giây
[zəj˧˧]
In Vietnamese, "seconds" is translated as giây.
In a much more colloquial context, people may use the term Xíu to refer to a short period of time, similar to saying "just a moment" or "in a second" in English.
Meaning: second serving (noun)
Which one should you use?
giây refers to the literal measurement of seconds, whereas Xíu is a colloquial way to express a brief moment.
Did you know?
- When talking about very short intervals, Vietnamese may use tích tắc, which is an onomatopoeia mimicking the sound of a clock ticking.
- The word giây is used in the term giây phút to describe a poignant or critical moment, moving it from a mathematical unit to an emotional one.
- Unlike English, where 'second' can describe both time and rank, the Vietnamese word for the number two in a sequence is thứ hai, which is unrelated to giây.
Examples in context
- Một phút kéo dài sáu mươi giây.A minute lasts sixty seconds.This sentence shows how to express the duration of a minute using giây.Tatoeba #13888060 by leucammieuvu, translation #13886990 by araneo
- Mặt đất đã rung lắc trong 30 giây.The ground shaking lasted for 30 seconds.This sentence is useful for describing a duration of time using giây.Tatoeba #13921829 by leucammieuvu, translation #13921402 by Nuel
- Chưa đầy vài giây, mọi thứ đã bị khói bao trùm.In a matter of seconds, everything was covered in smoke.This sentence demonstrates how to use giây to describe a sudden event occurring in a short time.Tatoeba #13840911 by leucammieuvu, translation #13840437 by carlosalberto
- Mười giâyTen seconds
- Giây thứ baThe third second
- Năm giây tính từ lúc…Five seconds since…
- Tôi sẽ đến xíu thôi!I'll be there in a second!
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mai and Tuấn are eating dinner together.
- MaiAnh có muốn ăn thêm một giây nữa không?Do you want another second helping?
- TuấnCó, món này ngon quá.Yes, this dish is delicious.
- MaiĐể em lấy thêm giây cho anh nhé.Let me get a second serving for you.
- TuấnCảm ơn Mai nhiều.Thank you very much, Mai.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry giây, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
