giấy
[zəj˧˦]
The English word "paper" is translated into Vietnamese as giấy.
giấy refers to the physical sheet material. When you want to refer to official documents or paperwork, the reduplicated form giấy tờ is used.
Meaning: sheet material (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When counting paper, you must use specific classifiers. Use tờ in the phrase tờ giấy to refer to a single sheet of paper, and use tập in the phrase tập giấy to refer to a stack or a packet of paper sheets.
Did you know?
- While giấy is the common word for 'paper', the word for 'thief' is giặc, which shares a very similar historical phonological development.
- The word giấy is a non-Sino-Vietnamese term, meaning it comes from an older linguistic layer than the formal Sino-Vietnamese word chỉ for the same object.
Examples in context
- Giấy thì hút dầu.Paper absorbs oil.This sentence is useful for noting that giấy absorbs oil.Tatoeba #13340230 by leucammieuvu, translation #9044837 by Amastan
- Tôi cần một tờ giấy.I need a piece of paper.This sentence is useful for expressing a need for a single piece of giấy.Tatoeba #10669082 by quoctrong018, translation #8181801 by CK
- Còn rất ít giấy thừa.There's very little paper left.This sentence is useful for stating how much giấy remains.Tatoeba #515207 by autuno, translation #33294 by CK
- Tờ giấySheet of paper
- Giấy tờIdentity papers/documents
- 19 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Tuan and Lan are in a classroom.
- Tuấn TuanLan ơi, cho mình mượn tờ giấy.Lan, please let me borrow a piece of paper.
- LanĐây, mình có nhiều giấy lắm.Here, I have plenty of paper.
- Tuấn TuanCảm ơn bạn nhiều nhé.Thank you very much.
- LanKhông có gì đâu, Tuấn.It is nothing, Tuan.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “paper” translations and entries giấy, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries giấy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
