUMBER	null	២ Digit Two
U+17E3	Number	NUMBER	null	៣ Digit Three
U+17E4	Number	NUMBER	null	៤ Digit Four
U+17E5	Number	NUMBER	null	៥ Digit Five
U+17E6	Number	NUMBER	null	៦ Digit Six
U+17E7	Number	NUMBER	null	៧ Digit Seven
U+17E8	Number	NUMBER	null	៨ Digit Eight
U+17E9	Number	NUMBER	null	៩ Digit Nine
U+17EA	unassigned
U+17EB	unassigned
U+17EC	unassigned
U+17ED	unassigned
U+17EE	unassigned
U+17EF	unassigned
U+17F0	Number	null	null	៰ Lek Attak Son
U+17F1	Number	null	null	៱ Lek Attak Muoy
U+17F2	Number	null	null	៲ Lek Attak Pii
U+17F3	Number	null	null	៳ Lek Attak Bei
U+17F4	Number	null	null	៴ Lek Attak Buon
U+17F5	Number	null	null	៵ Lek Attak Pram
U+17F6	Number	null	null	៶ Lek Attak Pram-Muoy
U+17F7	Number	null	null	៷ Lek Attak Pram-Pii
U+17F8	Number	null	null	៸ Lek Attak Pram-Bei
U+17F9	Number	null	null	៹ Lek Attak Pram-Buon
U+17FA	unassigned
U+17FB	unassigned
U+17FC	unassigned
U+17FD	unassigned
U+17FE	unassigned
U+17FF	unassigned

Khmer Symbols character table

The Khmer Symbols block contains miscellaneous symbols used for lunar-date calendars. None evoke any special behavior from the shaping engine.

Table 40 Khmer Symbols character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+19E0	Symbol	null	null	᧠ Pathamasat
U+19E1	Symbol	null	null	᧡ Muoy Koet
U+19E2	Symbol	null	null	᧢ Pii Koet
U+19E3	Symbol	null	null	᧣ Bei Koet
U+19E4	Symbol	null	null	᧤ Buon Koet
U+19E5	Symbol	null	null	᧥ Pram Koet
U+19E6	Symbol	null	null	᧦ Pram-Muoy Koet
U+19E7	Symbol	null	null	᧧ Pram-Pii Koet
U+19E8	Symbol	null	null	᧨ Pram-Bei Koet
U+19E9	Symbol	null	null	᧩ Pram-Buon Koet
U+19EA	Symbol	null	null	᧪ Dap Koet
U+19EB	Symbol	null	null	᧫ Dap-Muoy Koet
U+19EC	Symbol	null	null	᧬ Dap-Pii Koet
U+19ED	Symbol	null	null	᧭ Dap-Bei Koet
U+19EE	Symbol	null	null	᧮ Dap-Buon Koet
U+19EF	Symbol	null	null	᧯ Dap-Pram Koet
U+19F0	Symbol	null	null	᧰ Tuteyasat
U+19F1	Symbol	null	null	᧱ Muoy ROC
U+19F2	Symbol	null	null	᧲ Pii Roc
U+19F3	Symbol	null	null	᧳ Bei Roc
U+19F4	Symbol	null	null	᧴ Buon Roc
U+19F5	Symbol	null	null	᧵ Pram Roc
U+19F6	Symbol	null	null	᧶ Pram-Muoy Roc
U+19F7	Symbol	null	null	᧷ Pram-Pii Roc
U+19F8	Symbol	null	null	᧸ Pram-Bei Roc
U+19F9	Symbol	null	null	᧹ Pram-Buon Roc
U+19FA	Symbol	null	null	᧺ Dap Roc
U+19FB	Symbol	null	null	᧻ Dap-Muoy Roc
U+19FC	Symbol	null	null	᧼ Dap-Pii Roc
U+19FD	Symbol	null	null	᧽ Dap-Bei Roc
U+19FE	Symbol	null	null	᧾ Dap-Buon Roc
U+19FF	Symbol	null	null	᧿ Dap-Pram Roc

Miscellaneous character table

Other important characters that may be encountered when shaping runs of Khmer text include the dotted-circle placeholder (U+25CC), the zero-width joiner (U+200D) and zero-width non-joiner (U+200C), and the no-break space (U+00A0).

The dotted-circle placeholder is frequently used when displaying a dependent vowel (matra) or a combining mark in isolation. Real-world text syllables may also use other characters, such as hyphens or dashes, in a similar placeholder fashion; shaping engines should cope with this situation gracefully.

Table 41 Miscellaneous character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+00A0	Separator	PLACEHOLDER	null	No-break space
U+200C	Other	NON_JOINER	null	‌ Zero-width non-joiner
U+200D	Other	JOINER	null	‍ Zero-width joiner
U+2010	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‐ Hyphen
U+2011	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‑ No-break hyphen
U+2012	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‒ Figure dash
U+2013	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	– En dash
U+2014	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	— Em dash
U+25CC	Symbol	DOTTED_CIRCLE	null	◌ Dotted circle

The zero-width joiner (ZWJ) is primarily used to prevent the formation of a conjunct from a “Consonant,Halant,Consonant” sequence. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWJ,Consonant” blocks the formation of a conjunct between the two consonants.

Note, however, that the “Consonant,Halant” subsequence in the above example may still trigger a half-forms feature. To prevent the application of the half-forms feature in addition to preventing the conjunct, the zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) must be used instead. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWNJ,Consonant” should produce the first consonant in its standard form, followed by an explicit “Halant”.

A secondary usage of the zero-width joiner is to prevent the formation of “Reph”. An initial “Ra,Halant,ZWJ” sequence should not produce a “Reph”, where an initial “Ra,Halant” sequence without the zero-width joiner otherwise would.

The no-break space (NBSP<.abbr>) is primarily used to display those codepoints that are defined as non-spacing (marks, dependent vowels (matras), below-base consonant forms, and post-base consonant forms) in an isolated context, as an alternative to displaying them superimposed on the dotted-circle placeholder. These sequences will match “NBSP,ZWJ,Halant,Consonant”, “NBSP,mark”, or “NBSP,matra”.

In addition to general punctuation, runs of Khmer text often use the danda (U+0964) and double danda (U+0965) punctuation marks from the Devanagari block.