ấy
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
ấy means that; those.
Meanings of ấy in English
Determiner
- Northern Vietnam that; those
Particle
- Northern Vietnam sentence-ending intensifying particle ≈ đó
Pronoun
- Northern Vietnam, humorous you, my buddy/gal ≈ đằng ấy
Words with ấy
Example sentences with ấy
- Bạn ấy nghỉ học vì bị ốm. She was absent from school because of sickness.
- Bạn ấy là gu của bạn kia. She's his type.
- Em ấy là họ hàng của tôi. She is my relative.
- Bác ấy là họ hàng của tôi. She is my relative.
- Tôi đã gặp cậu ấy trong tù. I met him in prison.
- Cậu ấy gắn kệ sách vào tường. He fixed the bookshelf to the wall.
- Chúng ta cùng lớp với cậu ấy. We are in the same class with him.
- Hỏi Tom đi Boston thay cậu ấy. Ask Tom to go to Boston for you.
Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).
Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)
Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, ấy could be written as 意, 衣, 𧘇, 倚. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
Diachronically, this is probably a Northern Vietnamese innovation occured some time between the stages of Proto-Vietnamese and attested Northern Old Vietnamese. It is amply attested in the oldest Nôm texts (which are all in Northern Old Vietnamese or its offshoot(s)), yet has no cognate in the Muong lects, and usage of this morpheme by Central and Southern speakers clearly indicates borrowing. It also does not neatly fit into Proto-Vietnamese demonstrative paradigm with its zero-initial.
Frequently asked questions
What does ấy mean in English?
ấy (determiner) means "that; those".
How do you pronounce ấy?
IPA: Hanoi [ʔəj˧˦]; Saigon [ʔəj˦˥]. Tones: ấy — rising tone (sắc).