giai
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
giai means boys and men; gigolos; male prostitutes.
Also spelled trai — same word, same meaning.
Meanings of giai in English
Noun
- collective boys and men
- con traiboys
- collective, colloquial, informal gigolos; male prostitutes
- làm traito be a gigolo
Adjective
- of people, only in fixed expressions male ≈ nam
- anh traian older brother
- em traia younger brother
- con traia son / boys
Noun
- mussel
Words with giai
Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)
Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, giai could be written as 𪟦, 𫦻. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
See trai. The sound change from ‹bl-› (< earlier *p-l and *b-l) to ‹gi-› is a regular sound change in Northern Vietnamese; compare giồng, giầu, giời, giăng, gio, giả, giở, giun, gióng, giái, giải. The inland dialects seem to have undergone this shift more thoroughly (although not completely), with the coastal Northern dialects being much more diverse in their treatment of *C-l- cluster.
Frequently asked questions
What does giai mean in English?
giai (noun) means "boys and men; gigolos; male prostitutes".
How do you pronounce giai?
IPA: Hanoi [zaːj˧˧]; Saigon [jaːj˧˧]. Tones: giai — level tone (ngang).