cúi
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
cúi means to bend.
Meanings of cúi in English
Verb
- to bend (one's body)
Noun
- a roll of twisted straw or cotton fiber
Words with cúi
Example sentences with cúi
- Tôi cúi xuống để nhặt cái bút. I bent over to take the pen.
- Tom cúi người trước cụ già một cách đầy kính trọng. Tom bowed respectfully to the old lady.
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, cúi could be written as 𨆝, 會, 檜, 儈. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *guːrʔ ~ *kuːrʔ; cognates with Muong củi, Chut cûl, Chut [Maleng] kuːl⁴ and Tho [Pong] kuːl⁴. Also compare Angkorian Old Khmer កុរ៑ (kur), a loan from an unidentified Vietic source, whence Khmer កុរ (kol, “Year of the Pig”) and Thai กุน (gun, “Year of the Pig”). (Ferlus, 2013) Additionally, 亥 (OC *[ɡ]ˤəʔ) (B-S) (SV: hợi) is a possible cognate, see there for more.
Frequently asked questions
What does cúi mean in English?
cúi (verb) means "to bend".
How do you pronounce cúi?
IPA: Hanoi [kuj˧˦]; Saigon [kuj˦˥]. Tones: cúi — rising tone (sắc).