Tiếng Việt · Word Attested

sơ khai

[səː˧˧ xaːj˧˧]

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

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(adjective) initial; primordial; original; early

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

ban đầu, nguyên thủy, sơ đẳng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

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

Trái Đất sơ khaiPrimordial Earth

Tế bào sơ khaiThe Protocell (the original cell)

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 ↗

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(noun) a stub (as an early, incomplete composition)

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

một bản thảo chưa hoàn chỉnh

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

What does “sơ khai” mean?

(adjective) initial; primordial; original; early

Is “sơ khai” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.