cái

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cai"

Mandarin

Pronunciation

  • audio(file)

Romanization

cái (Zhuyin ㄘㄞˊ)

  1. Pinyin transcription of 才, 纔
  2. Pinyin transcription of 材
  3. Pinyin transcription of 犲
  4. Pinyin transcription of 裁
  5. Pinyin transcription of 財, 财
  6. Pinyin transcription of 溨
  7. Pinyin transcription of 㒲

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 個 (“one thing; classifier”; SV: cá).

Classifier

cái

  1. indicates inanimate noun
    Cái răng cái tóc là vóc con người.
    Essentially, teeth and hair tell how good one looks.
See also

Noun

cái

  1. the solid bits of a broth
    Canh này thì chỉ có nước là ngon, còn cái thì dở ẹc.
    Only the liquid part of this broth tastes good, the solid bits suck.
    (literally, “As for this broth, only the liquid part is good, as for its solid bits, they suck.”)
See also

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

Adjective

cái (丐)

  1. (of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs) female
  2. (now chiefly in compounds) big, large, main
    sông cái
    the big river
    ngón chân cái
    the big toe
Synonyms
Derived terms
See also

Prefix

cái

  1. (Northern Vietnam) title affixed to young girls' names, similar to the Japanese suffix -chan
    Cái Bống là cái bống bang
    Khéo sảy khéo sàng cho mẹ nấu cơm
    Mẹ Bống đi chợ đường trơn
    Bống ra gánh đỡ chạy cơn mưa ròng.
    Oh, Little, Little Goby
    Be careful filterin' the rice, so that Mommy can cook it.
    Goby's Mommy has returned from the market on a slippy road
    Goby goes help her carry the pole, to [quickly] get away from the heavy rain.
Synonyms
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