Names

In English, the river is called the "Mekong", derived from "Mae Nam Khong," an expression both from Thailand and Laos. In Lao-Thai names, all major rivers are considered "mother river" is indicated by the prefix "Mae" which means "mother" and "nam" for water. In the Mekong, which means Mae Nam Khong Khong, the Mother of Water. "Khong" comes from the Sanskrit "Ganga", which means that the Ganges. Many northern Thailand and Laos, local refers to it as "Khong River". This is the case with the Mae Nam Ping in Chiang Mai, known as "the Ping River." Tonle Sap in Cambodia is a similar example - ". Sap River" where the Tonle translates as "Great lake or river," which makes the Tonle Sap River an unnecessary repetition of what is actually

In Thai, โขง (pronounced [kʰǒːŋ]) is a species of crocodile; some believe this is tone-shifted from คด [kʰót] or โค้ง [kʰóːŋ], both adjectives to describe curves or meanders of a river or road.

Since the river flows through a number of countries, it has many different names in local languages:

• Burmese: မဲခေါင်မြစ်, IPA: [mɛ́ɡàuɴ mjɪ̰ʔ]
• Chinese: Riverhead: 加果空桑贡玛曲, 扎那曲 and 扎曲 Zā Qū, upper reaches: 澜沧江, 瀾滄江 Láncāng Jiāng ("Turbulent River", "Láncāng" is also same to Lan Xang in Chinese), middle and lower reaches: 湄公河 Méigōng hé.
• Khmer: មេគង្គ Mékôngk [meekoŋ], ទន្លេមេគង្គ Tônlé Mékôngk [tʊənlee meekoŋ], ទន្លេធំ‎ Tônlé Thum [tʊənlee tʰom] ("Great River").
• Lao: ແມ່ນ້ຳຂອງ, [mɛː nâːm kʰɔ̌ːŋ], ນ້ຳຂອງ [nâːm kʰɔ̌ːŋ].
• Thai: แม่น้ำโขง, [mɛ̂ː náːm kʰǒːŋ].
• Tibetan: རྫ་ཆུ་; Wylie: rDza chu; ZWPY: Za qu
• Vietnamese: Sông Mê Kông (pronounced [soŋm mekoŋm]), Sông Lớn ("Great River", [soŋm lə̌ːn]), Sông Cửu Long ("Nine Dragons River", [soŋm kɨ̃w lɔŋ]).

Posted in: Mekong