TuDien.NgonNguViet.comVietnamese ⇄ English dictionary

thay

Level ≈A2 (approx.) verbadverbparticle Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [tʰaj˧˧]Huế [tʰaj˧˧]Saigon [tʰa(ː)j˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
thaylevelngang

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

thay means to change; to replace.

Meanings of thay in English

Verb

  1. to change; to replace
  2. to act in place of, to act on behalf of, to act for
    • thay trời hành đạoto enforce the Way on behalf of Heaven

Adverb

  1. Used as a modifier to indicate surprise. ≈ ơi

Particle

  1. literary particle used for emphasis

Words with thay

đổi thaythay đổithay mặtthay thếthay vìthay phiên

Example sentences with thay

  • Lạ thay, chẳng ai để ý cả. Strangely, nobody else noticed.
  • Hỏi Tom đi Boston thay cậu đi. Ask Tom to go to Boston for you.
  • Hỏi Tom đi Boston thay cậu ấy. Ask Tom to go to Boston for you.
  • May mắn thay, thời tiết rất tốt. Fortunately, the weather was good.
  • May thay, không ai bị thương cả. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
  • Tôi phải thay nước cho hoa. I have to change the water for the flowers.
  • Tôi đã thay avatar của mình. I changed my profile picture.
  • Hãy thay lốp cũ bằng lốp mới đi. Replace the old tires with new ones.

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, thay could be written as 台, 𫢼, 𠳙, 卋. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 替 (SV: thế).

Frequently asked questions

What does thay mean in English?

thay (verb) means "to change; to replace".

How do you pronounce thay?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰaj˧˧]; Saigon [tʰa(ː)j˧˧]. Tones: thay — 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.