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trời

Level ≈A1 (approx.) nouninterjectionadjective Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [t͡ɕəːj˨˩]Huế [ʈəːj˦˩]Saigon [ʈəːj˨˩] browser voice
Syllables · tones

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

trời means sky; weather; God.

Classifier: bầu — e.g. một bầu trời (one sky)

Meanings of trời in English

Noun

  1. sky
    • ngoài trờioutdoor(s)
  2. Heaven, heavenly lord (personification of the sky)
    • bị trời đánhto be punished by divine wrath
    • Bắc thang lên mà hỏi ông trời!Set up a ladder, climb it, and ask the heavenly lord!
    • trời đánh tránh bữa ănDon't cause ruckuses at meal times
  3. weather
    • trời nóng/mát/lạnhit's hot/cool/cold
    • Trời đẹp nhỉ?The weather is great, isn't it?

Interjection

  1. colloquial good Lord!, god, gee ≈ trời ơi
    • Trời, sao lại làm như thế?Good Lord, what did (you/he/she/it) do that for?

Adjective

  1. of anseriforms wild
    • ngỗng trờia wild goose
  2. Used after ngày, tháng, or năm to emphasize a lengthy duration
    • mười ngày trờia full ten days
    • gần ba năm trờialmost a full three years

Words with trời

Idioms and sayings with trời

Example sentences with trời

  • Có lẽ ngày mai trời sẽ mưa. Maybe it'll rain tomorrow.
  • Chắc có lẽ trời sắp mưa rồi. It is going to rain.
  • Tôi ở trong nhà vì trời mưa. I stayed indoors because it rained.
  • Tớ mang ô đề phòng trời mưa. I'll take my umbrella in case it rains.
  • Chắc là hôm nay trời sẽ mưa. It looks like it'll rain today.
  • Tôi sợ ngày mai trời sẽ mưa. I'm afraid it'll rain tomorrow.
  • Trời bắt đầu có tuyết rồi đấy. It's started snowing.
  • Tôi nghĩ ngày mai trời sẽ đẹp. Tomorrow I think it will be good weather.

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, trời could be written as 𡗶, 𫯝, 𫶸, 𱘷. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Vietic *b-ləːj. Cognate with Muong tlời, Arem tlơơi and Chut [Rục] pləːj².

Frequently asked questions

What does trời mean in English?

trời (noun) means "sky; weather; God".

How do you pronounce trời?

IPA: Hanoi [t͡ɕəːj˨˩]; Saigon [ʈəːj˨˩]. Tones: trời — falling tone (huyền).

What classifier is used with trời?

Common classifiers: bầu — for example "một bầu trời" (one sky).

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.