cái

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cai"

Mandarin

Pronunciation

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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

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Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaːj˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaːj˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kaːj˦˥]

Etymology 1

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

Classifier

cái • (𫡔)

1. Indicates an inanimate, tangible thing

   Cái răng cái tóc là góc con người. ― Essentially, teeth and hair tell how good one looks.

2. Precedes another classifier (any one but “cái” itself), effectively acting as a focus marker, sometimes conveying a connotation of deprecation, especially if persons are referred to.

   Cái thằng đần thối này! ― Why you retarded moron!

See also

• chiếc; con

Noun

cái • (𫡔)

1. (only in compounds) a thing; a whatsit

   Synonym: đồ

   cái đánh trứng ― a whisk (literally, “the thing for whisking eggs”)

   cái đẹp ― beauty / the Beautiful (literally, “the beautiful thing / the thing of beauty”)

   cái cao cả ― greatness / grandeur / the Sublime (literally, “the great/grand(iose) thing”)

2. 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

• nước (“liquid; liquid part of a broth”)

Etymology 2

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

Attested in the title of Phùng Hưng, 布蓋大王 (MC puo^H kɑi^H dɑi^H ɦʉɐŋ) (SV: bố cái đại vương), with the first two characters rendering words ancestral to modern vua (“mornach”) and cái ("great, main"), equivalent to the Chinese 大王 nexts to it, i.e. the title is the phrase "great king/monarch" written in two languages.

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) cấy

Noun

cái • (𡡇 - 匃, 丐, 個)

1. (archaic) mother

Adjective

cái • (𡡇 - 匃, 丐, 個)

1. (of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs) female

   hoa cái ― carpellate flower; female flower

   nhị cái ― a pistil

2. (now chiefly in compounds) big, large, main

   sông cái ― the big river

   ngón chân cái ― the big toe

Synonyms

• gái (human); nữ; mái (bird and fish)

See also

• con gái; cô gái; đàn bà; phụ nữ; mái
• đực

Derived terms

• chữ cái
• giống cái
• ngón cái
• nhà cái

 

Prefix

cái (𡡇 - 匃, 丐, 個)

1. (Northern Vietnam) Title affixed to rural young girls' names.

   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

• con; nhỏ