mấy
See also: Appendix:Variations of "may"
Vietnamese
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- (Internet slang, text messaging) mí
Etymology
[edit]From Proto-Vietic *ɓǝlʔ.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [məj˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [məj˨˩˦]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [məj˦˥]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)
Determiner
[edit]- some, an indefinite quantity greater than one
- 1986, Anh Đức, Đứa con của đất, 2nd edition, Ho Chi Minh City: Nhà xuất bản Văn Nghệ, published 1987, page 311:
- Mấy anh ơi, cứu tụi em !
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
[edit]- Colloquially, mấy often replaces những and các as plural marker in many situations, but in formal writing, it rarely ever takes that role.
- Plural marking is not always grammatically required in Vietnamese, in contrast to many Indo-European languages, and can be omitted in many situations.
- Sometimes deliberately spelled mí to convey informality on the Internet although the word is rarely (if ever) pronounced as such in real life.