cây

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See also: cay, CAY, cáy, cấy, čay, çay, and çaý

Vietnamese

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Alternative forms

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  • (North Central Vietnam) cân
  • (North Central Vietnam) cơn

Etymology

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From Proto-Vietic *gəl ~ *kəl. Cognate with Central Vietnamese cân, Muong câl, cấl, Kha Phong kɨl². Related to cấy.

Various words with similar shape that have the meaning of "to fell trees" occur in many Austroasiatic branches, including Semai kòl, Temiar kel, Proto-Bahnaric *kal (whence Koho köl) and Proto-Katuic *kəl (whence Pacoh câl); all could be contributed to *kuəl ~ *kəl (to cut down, fell), which might be related to the root above. Alternatively, compare Proto-Khmuic *tŋkəl (stump) (whence Khmu [Cuang] tŋkɨl), Khmer គល់ (kŭəl), Mon ဓဂဵု.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(classifier cái) cây (,,𣘃)

  1. a plant with a hard trunk or stem, such as a woody tree or bamboo, as opposed to cỏ ((soft-stemmed) grass)
  2. (by extension) a plant (including trees and grasses), or more rarely, a mushroom
  3. (colloquial) Short for cây số (kilometre/kimometer).
    Nhà tui cách Sài Gòn cỡ năm chục cây.
    My house is about fifty kilometres from Sài Gòn.

See also

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Derived terms

Classifier

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cây (,,𣘃)

  1. Indicates plants
  2. Indicates stick/rod-like objects
    Synonym: thanh
  3. (music) Indicates string instruments and some other types of musical instruments