này

See also: nay, Nay, NAY, näy, nạy, nãy, nậy, nảy, nấy, nầy, nẩy, ñay, ŋay, and n'ay

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• nầy
• ni (no diphthongization)

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-niː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *niʔ ~ *nih (“this”); cognate with Khmer នេះ (nih, “this”), Pacoh nâh (“this”), Khasi kane/une (“this”) and Car Nicobarese në (“these things”). See also nay (“now”) and Central Vietnamese ni (“this”).

Part of the n-series of demonstratives, along with nấy, nớ, nọ, nè.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [naj˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [naj˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [na(ː)j˨˩]

• Audio (Hồ Chí Minh City)

  (file)

Determiner

này • (尼, 呢)

1. this

   Cái thằng dở hơi này!

   You butthead!

See also

Vietnamese demonstratives
Laurence Thompson (1965), Vietnamese Grammar
					Unspecified					Close to the speaker or newly introduced					Remote, already identified
PLACE đ- (first register)					đâu ‘wherever’					đây ‘here’					đấy ‘there’
REFERENCE n- (second register)					nào ‘whichever’					này ‘this’					nọ ‘that’
PROPORTION b- (first register)					bao ‘to whatever extent’					bây ‘to this extent’					bấy ‘to that extent’
MANNER s- (first register) v- (second register)					sao ‘however’					vầy ‘this way’					vậy ‘that way’
Nguyễn Phú Phong (1992), “Vietnamese Demonstratives Revisited”
				D• (Indefinite)				D1 (Proximal)				D2 (Medial)				D3 (Distal)
+NOM(inal)				đâu place-what				đây place-this				đấy place-that1
±NOM(inal)												đó (place-)that1				kia (place-)that2
–NOM(inal)				nào what				nầy this				nấy/ấy that1				nọ that2

Vietnamese demonstratives (alternative version)

	Proximal (*-iː)	Distal 1 (*-iːʔ)	Distal 2 (*-əːʔ)	Distal 3/ Remote (*-ɔːʔ)	Interrogative (rime was a rounded back vowel)
Place, attributive1 n-	ni nì này	nấy	nớ	nọ	nào
Place, nominal2 đ-	đây	đí đấy	—	đó	đâu
Manner r-	ri rày	—	rứa	—	ru sao3
Extent 14 b-	bây	bấy	—	—	bao
Extent 25 v-	vầy	vậy	—	—	—
1 Originally can only follow a nominal (being used attributively), hence nơi này (“this place; here”), nơi nào (“where”) (no longer completely true in the modern language). 2 Can be used on its own/is itself nominal, hence đây (“here”), đâu (“where”). 3 From earlier *C-raːw (where *C is nonspecific consonant). 4 Placed before the head: bây nhiêu (“this much”), bấy nhiêu (“that much”), bao nhiêu (“how much”). 5 Placed after the head: nhanh vầy (“this fast”), nhanh vậy (“that fast/so fast”).

Adverb

này • (尼, 呢)

1. here

Related terms

• nay (“now”)

Particle

này • (尼, 呢)

1. prefixes someone's name or kinship title, used to call for their attention

   Này ai ơi! ― Hey there!

   này Lan ― hey Lan

2. suffixes someone's name or kinship title, usually functions both as a focus marker and signaling a question

   Synonym: nè

   Khoa này, nghe nói em sắp chuyển nhà hả?

   Is it true that you are about to move out, Khoa?

Usage notes

• Its usage as a vocative marker similar to English o or hey seems to restrict to the literary register and translation.
• Also used in insults similarly to Japanese この (kono).