lái

• lai — nonstandard

• Audio:

  (file)

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

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

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

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

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.

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

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

lái • (梩)

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

   Synonym: nói phản thiết

• nói lái

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

• nái

lái

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

(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)}