moi

verbnoun

Hanoi [mɔj˧˧]Huế [mɔj˧˧]Saigon [mɔj˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

moilevelngang

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

moi means to drag out; to dig out.

Meanings of moi in English

Verb

to drag out, to dig out

Noun

Central Vietnam kind of small shrimp of the genus Acetes ≈ ruốc khuyết

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

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

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-mɔːl ~ muəl (“digging stick”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ɟmuul ~ *ɟmuəl (“to dibble”); cognate with Bahnar jơmul (“to plant rice using dibble stick to make holes”) and Khmu [Cuang] cmɔːl ("to plant"). Compare mói (as in soi mói, from Proto-Vietic *c-mɔːlʔ).

Frequently asked questions

What does moi mean in English?

moi (verb) means "to drag out; to dig out".

How do you pronounce moi?

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

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.