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) Synonym of chị (“elder 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) Synonym of chị (“you, that sister over there who I'm assuming is a little older than me”)

See also

• anh trai