ngái

adjectivenoun

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

Syllables · tones

ngáirisingsắc

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

ngái means having an unpleasant smell.

Meanings of ngái in English

Adjective

having an unpleasant smell

Noun

Ficus hispida

Noun

Ngái, an ethnic group of Vietnam

Adjective

Central Vietnam, Northern Vietnam, archaic, dialectal far ≈ xa

Words with ngái

ngái ngủ

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

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

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *s-ŋaːjʔ, from Proto-Austroasiatic *cŋaːjʔ (“distant”). Cognate with Chut [Rục] ciŋaːj³, Thavung səŋə̀aj⁴, Khmer ឆ្ងាយ (chngaay) and Halang hơ'ngai.

Frequently asked questions

What does ngái mean in English?

ngái (adjective) means "having an unpleasant smell".

How do you pronounce ngái?

IPA: Hanoi [ŋaːj˧˦]; Saigon [ŋaːj˦˥]. Tones: ngái — rising tone (sắc).

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.