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tôi

Level ≈A1 (approx.) pronounnounverb Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [toj˧˧]Huế [toj˧˧]Saigon [toj˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
tôilevelngang

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

tôi means I; me.

Meanings of tôi in English

Pronoun

  1. Northern Vietnam, informal, typically men's speech I; me — the neutral, polite first-person pronoun (with people of equal or lower status, or in formal contexts)
    • Không dám. Tôi sao sánh bằng chú được.Please, I can't compare to you, really.
  2. Northern Vietnam, familiar, informal I/me (used when talking to one's friends) ≈ tui
    • Bà ơi, cho tôi xin tờ giấy.Hey, can you lend me a sheet of paper?
    • Cái bà này lạ ! Làm sao tôi biết được !Aren't you a funny one? How the hell should I know?
  3. formal, in all dialects I/me (used in formal contexts, regardless of the difference in status between the speakers)
    • bạn và tôiyou and I/me
  4. endearing, literary, men's speech I/me (used by a man to a woman he loves) ≈ anh

Noun

  1. obsolete outside of compounds servant of a monarch ≈ tớ
    • nghĩa vua tôia good relationship between a king and his servants
    • tôi trunga loyal servant
  2. historical, obsolete outside of compounds slave; domestic servant

Verb

  1. to temper; to anneal
    • Thép đã tôi thế đấyHow the Steel Was Tempered

Words with tôi

tôi tớvôi tôi

Synonyms and antonyms of tôi

Synonyms

quathiếpanhbàbáccậuchacháuchịchúconcôcốcụdìdượngemmẹmìnhmợôngsơtataothímtớ

Antonyms

ôngbàem

Example sentences with tôi

  • Có lẽ tôi sẽ đi câu cá. I'll probably be fishing.
  • Tôi ở nhà vì tôi bị ốm. I stayed home because I was sick.
  • Nó có vể thú vị với tôi. It seems interesting to me.
  • Có vẻ như là tôi bị sốt. I seem to have a fever.
  • Tôi ở đây từ đó đến giờ. I was here all the time.
  • Cô ấy là bạn của vợ tôi. She is a friend of my wife's.
  • Bố tôi đi làm bằng ô tô. Father drives to work.
  • Tôi đã để ví tiền ở nhà. I left my wallet at home.

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, tôi could be written as 碎, 倅, 𤏣. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Related to Proto-Katuic *sool (“slave”) (whence Pacoh xoul (“slave”)). Cognate with Muong thôl (a humble first-person pronoun). See also Central-Southern form tui.

Frequently asked questions

What does tôi mean in English?

tôi (pronoun) means "I; me".

How do you pronounce tôi?

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

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.