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tui

Level ≈A2 (approx.) pronounnounverb Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [tuj˧˧]Huế [tuj˧˧]Saigon [tuj˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
tuilevelngang

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

tui means I/me.

Also spelled tôi — same word, same meaning.

Meanings of tui in English

Pronoun

  1. Northern Vietnam, informal, typically men's speech I/me (used by someone with status equal or higher than his or her conversational partner, but doesn't want to sound too intimate to them)
    • 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 tui

bầy tuitụi tui

Synonyms and antonyms of tui

Synonyms

quathiếpanhbàbáccậuchacháuchịchúconcôcốcụdìdượngemmẹmìnhmợôngsơtataothímtớ

Antonyms

ôngbàem

Example sentences with tui

  • Bả nói tui là sẽ tới đây. She told me she'd be there.
  • Ba tui đi làm bằng xe hơi. Father drives to work.
  • Ba tui là một ngư dân giỏi. My father is a skilled fisherman.
  • Ba má tui rất yêu thương tui. My parents really love me.
  • Giáo viên thể dục ghét tui mà. My gym teacher hated me.
  • Cậu ấy thốt lên, "Giúp tui với!" He cried out, "Help me."
  • Tom không biết tui là người Canada. Tom doesn't know I'm Canadian.
  • Tui bây có biết nhau không? Do you know each other?

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, tui could be written as 碎. 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 tui mean in English?

tui (pronoun) means "I/me".

How do you pronounce tui?

IPA: Hanoi [tuj˧˧]; Saigon [tuj˧˧]. Tones: tui — 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.