thôi

See also: thối, thổi, and thời

Contents

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰoj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰoj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tʰoj˧˧]

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• (Internet slang, text messaging) thui

Pronunciation notes

• Colloquially, thôi is one of the instances where aspirated stops sometimes shift into just /h/ in Vietnamese, so that thôi is pronouced as hôi. Compare also hông (from không).
• Sometimes spelled thui in the Internet although the word is rarely pronounced as such. Compare rùi (from rồi).

Noun

thôi

1. a long while

Verb

thôi

1. to stop (forever); to cease; to discontinue; to quit
   • 1957, Đoàn Giỏi, Đất rừng phương Nam, Kim Đồng publishing house, chapter 2

     Thấy tôi không muốn nói, bà ta cũng thôi không hỏi.

     Seeing that I didn't want to tell, she also stopped asking.

Interjection

thôi

1. Used sentence-initially to express a polite negative: that's it; enough

Particle

thôi

1. (colloquial) (used sentence-finally) that's all; merely; only; just
2. (colloquial) (used sentence-initially) introduces a new statement that contradicts previously stated statement(s)

Usage notes

• On the second usage, thôi is often used with mà and thì, as mà thôi and thôi thì.
• Also on the second usage, the sentence-final particles đi and thôi (the first usage) are usually utilized to clarify the quantity mentioned in the new statement compared to the one previously stated:

  Thôi cho hai phần đi.

  On second thought, I want to order two portions (I originally ordered just one portion).

  Thôi cho hai phần thôi.

  On second thought, I want to order two portions (I originally ordered three or more portions).

Etymology 2

Verb

thôi

1. to discolour