gáy

nounverb Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [ɣaj˧˦]Huế [ɣaj˨˩˦]Saigon [ɣa(ː)j˦˥] browser voice

Syllables · tones

gáyrisingsắc

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

gáy means nape; spine; back.

Meanings of gáy in English

Noun

nape ≈ ót
of a book spine, back

Verb

of a rooster to crow; (of a bird) to pipe
slang to brag, to crow
of a cricket to sing, to chirp

Example sentences with gáy

Nó đã làm tôi sợ dựng tóc gáy. It scared the daylights out of me.
Tôi nghe nói làm mát phần gáy khi trời nóng rất công hiệu. I hear that it's good to cool the back of your neck when it's hot outside.

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, gáy could be written as 𦢾, 𩬆, 𩯂, 嘅. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *t-giːʔ. Cognate with Sách təki:⁴.

Frequently asked questions

What does gáy mean in English?

gáy (noun) means "nape; spine; back".

How do you pronounce gáy?

IPA: Hanoi [ɣaj˧˦]; Saigon [ɣa(ː)j˦˥]. Tones: gáy — rising tone (sắc).

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. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.