Tiếng Việt · Word Attested

cây

[kəj˧˧]

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(noun) plant with a hard trunk or stem, such as a woody tree or bamboo, as opposed to cỏ (“(soft-stemmed) grass”)

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

cây có thân cứng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

dưới bóng câyunder the shade of a tree

Cây trước nhà đã lớn nhanh quá.The tree in front of the house has grown so fast.

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗ Local usage: Cây can also broadly mean plant; context determines the intended meaning. [contributed-collins-enriched]

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(noun) plant (including trees and grasses), or more rarely, mushroom

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

thực vật

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(noun) short for cây số (“kilometre/kilometer”)

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

viết tắt của cây số

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Examples

Nhà tui cách Sài Gòn cỡ năm chục cây.My house is about fifty kilometres from Sài Gòn.

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sense 4

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(classifier) Indicates plants

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Chỉ cây cối

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Topics: Trees & plants

Common questions

What does “cây” mean?

(noun) plant with a hard trunk or stem, such as a woody tree or bamboo, as opposed to cỏ (“(soft-stemmed) grass”)

Is “cây” formal or informal?

cây is generally informal.