ngôi
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
ngôi means (classifier for houses, temples, stars); rank.
Meanings of ngôi in English
Classifier
- Indicates important structures, such as houses, buildings, markets, graves and stars
Noun
- person
- ngôi thứ hai số ítsecond person singular
- kingship or emperorship
- nối ngôito inherit the throne
- figurative a grand title; high rank; status (of great importance)
- lên ngôi hoàng đếto ascend the imperial throne
- lên ngôi vô địchto become champion
- position; rank
- historical position; rank — position of a hào within a hexagram’s six lines.
Words with ngôi
Example sentences with ngôi
- Ngôi nhà mà Tom xây rất đẹp. The house that Tom built is really nice.
- Mẹ Tom sống ở ngôi làng này. Tom's mother lives in this village.
- Ngôi nhà thuộc về bố mẹ tôi. The house belongs to my parents.
- Cơn lũ đã phá huỷ ngôi làng. Floods destroyed the village.
- Bạn có một ngôi nhà thật đẹp. You have such a beautiful home.
- Ngôi nhà này có ba phòng tắm. This house has three bathrooms.
- Tất cả bánh quy hình ngôi sao. All of the cookies are in the shape of stars.
- Tôi xây những ngôi nhà bằng đá. I build houses out of stone.
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, ngôi could be written as 嵬, 𡾵, 𠑖, 桅. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: ngôi
ngôi is a classifier for certain buildings and for stars and graves — things that stand out or have dignity.
- ngôi nhà — house (as a building)
- ngôi chùa — pagoda; ngôi đền — temple
- ngôi trường — school (building, often in nostalgic writing)
- ngôi sao — star; also a celebrity: ngôi sao bóng đá — football star
- ngôi mộ — grave
Example: Ngôi chùa này đã có hàng trăm năm. — This pagoda is hundreds of years old.
In grammar, ngôi means "person": ngôi thứ nhất = first person (I/we). And historically, ngôi vua = the throne.
Tip: căn nhà is the home you live in; ngôi nhà is the house as people see it from outside.
Etymology
From a form related to modern ngồi (“to sit”). Originally probably meant "seat", which then developed into the current meanings.
Frequently asked questions
What does ngôi mean in English?
ngôi (classifier) means "(classifier for houses, temples, stars); rank".
How do you pronounce ngôi?
IPA: Hanoi [ŋoj˧˧]; Saigon [ŋoj˧˧]. Tones: ngôi — level tone (ngang).