The book was written decades ago. You will learn how to say “The postman is arriving,” but you won’t learn “WiFi” or “Smartphone” until the appendix. The cultural references are a bit... French colonial nostalgia.
Most courses teach you textbook phrases like, “The pen is on the table.” Assimil teaches you things like, “ញ៉ាំបាយហើយឬនៅ?” (Have you eaten rice yet?)—which is literally how Cambodians say “How are you?” assimil khmer
Khmer has the largest alphabet in the world (74 letters). Assimil throws you into the deep end. By lesson 5, you are reading full sentences. If you haven’t already spent 2 weeks drilling the alphabet, you will drown. Pro tip: Learn the consonants and vowels before starting Assimil. The book was written decades ago
The lessons are short—about 15 minutes. You read a dialogue, listen to it, and glance at the notes. It doesn’t feel like homework. Over time, the patterns of the language just start to sink in, especially the tricky verb structures (or lack thereof). French colonial nostalgia
Assimil Khmer is the best tool for the intermediate beginner. It fails as a true "zero to hero" course because of the script difficulty. However, once you learn how to read (even slowly), this book is a goldmine.