gãi

Level ≈B2 (approx.) verb Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [ɣaːj˦ˀ˥]Huế [ɣaːj˧˨]Saigon [ɣaːj˨˩˦] browser voice

Syllables · tones

gãicreaky risingngã

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

gãi means to scratch.

Meanings of gãi in English

Verb

to scratch

Example sentences with gãi

Cô ấy đã gãi đầu. She scratched her head.
Cô ấy gãi đầu. She scratched her head.
Gãi lưng cho tôi. Scratch my back.

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, gãi could be written as 𫼿, 𢭮. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-kaːs, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kais ~ *kis ~ *kiəs (“to scrape, scratch”). Cognate with Khmer កេះ (keh).

Frequently asked questions

What does gãi mean in English?

gãi (verb) means "to scratch".

How do you pronounce gãi?

IPA: Hanoi [ɣaːj˦ˀ˥]; Saigon [ɣaːj˨˩˦]. Tones: gãi — creaky rising tone (ngã).

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.