trời ơi

Level ≈B2 (approx.) interjection Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [t͡ɕəːj˨˩ ʔəːj˧˧]Huế [ʈəːj˦˩ ʔəːj˧˧]Saigon [ʈəːj˨˩ ʔəːj˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

trờifallinghuyền ơilevelngang

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

trời ơi means good heavens; good God; good Lord.

Meanings of trời ơi in English

Interjection

good heavens; good God; good Lord; oh my God ≈ mèng đéc ơi
for God's sake ≈ trời đất

Example sentences with trời ơi

Trời ơi! Tôi để quên bóp ở phòng rồi! My God! I left the wallet in my room!
Trời ơi! Blimey!

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

trời (“heavenly lord”) + ơi (“hey, oh, vocative particle”).

Frequently asked questions

What does trời ơi mean in English?

trời ơi (interjection) means "good heavens; good God; good Lord".

How do you pronounce trời ơi?

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