giày
[zaj˨˩]
The English phrase "shoes" is giày in Vietnamese.
giày is used to refer to shoes. For specific types of footwear, you can use giày thể thao for sneakers or bốt for boots.
Which one should you use?
While giày refers specifically to shoes, the word dép is used for sandals or flip-flops.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Northern Region of Vietnam, you might hear the term xăng-đan to refer to sandals.
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify a pair of shoes, use the classifier đôi before giày to make đôi giày. If you want to explicitly indicate multiple pairs of shoes, use những đôi giày.
Did you know?
- Historically, the types of giày worn by Vietnamese royalty and officials were strictly regulated by rank, with certain materials and colors forbidden for commoners.
- The word xăng-đan for sandals is a direct phonetic loanword from the French word 'sandale'. This reflects the long history of French colonial influence on Vietnamese fashion and language.
- The word giày is a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character 鞋. The formal Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the same character is actually hài.
Examples in context
- Xỏ giày vào đi.Put your shoes on.Tatoeba #13666077 by leucammieuvu, translation #9459283 by CK
- Đôi giày đã sờn cũ.The shoes are worn out.Tatoeba #1571470 by trieuho, translation #18118 by SSibelty
- Giày thì thường đắt.Shoes are expensive.Tatoeba #13339893 by leucammieuvu, translation #10005477 by shekitten
- Tôi cần mua một đôi giày mới.I need to buy a new pair of shoes.
- Đôi giày này quá đẹp.These shoes are so beautiful.
- Cho tôi xem danh sách giày của bạn.Show me your shoe list, please.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hùng and Lan are getting ready to go outside.
- HùngLan ơi, giày của anh đâu rồi?Lan, where are my shoes?
- LanAnh xem ở gần cửa ra vào nhé.Check near the exit door.
- HùngAnh thấy rồi, đôi giày này mới quá.I see them, these shoes are so new.
- LanEm mới mua cho anh đấy.I just bought them for you.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry giày, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries giày, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
