chị gái

See also: chigai

Vietnamese

Etymology

chị (“elder sister”) +‎ gái (“female”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕi˧˨ʔ ɣaːj˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɪj˨˩ʔ ɣaːj˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [cɪj˨˩˨ ɣaːj˦˥]

Noun

(classifier người) chị gái

1. (chiefly literary) elder sister

   Synonym: chị

   Chị gái tôi ― My Sister

Usage notes

• Unlike em (“younger sibling”) which is gender neutral, chị (“elder sister”) and anh (“elder brother”) are gender-specific. This expression is therefore redundant by nature, but it can be used for acoustic or literary eloquence because it is disyllabic.

Pronoun

chị gái

1. (rather childish) you (used for a female who the speaker assumes is somewhat older than them)

Interjection

chị gái

1. (uncommon, colloquial, friendly, not intimate, speakers are strangers) young lady

Usage notes

• The "young lady" sense in theory can be used by speakers of any age, but in real life, most often used by people who is older than the "young lady".

See also

• anh trai