Top 15 Basic Excel Formulas for Beginners (Khmer Video + Free Practice File)

Hello everyone! Today I want to teach you the 15 most useful basic Excel formulas for daily work. These formulas will help you calculate numbers, clean text, and count data very easily.

Watch video tutorial below in Khmer with full explanation:

1. SUM Formula

SUM formula is used to calculate total value of rows or columns.

=SUM(number1, [number2], ...)

Note: number1 is required value or cell range. Support add up to 255 values together.

2. MIN Formula

MIN formula is used to find the smallest (minimum) number from set of values.

=MIN(number1, [number2], ...)

Example: =MIN(B2:B20) → find lowest test score or lowest expense.

3. MAX Formula

MAX formula is used to find the biggest (maximum) number from set of values.

=MAX(number1, [number2], ...)

Example: =MAX(B2:B20) → find highest salary or maximum revenue.

4. AVERAGE Formula

AVERAGE formula is used to calculate average value from set of numbers.

=AVERAGE(number1, [number2], ...)

Example: =AVERAGE(C2:C50) → get average monthly sales.

5. IF Formula

IF formula return one value if condition is TRUE, and another value if condition is FALSE.

=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

Example: =IF(A2>=50, "Pass", "Fail") → check student grade automatically.

6. RANK Formula

RANK formula is used to find rank position of numeric value compared to list of other numbers.

=RANK(number, ref, [order])

Example: =RANK(B2, $B$2:$B$10, 0) → rank student score from highest to lowest.

7. COUNT Formula

COUNT formula return total count of cells that contain numbers only (ignore text).

=COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)

Example: =COUNT(A1:A50) → count total numeric rows.

8. COUNTA Formula

COUNTA formula count all non-empty cells (numbers, text, symbols).

=COUNTA(value1, [value2], ...)

Example: =COUNTA(A2:A100) → count how many total rows have data.

9. COUNTIF Formula

COUNTIF formula count how many cells match your specific condition.

=COUNTIF(range, criteria)

Example: =COUNTIF(D2:D50, "Pass") → count total passed students.

10. VLOOKUP Formula

VLOOKUP formula search for value in first column and return matching value from another column.

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

Example: =VLOOKUP("EMP-101", A2:D100, 2, FALSE) → look up employee name by ID.

11. CONCATENATE Formula

CONCATENATE formula combine text from different cells into single cell.

=CONCATENATE(text1, [text2], ...)

Example: =CONCATENATE(A2, " ", B2) → combine First Name and Last Name.

12. TRIM Formula

TRIM formula remove all extra spaces from text, except single space between words.

=TRIM(text)

Example: =TRIM(" John Smith ") → return "John Smith".

13. UPPER Formula

UPPER formula convert all text characters into ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

=UPPER(text)

Example: =UPPER("excel guide") → return "EXCEL GUIDE".

14. LOWER Formula

LOWER formula convert all text characters into all small letters.

=LOWER(text)

Example: =LOWER("REAN EXCEL") → return "rean excel".

15. TODAY Formula

TODAY formula get current computer date automatically.

=TODAY()

Note: No argument inside brackets needed.

Download practice file here: Download Practice File

💡 Pro Tips for Beginners

Absolute Reference $" for RANK & VLOOKUP: Always use $ sign (press F4) on range reference like $B$2:$B$10 so range does not shift when dragging formula down!
COUNT vs COUNTA: Remember COUNT count numbers only, while COUNTA count all non-empty cells including text.
Combine TRIM with Text Cleaning: Wrap text lookup or concatenation inside TRIM() like =TRIM(A2) to avoid hidden space errors when matching data!