TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

chai

Level ≈A2 (approx.) nounadjective Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [t͡ɕaːj˧˧]Huế [t͡ɕaːj˧˧]Saigon [caːj˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
chailevelngang

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

chai means bottle; one million dongs.

Classifier: cái — e.g. một cái chai (one bottle)

Meanings of chai in English

Noun

  1. bottle
    • chai nướca water bottle
  2. Southern Vietnam, slang one million dongs ≈ củ

Adjective

  1. of skin callus
    • vết chaia callus
    • bị chai tayto have calluses on one's hand
  2. of a battery spent
    • pin bị chai rồithe battery's no good anymore (won't hold a charge)

Words with chai

ve chaichai lìchai sạn

Example sentences with chai

  • Hãy đưa cho tôi cái chai đó. Give me the bottle.
  • Vui lòng cho tôi một chai bia. Give me a beer, please.
  • Rượu vang, đó là thơ đóng chai. Wine is poetry in bottles.
  • Tôi đã mua một chai dầu sa-lát. I bought a bottle of salad oil.
  • Tom đã mua một chai rượu tequila. Tom brought a bottle of tequila.
  • Sữa được bán theo chai thuỷ tinh. The milk is sold in glass bottles.
  • Hãy mở cái chai đó ra. Please open the bottle.
  • Đưa tôi cái chai đó đi. Give me the bottle.

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, chai could be written as 𥑂, 齋. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Frequently asked questions

What does chai mean in English?

chai (noun) means "bottle; one million dongs".

How do you pronounce chai?

IPA: Hanoi [t͡ɕaːj˧˧]; Saigon [caːj˧˧]. Tones: chai — level tone (ngang).

What classifier is used with chai?

Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái chai" (one bottle).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.