ngãi

See also: ngai, Ngai, ngáí, ngài, and ngại

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (originally Northern Vietnam, North Central Vietnam, now widespread) nghĩa

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 義 (“righteousness”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

ngãi

1. (South Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam, literary, obsolete) righteousness, faithfulness
   • 19th century, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Tale of Lục Vân Tiên, line 1212

     󰒂它結󰒂情渚訴情

     Ngãi đà kết ngãi, tình chưa tỏ tình

     Our bond of rectitude is just freshly bound; our [mutual] affection is not even manifested yet.

Usage notes

• Ngãi is now almost only ever seen in place names, being completely replaced by the more common nghĩa in common vocabulary. Compare the doublet Yên Nghĩa vs. An Ngãi.

See also

Derived terms

• bất ngãi
• cắt ngãi
• đạo ngãi
• giải ngãi
• kết ngãi
• lễ ngãi
• ngãi lí
• ngãi tử
• nhơn ngãi
• tình ngãi
• vô ngãi

 

Anagrams

• giãn