tai

Thân thiện

Một em bé đang lắng nghe tiếng chim hót bằng tai của mình.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • Ear: The organ of hearing located on either side of the head.
   • Mishap, accident, calamity: An unfortunate event that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally.
   • Lug, handle, flap: A part of an object that resembles or functions like an ear, such as a handle or a flap.

2. Verb:

   • To slap, to box someone's ears: To hit someone on the side of the head with an open hand (colloquial).

Usage Examples

• Noun (Organ of hearing):

  • Cô ấy đeo khuyên tai rất đẹp. (She wears very beautiful earrings.)
  • Anh ấy bị đau tai. (He has an earache.)

• Noun (Mishap):

  • Thật là tai bay vạ gió. (It was a real bolt from the blue / an unexpected misfortune.)
  • Gia đình họ gặp phải một tai nạn giao thông. (Their family encountered a traffic accident.)

• Noun (Handle/Flap):

  • Tai ấm trà bị gãy. (The handle of the teapot is broken.)
  • Tai của chiếc ba lô này rất chắc. (The straps of this backpack are very sturdy.)

• Verb:

  • Nó bị tai một cái vì nghịch ngợm. (He got slapped for being mischievous.)

Advanced Usage

• "tai to mặt lớn": A person of high status, an influential figure (literally: big ears, large face).

  • Buổi tiệc có nhiều vị khách tai to mặt lớn. (The party had many influential guests.)

• "tai vách mạch rừng": Walls have ears (literally: walls have ears, the jungle has veins).

  • Nói chuyện cẩn thận, tai vách mạch rừng đấy. (Be careful what you say, walls have ears.)

• "bụng đói tai điếc": A hungry belly has no ears (meaning a hungry person cannot listen to reason).

  • Đừng nói chuyện với nó lúc này, bụng đói tai điếc mà. (Don't talk to him now; a hungry man is an angry man.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tai nạn (n): Accident, disaster.

  • Tai nạn lao động (Workplace accident)

• Tai hại (adj): Harmful, disastrous.

  • Hậu quả tai hại (Disastrous consequences)

• Thính tai (adj): Having sharp/hearing ears.

  • Bà cụ vẫn còn rất thính tai. (The old lady still has very sharp hearing.)

• Đau tai (v/n): To have an earache / earache.

• Ù tai (v): To have ringing in the ears, tinnitus.

Synonyms

• Lỗ tai (n): Ear (more colloquial/specific to the opening).
• Họa (n): Disaster, calamity (for the "mishap" meaning).
• Vả, tát (v): To slap (for the verb meaning).

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Tai mũi họng: Ear, nose, and throat (ENT).

  • Bác sĩ chuyên khoa tai mũi họng (An ENT specialist doctor)

• Ngoáy tai: To clean one's ears (with a cotton swab, etc.).

  • Không nên ngoáy tai quá sâu. (You shouldn't clean your ears too deeply.)

Related Idioms

• "Đầu voi đuôi chuột": Starting grandly but ending poorly (lit: elephant's head, mouse's tail). (This idiom shares the theme of unexpected negative outcomes, similar to some uses of ).
• "Xui xẻo": Bad luck (a synonym for the "mishap" aspect of ).

Học thuật

noun

1. ear. mishap, accident, calamity

verb

1. to box the ears of