gì

• jì

Attested in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), a dictionary based chiefly on the Northern dialects. Doublet of chi, most likely a secondary borrowing from the Central dialects.

The modern Central form chi is not a reflex of this form, but from a form that did not undergo lenition.

• (Đông Kinh) IPA^(key): [ʝi˨˩]

之, 咦, 夷, 芇 (gì)

1. what; whatever

   lo gì sự ấy

   come what may

2. anything

   Chảng có đí gì sốt.

   There isn't anything.

• Vietnamese: gì

• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “gì”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.

• IPA^(key): [ɡi˥˧]

gì

1. to chop
2. to cut

• chi (no lenition)
• (Internet slang, text messaging) giề
• (abbreviation) z

From Middle Vietnamese gì. Related to chi; cognate with Muong chi.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zi˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jɪj˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jɪj˨˩]
• Homophone: dì

gì • (之, 咦, 夷, 芇)

1. what; whatever
2. anything

• The interrogative pronoun gì denotes a choice which is to be made from an indefinite set of things or people. Note that if gì follows a classifier, the classifier may be omitted in the reply.

Đây là quyển gì? ― What kind of book is this?

Đây là (quyển) từ điển. ― This is a dictionary.

gì

1. An interrogative expression nearly equivalent to “What?”

The interrogative can be used for anything from its basic use of disbelief and surprise to frustration and fear, depending on context, tone and stress, just like the English interrogative “What?”.

• chi