gái

See also: gai, Gai, gài, gãi, gāi, gǎi, and ga'i

Noone

Verb

gái

1. say

References

• R. Blench, Beboid Comparative

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) gấy, cấy

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-keːʔ (“woman; female”); compare cái.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˦˥]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Noun

gái • (𡛔)

1. (collective) girls and women
2. (collective, informal, colloquial) whores; female prostitutes

   làm gái ― to be a whore

Adjective

gái

1. (only in fixed expressions, of people) female

   Synonym: nữ

   chị gái ― an older sister

   em gái ― a younger sister

   con gái ― a daughter / girl

   cháu gái ― a granddaughter / a niece

   bạn gái ― a young female friend / a girlfriend

   bác gái ― a parent's older sister / a woman older than one's parents

   Bác gái có nhà không ạ?

   Is she (a woman older than my parents) home?

2. wife of, Mrs (when used after a pronoun or noun denoting a male person)
   • 2005, Ngọc Tư Nguyễn, “Biển người mênh mông [A Vast Ocean of People]”, in Cánh đồng bất tận [Endless Fields], NXB Trẻ:

     Phi hỏi, "Vậy bác Sáu gái đâu rồi ?"

     Phi asked, "Where did Mrs Sáu go then?"

Usage notes

• Gender-neutral terms like bác and con can be followed by trai or gái to clarify the gender of the person referred to.

Derived terms

• bạn gái
• con gái
• cô gái
• em gái
• gái gú
• trai gái

See also

• trai

Anagrams

• giá