Phnom Penh

American  

[nom pen, puh-nawm pen] / ˈnɒm ˈpɛn, pəˈnɔm ˈpɛn /

Or Pnom Penh,

noun

1. a city in and the capital of Cambodia, in the S part.

---

Phnom Penh British  

/ ˌpnɒm ˈpɛn /

noun

1. Official transliteration: Phnum Péhn.  the capital of Cambodia, a port in the south at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers: capital of the country since 1865; university (1960). Pop: 1 174 000 (2005 est)

---

Example Sentences

Like Xu, the sanctioned developer of the Phnom Penh skyscraper, Chen was an émigré from China and a naturalized Cambodian citizen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Lines that stretched for more than a block also formed outside the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh earlier in January.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Cambodia has long been one of China's staunchest allies in Southeast Asia, and Beijing has extended its influence over Phnom Penh in recent years.

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

More than 1,400 Indonesians have left cyberscam networks in Cambodia in the last five days, Jakarta said on Wednesday, after Phnom Penh pledged a fresh crackdown on the illicit trade.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

She was so beautiful when we lived in Phnom Penh.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung