cái

Alternative forms

• cai – nonstandard

Romanization

cái (cai², Zhuyin ㄘㄞˊ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 纔／才
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 材
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 犲
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 裁
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 財／财
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 溨
7. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 㒲

Pronunciation

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

Classifier

cái • (丐, 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. (obsolete) Indicates animals
3. (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.
   • Cầm cái con dao này đưa cho mẹ.

     • Take this knife and hand it your mom.
   • Cái thằng đần thối này!

     • You moron!

Noun

cái • (丐, 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.”)

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) cấy

Noun

cái • (丐, 𡛔, 𡡇, 匃, 個)

1. (archaic) mother

Adjective

cái • (丐, 𡛔, 𡡇, 匃, 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

Prefix

cái (丐, 𡛔, 𡡇, 匃, 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
     • Sieves the rice so skillfully, 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 get away from the heavy rain.