mái

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mai"

Bangala

Noun

mái

1. water

Boloki

Noun

mái

1. water

Further reading

• [2]

Huichol

Etymology

From Proto-Uto-Aztecan *mahi.

Cognate with Classical Nahuatl metl (“agave, maguey”).

Noun

mái

1. maguey, century plant.

Krisa

Noun

mái

1. tongue

Lingala

mái

Etymology

Borrowed from Bangi mai.

Noun

mái class 6

1. water

Related terms

• máimái (“wet”)

References

• John Ellington, Handbook of Kinshasa Lingala (1992), page 74
• James E. Redden, Lingala: basic course (1963), page 167

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• mai — nonstandard

Romanization

mái (mai², Zhuyin ㄇㄞˊ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 埆
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 狷
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 薶
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 貊
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 霾
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 埋

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maːj˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maːj˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [maːj˦˥]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Vietic *meːʔ, from Proto-Austroasiatic *meʔ (“mother”). Doublet of mẹ.

Adjective

mái • (買, 㜥, 𠃅, 𡣧)

1. (of a bird) female

   Antonym: trống

   gà mái ― a hen

2. (of an animal with cá (“fish”) in its name, including cetaceans) female

   Antonym: trống

   cá heo mái/cái ― a female dolphin

Usage notes

• Less common than cái when used for "fish", although it is not rare nor uncommon.

Derived terms

• sống mái

See also

• trống; cái

Etymology 2

From Proto-Vietic *ɓaːlʔ. Cognate with Muong Bi bảl (“direction”), Chut [Mày] ɓal³ ("roof") (Babaev & Samarina, 2018).

Noun

(classifier cái) mái • (買, 𠃅, 𬄹)

1. roof
2. (by extension) bangs; fringe

   mái ngố ― blunt bangs

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with mai (“sidehair”).

Derived terms

• mái ấm
• mái chèo

Classifier

mái • (買, 𠃅)

1. indicates all of someone's headhair

   mái tóc bóng mượt ― shiny and silky hair