Top 20+ Basic Excel Formulas for Beginners (Video in Khmer)

Hello everyone! Today I will show you 20+ basic Excel formulas every beginner needs for daily office work. These formulas will help you calculate numbers, format text, clean data, and manipulate strings quickly and easily.

Watch the video tutorial below in Khmer with step-by-step explanations:

📚 Related Tutorial: Want to master Excel keyboard shortcuts? Check out Learn All Excel Keyboard Shortcuts!

1. SUM Formula

SUM formula calculates the total value of numbers in a range.

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

Example: =SUM(A1:A10) → adds all numbers from cell A1 to A10.

2. MIN Formula

MIN formula finds the smallest (minimum) number from a list of values.

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

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

3. MAX Formula

MAX formula finds the largest (maximum) number from a list of values.

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

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

4. AVERAGE Formula

AVERAGE formula calculates the average (mean) value of numbers.

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

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

5. IF Formula

IF formula checks a condition and returns one value if TRUE, and another value if FALSE.

=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)

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

6. RANK Formula

RANK formula finds the ranking position of a number compared to a list.

=RANK(number, ref, [order])

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

7. COUNT Formula

COUNT formula counts how many cells contain numbers only (ignores text).

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

Example: =COUNT(A1:A50) → counts total rows containing numeric data.

8. COUNTA Formula

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

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

Example: =COUNTA(A2:A100) → counts total filled rows in a table.

9. COUNTIF Formula

COUNTIF formula counts the number of cells that match a specific condition.

=COUNTIF(range, criteria)

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

📚 Related Tutorial: Want to master Excel conditional formatting? Check out How to Highlight Data in Excel Step-by-Step!

10. SUMIF Formula

SUMIF formula adds values in a range that meet a specific condition.

=SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range])

Example: =SUMIF(A2:A50, "Sales", B2:B50) → totals expenses for the "Sales" department.

11. VLOOKUP Formula

VLOOKUP formula searches for a value in the first column and returns data from another column.

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

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

12. CONCATENATE Formula

CONCATENATE formula joins text from multiple cells into one single cell.

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

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

13. TRIM Formula

TRIM formula removes extra spaces from text, keeping single spaces between words.

=TRIM(text)

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

14. UPPER Formula

UPPER formula converts all letters in a text string to UPPERCASE.

=UPPER(text)

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

15. LOWER Formula

LOWER formula converts all letters in a text string to lowercase.

=LOWER(text)

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

16. PROPER Formula

PROPER formula converts text to Proper Case (capitalizes the first letter of each word).

=PROPER(text)

Example: =PROPER("john smith") → returns "John Smith".

17. LEN Formula

LEN formula counts the total number of characters (letters, numbers, spaces) in a cell.

=LEN(text)

Example: =LEN("Excel") → returns 5.

18. LEFT Formula

LEFT formula extracts a specified number of characters from the start (left side) of a text string.

=LEFT(text, [num_chars])

Example: =LEFT("EMP-101", 3) → returns "EMP".

19. RIGHT Formula

RIGHT formula extracts a specified number of characters from the end (right side) of a text string.

=RIGHT(text, [num_chars])

Example: =RIGHT("EMP-101", 3) → returns "101".

20. MID Formula

MID formula extracts characters from the middle of a text string starting at a specific position.

=MID(text, start_num, num_chars)

Example: =MID("INV-2026-05", 5, 4) → returns "2026".

21. TODAY Formula

TODAY formula inserts the current date into a cell automatically.

=TODAY()

Note: Updates automatically whenever the workbook is opened.

22. NOW Formula

NOW formula inserts the current date and time into a cell.

=NOW()

Output: Returns date and time (e.g. 2026-08-31 15:30).

23. MONTH Formula

MONTH formula extracts the month number (1 to 12) from a date.

=MONTH(serial_number)

Example: =MONTH(A2) → returns 8 for August.

24. DAY Formula

DAY formula extracts the day of the month (1 to 31) from a date.

=DAY(serial_number)

Example: =DAY(A2) → returns 31 for August 31st.

25. YEAR Formula

YEAR formula extracts the 4-digit year from a date.

=YEAR(serial_number)

Example: =YEAR(A2) → returns 2026.

💡 Pro Tips for Beginners

Absolute Reference $" for Formulas: Press F4 on range references (e.g. $B$2:$B$10) so the range stays locked when dragging formulas down!
Clean Text with TRIM + PROPER: Combine text functions like =PROPER(TRIM(A2)) to fix irregular spaces and capitalize names cleanly in one step!
Extract Text Codes with LEFT, RIGHT, MID: Use LEFT and RIGHT to split employee IDs or invoice codes without using complex text split tools.