cây
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
cây means tree; plant; (classifier for stick-like things).
Meanings of cây in English
Noun
- plant (including trees and grasses), or more rarely, mushroom
- plant with a hard trunk or stem, such as a woody tree or bamboo, as opposed to cỏ (“(soft-stemmed) grass”)
- dưới bóng câyunder the shade of a tree
- abbreviation, colloquial short for cây số (“kilometre/kilometer”)
- Nhà tui cách Sài Gòn cỡ năm chục cây.My house is about fifty kilometres from Sài Gòn.
Classifier
- Indicates plants
- Indicates stick/rod-like objects ≈ thanh
- ăn câyto get beaten with a stick
- Indicates string instruments and some other types of musical instruments
- Indicates vertical dispenser kiosks
- cây ATMan ATM
Words with cây
Idioms and sayings with cây
- ôm cây đợi thỏ — to be conservative; to resist change and innovation; to stick to old principles
Example sentences with cây
- Cây đàn piano của tôi đã cũ. My piano is old.
- Các bạn có bao nhiêu cây vợt? How many rackets do you have?
- Tom đã mua cây vợt tennis mới. Tom bought a new tennis racket.
- Sami chui ra từ trong bụi cây. Sami came out the bushes.
- Đây là cây Giáng sinh của tôi. This is my Christmas tree.
- Cô ấy quét phòng bằng cây chổi. She sweeps the room with a broom.
- Dòng sông chảy qua cây cầu này. The river flows under the bridge.
- Tom đang nghỉ ngơi dưới gốc cây. Tom is resting beneath the tree.
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, cây could be written as 核, 荄, 𣘃. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: cây
cây means "tree" or "plant", and it doubles as a classifier for long, stick-shaped objects.
- Plants: một cây xoài — a mango tree; cây cảnh — ornamental plant
- Stick-shaped things: cây bút — pen; cây nến — candle; cây kem — ice-cream bar (mainly South)
- Musical instruments: cây đàn — guitar or other stringed instrument
- Distance: cây số — kilometre (from roadside markers): Còn ba cây số nữa. — Three more kilometres.
trái cây (South) and hoa quả (North) both mean "fruit" in general.
In the South, cây can also be slang for a tael of gold: một cây vàng.
Tip: if you can hold it like a stick, cây is often the classifier. Northerners sometimes prefer chiếc or cái for pens: cái bút.
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Vietic *gəl ~ *kəl (“tree”). Cognate with Muong câl, cấl, Kha Phong kɨl². Doublet of cấy.
Frequently asked questions
What does cây mean in English?
cây (noun) means "tree; plant; (classifier for stick-like things)".
How do you pronounce cây?
IPA: Hanoi [kəj˧˧]; Saigon [kəj˧˧]. Tones: cây — level tone (ngang).
What classifier is used with cây?
Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái cây" (one tree).