"Nokoreach" (Royal Kingdom) is the national anthem of Cambodia. After the royalist party (FUNCINPEC) defeated the former communists (Cambodian People's Party) in the 1993 elections, the royalist anthem was restored as well. Based on a Cambodian folk tune and written by Chuon Nat, the anthem was originally adopted in 1941 and reconfirmed in 1947. However, it was replaced when the Khmer Rouge took over in 1976.

Transliteration from Cambodian

Som pouk tepda rak sa moha khsath yeung
Oy ben roung roeung doy chey monkol srey soursdey
Yeung Khnom preah ang som chrok Krom molup preah Baromey
Ney preah Noropdey vong Khsattra del sang preah sat thm­r
Kroup Kraung dèn Khmer borann thkoeung thkann.

Prasath séla kombang kan dal prey
Kuor oy sr­may noeuk d­l yuos sak Moha Nokor
Cheat Khmer dauch Thmar kong vong n­y l­ar rung peung chom hor.
Yeung sang Khim por pheap preng samnang robuos Kampuchea.
Moha r­th koeut mien you ang veanh hey.

Kroup vath aram lu tè so sap thoeur
Sot doy am no rom lik koun poth sasna
Chol yeung chea neak thioeur thiak smos smak tam bep donnta
Kong tè thévoda nùng chuoy chrom chrèng phkot phkang pra yoch oy
Dol prateah Khmer chea Moha Nokor

French lyrics

Que le ciel protège notre Roi
Et lui dispense le bonheur et la gloire.
Qu'il règne sur nos coeurs et sur nos destinées,
Celui qui, héritier des Souverains bâtisseurs,
Gouverne le fier et vieux Royaume.

Les temples dorment dans la forêt,
Rappelant la grandeur du Moha Nokor.
Comme le roc, la race khmère est éternelle,
Ayons cofiance dans le sort du Campuchéa,
L'Empire qui défie les années.

Les chants montent dans le pagodes
A la gloire de la Sainte foi Bouddhique.
Soyons fidèles aux croyances de nos pères.
Ainsi le ciel prodiguera-t-il tous ses bienfaits
Au vieux pays khmer, le Moha Nokor.

English translation

Heaven protect our King
And give him happiness and glory
To reign over our souls and our destinies,
The one being, heir of the builder Sovereigns,
Guiding the proud old Kingdom.

Temples are asleep in the forest,
Remembering the splendour of Moha Nokor.
Like a rock the Khmer race is eternal.
Let us trust in the fate of Kampuchea,
The empire which challenges the ages.

Songs rise up from the pagodas
To the glory of the holy Buddhist faith.
Let us be faithful to our ancestors' belief.
Thus heaven will lavish its bounty
Towards the ancient Khmer country, the Moha Nokor.

External links

• Cambodian Lyrics (http://www.embassy.org/cambodia/nokor.gif)
• MIDI File (http://www.copcity.com/anthems/cambodia.mid)