éo biết
In Vietnamese, "what the hell" can be expressed as éo biết or cái quái gì.
Meaning: an intensive form of what (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| éo biết | |
| cái quái gì | [kaːj˧˦ kwaːj˧˦ zi˨˩] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) |
These phrases act as intensive forms of the question "what".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase cái quái gì literally translates to "what the monster/ghost thing".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
cái quái gì is an informal way to express surprise or frustration, similar to how "what the hell" is used in English.
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding vậy to the end of the phrase, as in Cái quái gì vậy, makes the expression sound more natural and complete in spoken Vietnamese.
Did you know?
- In Central Vietnamese dialects, people often use the word chi instead of gì to mean 'what'. A person from the North and a person from the Center might use different words for the same question.
- The term cái is cognate with the Muong word for 'woman', showing a deep linguistic connection between related Austroasiatic languages.
- While the phrase cái quái gì uses the word cái, this word was once used as a classifier for certain animals in Middle Vietnamese. In modern Vietnamese, however, the classifier con has almost entirely replaced it for all living creatures.
Examples in context
- Cái quái gì vậy.What the hell.This sentence shows how to use cái quái gì.Tatoeba #14034860 by nhuttan2004, translation #14034668 by jan_OkulaJu
- Tôi éo biết gì cả.I don't know a damn thing.
- Éo biết tại sao nó lại làm thế.I have no freaking clue why he did that.
Example conversation
Minh is asking Chi about a missing remote control.
- ChiMinh, cậu thấy cái điều khiển đâu không?Minh, have you seen the remote?
- MinhTao éo biết, nãy giờ có thấy đâu.I don't freaking know, I haven't seen it at all.
- ChiVừa mới đây thôi mà.It was just here a moment ago.
- MinhThế thì tìm chỗ khác đi.Then look somewhere else.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what the hell” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (cái, quái, gì) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries biết, cái, gì, quái, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
