quái

Level ≈B1 (approx.) adverbnounadjective Sino-Vietnamese Top 3,000 most common

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

Syllables · tones

quáirisingsắc

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

quái means at all.

Chinese characters: 怪

Meanings of quái in English

Adverb

emphatic (not) at all
- Cứ bô bô cái mỏ mà chẳng hiểu quái gì.[Someone] keeps running their trap but doesn't understand anything at all.
- Làm quái gì việc vặt ấy.Such a trifling thing does not matter at all.
- Quái gì phải lo lắng?What in the world do you have to worry about?

Noun

slang freak; monster ≈ quái vật

Adjective

informal strange; odd; weird; bizarre, freakish ≈ lạ lạ lùng kỳ cục
- Cái quái gì vậy?The hell is that?
- Sao có chuyện quái thế?Why is there such a freakish story?
mischievous, sly
- nghịch quáito play mischievously, to get into mischief

Interjection

used to express surprise
- Quái! Nhớ để ở đây mà!That's weird! I could've sworn I put it here!
- Quái, hôm qua còn khỏe thế mà hôm nay đã chết!How odd, he was so healthy yesterday and to day he is dead!

Words with quái

cổ quái kì quái ma quái quái ác quái đản quái gở quái lạ quái thai quái thú quái vật quái xế tai quái thuỷ quái tinh quái yêu quái

Example sentences with quái

Cái quái gì vậy. What the hell.
Cậu đang làm cái quái gì trong phòng tôi thế? What on earth are you doing in my room?
Thật thà không phải lúc nào cũng là cha quỷ quái. Honesty is not always the best policy.
Thế quái nào mà bọn trẻ phải học thuộc bảng tuần hoàn nhưng không ai dạy chúng lên kế hoạch tài chính cơ chứ? How come kids have to memorize the periodic table, but nobody ever teaches them about financial planning?

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 怪.

Frequently asked questions

What does quái mean in English?

quái (adverb) means "at all".

How do you pronounce quái?

IPA: Hanoi [kwaːj˧˦]; Saigon [waːj˦˥]. Tones: quái — rising tone (sắc).

Is quái a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. quái is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 怪.

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.