khái

noun

Hanoi [xaːj˧˦]Huế [kʰaːj˨˩˦]Saigon [kʰaːj˦˥] browser voice

Syllables · tones

kháirisingsắc

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

khái means tiger.

Classifier: con — e.g. một con khái (one tiger)

Meanings of khái in English

Noun

Central Vietnam, Northern Vietnam tiger (The mammal Panthera tigris) ≈ hổ cọp hùm

Words with khái

khái niệm khái luận khái lược khái quát

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, khái could be written as 𤠲, 𤡚. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *k-haːlʔ / *kʰaːlʔ, from Proto-Austroasiatic *kla(ː)ʔ. Cognate with Khmer ខ្លា (khlaa), Bahnar kla, Khasi khla, Mon ကၠ. Doublet of hổ.

Frequently asked questions

What does khái mean in English?

khái (noun) means "tiger".

How do you pronounce khái?

IPA: Hanoi [xaːj˧˦]; Saigon [kʰaːj˦˥]. Tones: khái — rising tone (sắc).

What classifier is used with khái?

Common classifiers: con — for example "một con khái" (one tiger).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited. 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.