How do you say “what” in Vietnamese?

“What” in Vietnamese is gì (what), cái gì (what), ra sao (how).

Vietnamese words for “what”

• gìListenpronoun
  Hanoi [zi˨˩] · Saigon [jɪj˨˩]gì falling

  what; anything

  for “what” meaning: An expression of surprise or disbelief.

  • Gì thế?What's up?
• cái gìListeninterjection
  Hanoi [kaːj˧˦ zi˨˩] · Saigon [kaːj˦˥ jɪj˨˩]cái rising gì falling

  what; something

  • Về cái gì cơ?About what?
• ra saoListenadverb
  Hanoi [zaː˧˧ saːw˧˧] · Saigon [ɹaː˧˧ ʂaːw˧˧]ra level sao level

  how; what

  • Hoa cẩm chướng ngửi ra sao?What do carnations smell like?

Related Vietnamese words

• saoListenadverb

  why; how; star

• hảListeninterjection

  interrogative particle: isn't it; aren't you

• răngListenadverb

  tooth

• ồListeninterjection

  oh; wow

• chiListenpronoun

  genus

• hửListeninterjection

  interrogative particle: isn't it; aren't you

• rengListenadverb

  tooth

• ủaListeninterjection

  huh; wait a minute; hold on

• nàoListendeterminer

  which; any

• tại saoListenadverb

  why

Translations matched from English Wiktionary (translation tables and Vietnamese entries, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0) and the NgonNgu English–Vietnamese dictionary, reviewed and edited; examples from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice.