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

The freed workers flooded city streets in Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

The objects, to form part of the collection at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, include "monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects", said a culture ministry statement.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 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

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

Her mind grows lazy and wanders around too many topics—her schoolwork, a cute boy she met in Phnom Penh, movies she saw—but always it comes back to our family.

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