cái (cai2,Zhuyinㄘㄞˊ)
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of纔 /才
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of材
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of犲
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of裁
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of財 /财
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of溨
- Hanyu Pinyin reading of㒲
CompareThaiก่าย(gàai).
cái (Nôm form盖)
- toplace something to cross over a vertical or horizontal gap
- cái đuêy khẩu coóc mạy ―toplace a ladder against a tree
- cái cấu ―tobuild a bridge
- cái slảo khảu rằng lày ―toplace a stick to the ant's nest
- torest on
- cái kha khửn tắng ―torest one's legs on the chair
mì ngần mì chèn khacái kha, bấu ngần bấu chèn kha các pha- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
cái
- Classifier for long, thin objects:slâu,lền,tậu,mạy andhòm
- Synonym:điếu
- Lương Bèn (2011),Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary][2][3] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
- Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor,Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày][4] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]
- Léopold Michel Cadière (1910),Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary][5] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient
| Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “ComparePacohki(“that, which”),Semelaike ("that"); if these are actual cognates, it's possible that this etymon already developed into a topicalizer/focus marker at a pre-Common Viet-Muong stage, which might explain why it's used to mark both animate and inanimate nouns in Muong and (pre-modern) Vietnamese.” |
Cognate withMuong Bicảy,Tho [Cuối Chăm]keː³,Chut [Mày]kɛ⁴ (Babaev & Samarina, 2018),Chut [Rục]kɛ⁴ (Nguyễn Văn Lợi, 1993).
Often linked withChinese個 /个(“one thing;classifier”) (for example, in Alves (2007)); however, as seen with the cognates in the more conservative languages, the earlier vowel can be ascertained to be a monophthongal non-low front vowel, which makes connection with the Chinese term very much doubtful, although semantic influence is still possible.
In Middle Vietnamese, this classifier is also attested to be used for certain animals (e.g.cáikiến(“an ant”),cáibaba(“a soft-shell turtle”)). However, in Modern Vietnamese, this function has been completely taken over by the general animate classifiercon. Although sometimes characterized as historically being used for animals that are on the smaller size, plenty of small animals tookcon instead.
In Muong dialects, this usage can also be seen. For example,Muong Bi hascảylòi(“a wild boar”),cảyca(“a chicken”).
cái• (丐,𫡔,個)
- Indicates aninanimate,tangible thing
Cái răngcái tóc là góc con người.- Teeth and [head]hair arepart and parcel of the human figure ~ Teeth and [head]hair tell how good one looks.
- (obsolete)Indicates animals
- Lý hạng ca dao 里巷歌謠 (Folk-ballads from the hamlets and alleys), folio 36a
丐𪂲丐𪅥丐𪆯
𫳵𡮠踸𪽣穭翁唉𪂲- Cái còcái vạccái nông;
Sao mày giẫm ruộng lúa ông hỡi cò? - The stork, the heron, the pelican;
Why troddest thou on my paddy rice, oh stork?
- (colloquial)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.
Cầmcái con dao này đưa cho mẹ.- Take this knife and hand it to your mom.
Cái thằng đần thối này!- You stinkin' moron!
cái• (丐,𫡔,個)
- (followed by verb)utensil for
- Synonym:đồ
- cái đánh trứng ―a whisk (literally, “utensil for whisking eggs”)
- (followed by adjective) that which is
- cái đẹp ―beauty (literally, “that which is beautiful”)
- cái cao cả ―the sublime (literally, “that which is elevated”)
- (followed by adverb) way of working, way of doing (something)
- Near-synonym:sự
1943,Trần Trọng Kim, “Tựa”, inNho-giáo[6], volume I, Lê Thăng, page11:Ước-ao rằngcái công-phu này không đến nỗi bỏ uổng vậy.- We only hope that this painstakingwork will not be for nothing.
- thesolidbits (of abroth)
Canh này thì chỉ có nước là ngon, còncái thì dở ẹc.- Only the liquid part of this broth tastes good, thesolid bits suck.
FromProto-Vietic*-keːʔ(“woman;female”). Comparegái.
Attested in the title ofPhùng Hưng,布蓋大王 (MC puH kajH dajH hjwang) (SV:BốCáiĐại Vương), with the first two characters rendering words ancestral to modernvua(“monarch”) andcái ("great, main"), equivalent to the Chinese大王 next to it, i.e. the title is the phrase "great king/monarch" written in two languages.[1]
For the "host" sense, compare semanticallyJapanese親(oya,“parent, dealer, banker, etc.”).
- (North Central Vietnam)cấy
cái• (丐,𡛔)
- (Northern Vietnam, rustic)indicates a young girl
- Synonyms:con,nhỏ,bé
- cái Hằng ―the young girl Hằng
“Cái Bống [Li'l Miss Goby]”, Unknown (lyrics), Phan Trần Bảng (music)[7]performed by Thu Ngọc, published1996:CáiBống làcái Bống bang
Khéo sảy khéo sàng cho mẹ nấu cơm- Li'lmiss Goby, O li'lmiss Goby,
Skillfully sieves rice for Mommy to cook.
- (ofgamblingsessions orcardplays)banker,dealer orkeeper
- làmcái; cầmcái ―to act as agamemaster for such games
- nhàcái ―gambling house
- (by extension, of a community'ssavingspot(calledhọ,bát họ orhụi))keeper
- synonym ofgái
- (obsolete)mother
cái• (丐,𡛔)
- (of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs)female
- hoacái ―carpellate flower;female flower
- nhịcái ―apistil
- (now chiefly in compounds)big,large,main
- sôngcái ―thebig river
- ngón châncái ―thebig toe
- ^John Duong Phan (2013) Lacquered words: The evolution of Vietnamese under Sinitic influences from the 1st century BCE through the 17th century CE (Thesis)[1],Cornell University, pages 248; 373–374
