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tay

Level ≈A1 (approx.) noun Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [taj˧˧]Huế [taj˧˧]Saigon [ta(ː)j˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
taylevelngang

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

tay means hand; arm.

Meanings of tay in English

Noun

  1. colloquial hand
    • quẹo bên tay phảito turn right (to the right-hand side)
  2. colloquial arm
    • tay áoa sleeve
  3. informal guy; dude; -er, -ist
    • Tay này không phải vừa đâu!This dude is no middling one!

Words with tay

bàn taybao taybắt cá hai taybắt taybó taybó tay chấm comcánh taycao taycao tay ấncẳng taycầm taychân taychỉ tay năm ngónchia taycổ tayđầu taygăng tayhoa taykhăn taykhéo taykhuỷu tayliền taylòng bàn taymát taymáy tính xách taymóng taynghề tay tráingón tayngứa taynhẹ tay

Example sentences with tay

  • Cô ấy đã bị bỏng tay trái. She got her left hand burned.
  • Bà ấy đã bị bỏng tay trái. She burned her left hand.
  • Anh ấy múc một tay đầy cát. He scooped up sand by the handful.
  • Cô ấy viết tay bức thư này. She wrote the letter in her own hand.
  • Anh ấy có cánh tay rất khỏe. He has very strong arms.
  • Tôi đang lau tay bằng cái gì? What am I wiping my hands with?
  • Bắt thỏ rừng bằng tay thì khó. It is not easy to catch a hare with your bare hands.
  • Sau khi rửa tay, Tom ngồi xuống. After washing his hands, Tom sat down.

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, tay could be written as 𢬣, 𪮏, 拪, 揌. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From Middle Vietnamese tay, from Proto-Vietic *siː. Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] siː¹, Thavung ซี.

Frequently asked questions

What does tay mean in English?

tay (noun) means "hand; arm".

How do you pronounce tay?

IPA: Hanoi [taj˧˧]; Saigon [ta(ː)j˧˧]. Tones: tay — 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.