lái

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lai"

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• lai — nonstandard

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Romanization

lái (lai², Zhuyin ㄌㄞˊ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 來 / 来
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 俫
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 倈 / 俫
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 婡 / 𫝫
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 孻 / 𡥧
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 崍 / 崃
7. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 庲 / 𫷬
8. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 律
9. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 徕
10. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 徟
11. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 徠 / 徕
12. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 来
13. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 梾
14. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 棶 / 梾
15. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 淶 / 涞
16. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 猍 / 𰡎
17. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 琜 / 𱮾
18. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 筙
19. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 箂 / 𮵱
20. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 萊 / 莱
21. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 逨
22. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 郲 / 𬩾
23. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 錸 / 铼
24. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 騋 / 𱅕
25. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鯠 / 𱇭
26. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鶆 / 𱉵
27. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 麳 / 𪎌
28. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 黧

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Old Chinese 舵 (OC *lˤajʔ) (B-S) (SV: đà).

Verb

lái • (梩)

1. (vehicles) to control; to drive, to ride, to pilot, etc.

   lái xe ― to drive a car

2. (colloquial) to digress, to sidetrack, or to put one's own spin on

   Đừng có mà từ chuyện này lái qua chuyện khác.

   Don't you sidetrack to other things when we have this to discuss.

Noun

lái • (梩)

1. steering wheel; steering control
2. (nautical) rudder
3. (by extension, nautical) aft; the stern portion of a boat

   Synonyms: đuôi, tếch

4. (colloquial) Short for lái xe (“driver”) or lái đò (“boatman”).
5. (colloquial) used to refer to a merchant or trader

Etymology 2

Possibly related to trại (as in đọc trại (“to deviate in pronunciation”), nói trại). Likely also contaminated by the etymology above.

Verb

lái • (梩)

1. (now not used in isolation, of pronunciation) to "switch" around sounds

   Synonym: nói phản thiết

Derived terms

• nói lái

Etymology 3

Likely from Sino-Tibetan. Compare Chinese 二 (MC nyijH).

Alternative forms

• nái

Numeral

lái

1. (probably obsolete, chiefly pig traders' cant) two

See also

(numerals in pig traders' cant) số đếm trong tiếng lóng lái lợn; chách (“one”), lái/nái (“two”), thâm (“three”), chớ (“four”), kẹo (“five”), mục (“six”), khắp/hấp (“seven”), bét (“eight”), khươm/khơm (“nine”), nạp/lạp (“ten”), ^{(Category: vi:Numerals in pig traders' cant)}