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mai

Level ≈A2 (approx.) noun Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [maːj˧˧]Huế [maːj˧˧]Saigon [maːj˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
mailevelngang

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

mai means carapace.

Chinese characters: 梅 Classifier: cái — e.g. một cái mai (one carapace)

Meanings of mai in English

Noun

  1. of crabs, turtles and tortoises carapace (dorsal shell) ≈ mu

Noun

  1. early morning
  2. the hair in front of a person's ears, sideburns
  3. abbreviation, colloquial short for ngày mai (“tomorrow”)

Noun

  1. Ochna integerrima, a tree species (sometimes shrub) of the family Ochnaceae, sometimes called apricot in English

Noun

  1. a kind of shovel

Noun

  1. Southern Vietnam matchmaker

Words with mai

ban maimai mốtnay maingày maidốt đặc cán maimai mốimai gầmmai hoamai mộtmai phụcmai saumai thuýmai tángmai vàngmai xo

Example sentences with mai

  • Mai bạn có dự định gì không? Do you have any plans for tomorrow?
  • Tôi sẽ di Luân Đôn sáng mai. I will go to London tomorrow morning.
  • Đừng quên đến đón em sáng mai. Don't forget to pick me up tomorrow morning.
  • Hạn chót là chiều mai lúc 2:30. The deadline is tomorrow afternoon at 2:30.
  • Mai chúng tôi không phải đi học. We don't have to go to school tomorrow.
  • Tôi không biết mai có mưa không. I don't know if it's going to rain.
  • Mai bạn có định tới trường không? Are you going to school tomorrow?
  • Tôi phải tới trường sớm sáng mai. I'm supposed to get to school early tomorrow morning.

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, mai could be written as 埋, 𣈕, 枚, 𪰹. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

For the connection between "first part of the day" and "day after this one", compare Germanic equivalents such as English morn(ning) and morrow, Dutch morgen, Romance ones such as French demain and Italian domani, and Japanese 明日 and 朝 (ashita).

Frequently asked questions

What does mai mean in English?

mai (noun) means "carapace".

How do you pronounce mai?

IPA: Hanoi [maːj˧˧]; Saigon [maːj˧˧]. Tones: mai — level tone (ngang).

Is mai a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. mai is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 梅.

What classifier is used with mai?

Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái mai" (one carapace).

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.