sai
Hanoi [saːj˧˧]Huế [ʂaːj˧˧]Saigon [ʂaːj˧˧] browser voice
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
sai means not right; correct or proper; wrong.
Chinese characters: 差
Meanings of sai in English
Adjective
- not right, correct or proper; wrong, incorrect, improper, inaccurate, imprecise, erroneous, etc.
- làm saito get something wrong or do something wrong; to err
- Làm sai thì phải nhận.When you're wrong, own your mistake.
- Tao (làm) sai hai câu.I got two answers wrong.
Verb
- to give an order; to order
- Có giỏi thì làm, đừng có đứng đó sai người ta !Do it if you think you're so good, don't just stand there bossing others around!
Adjective
- of trees fruitful
- sai quả/tráifruitful
Words with sai
Idioms and sayings with sai
- sai một li đi một dặm — small errors may have great negative impacts
Synonyms and antonyms of sai
Antonyms
Example sentences with sai
- Tôi không rõ là chỗ nào sai. I'm not sure what's wrong.
- Tôi nghĩ Tom và Mary đã sai. I thought Tom and Mary were wrong.
- Cả bạn lẫn tôi đều không sai. Neither you nor I are mistaken.
- Làm ơn sửa lại những lỗi sai. Please correct the errors.
- Tom gần như không bao giờ sai. Tom is almost never wrong.
- Tom hầu như không bao giờ sai. Tom is almost never wrong.
- Tôi e là bạn đã sai. I'm afraid you're wrong.
- Anh ấy không làm gì sai. He did nothing wrong.
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, sai could be written as 𡗂, 絺, 縒. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
Sino-Vietnamese word from 差 (“difference; discrepancy”).
Frequently asked questions
What does sai mean in English?
sai (adjective) means "not right; correct or proper; wrong".
How do you pronounce sai?
IPA: Hanoi [saːj˧˧]; Saigon [ʂaːj˧˧]. Tones: sai — level tone (ngang).
Is sai a Sino-Vietnamese word?
Yes. sai is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 差.