cây

See also: cay, CAY, cáy, cấy, čay, çay, and çaý

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (North Central Vietnam) cân
• (North Central Vietnam) cơn

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *gəl ~ *kəl, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *(d)kər (“tree; plant”) (according to Shorto); cognate with Central Vietnamese cân, Muong câl, cấl. Related to cấy.

Various words with similar shape that have the meaning of "to fell trees" occurs, including Semai kol, Temiar kel, Proto-Bahnaric *kal (whence Koho köl) and Proto-Katuic *kəl (whence Pacoh câl); all could be contributed to *kuəl ~ *kəl (“to cut down, fell”), which might related to the root above.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kəj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kəj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kəj˧˧]

Noun

(classifier cái) cây • (𣘃)

1. tree
2. plant
3. (colloquial) Short for cây số (“kilometre/kimometer”).

   Nhà tui cách Sài Gòn cỡ năm chục cây.

   My house is about fifty kilometres from Sài Gòn.

Synonyms

• thực vật
• thụ

Derived terms

Derived terms

• cây cỏ
• cây cối
• trái cây

 

Classifier

cây • (𣘃)

1. Indicates plants
2. Indicates stick/rod-like objects
3. (music) Indicates string instruments and some other types of musical instruments