già

From Latin iam (“already, now”), from Proto-Indo-European *yē (“already”), cognate with Old French ja (“already”). Related to Gothic 𐌾𐌰 (ja), 𐌾𐌰𐌹 (jai, “yes”), Old High German ja, jā (“yes”), Old English ġēa (“yes”). More at yea, yes.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒa/^*[1], /ˈd͡ʒa/^°

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: già

già

1. already, yet

   Synonyms: ormai, fin d'ora

2. as early as
3. former, ex-

   Synonym: ex-

   Via Montello (già Trento)

   Montello Street (formerly known as Trento Street)

   Mario Rossi, già ministro delle Finanze

   Mario Rossi, former Minister of Finance

4. (informal) yes, yeah
5. an expletive, a word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning and is usually left untranslated

   Non credo io già, che ve ne avrete a male.

   I do not think you will take offense.

• giacché
• giammai

• già in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• AGI, agi, agì, gai

• jà

From Proto-Vietic *k-raː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kraʔ ~ *(k)rah.

Attested in the Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum (1651), a dictionary based chiefly on the Northern dialects.

The Middle Vietnamese form ancestral to the modern Southern Vietnamese form, although technically unattested, should be phonologically identical to the Northern Middle Vietnamese form here. The modern Southern form is listed as a "descendant" in this entry for convenience.

The modern North Central form tra is not a reflex of this form, but from an earlier from that underwent a separate development of the onset.

già (𦓅, 𫅷)

1. (living being) old

   ou᷄ già ― old man

   bà già ― old woman

   thân ou᷄ già bà già ― dear old man and woman

   già cả ― very old

   già nua ― very old

   rủ rỉ già cả ― old and decrepit

   già lẩn ― senile

   già móm ― old and toothless

   Càng già càng khôn.

   Wisdom increases with age.

   đến già ― to reach old age, to approach old age

2. overripe, mature

   blái già ― overripe fruit

   tle già ― mature bamboo

   ngà già ― mature ivory

   bạc già ― old silver

• Northern Vietnamese: già
• Southern Vietnamese: già

• già giẹt, già giệt

• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “già”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.
• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “càng”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.
• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “đến”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.
• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “lẩn”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.
• De Rhodes, Alexandre (1651), “móm”, Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum.

• (North Central Vietnam) tra

From Middle Vietnamese già, from Proto-Vietic *k-raː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kraʔ ~ *(k)rah. Cognate with Muong khà, Tho [Cuối Chăm] kʰraː¹, Bahnar kră. Compare also Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects tra.

The standard written Vietnamese form is irregular (the expected form would be **sa), while the North Central form shows the shift from *k-r to *k-l observable in several other instances: compare sâu and trâu (“caterpillar”), sừng and trừng (“horn”). See giòi (“maggot”), giữa (“middle”) for other instances of mainstream Vietnamese ‹gi› from initial *k-r.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaː˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jaː˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jaː˨˩]

già • (𦓅, 𫅷)

1. (of lifeforms) old; compare cũ (of objects)

   nhường bước người già ― to make way for the elderly

   gà già thịt dai ― old chickens have leathery meat

   cây già ― old tree

2. having the characteristics of appearances of an old person although not that old

   mặt già ― an old face (ie. with wrinkles)

   tìm một chị tiếng già để đóng vai bà lão ― to search for a woman with an old voice to voice the role of an old woman (ie. someone whose voice sounds like an old person)

   lo nghĩ nhiều nên già trước tuổi ― to worry too much and thus age too soon

3. veteran, experienced, longtime

   thầy già ― veteran teacher

   Cậu ta là bạn già của mình. ― He is my old friend.

   Chưa đến bốn mươi nhưng đã già tuổi Đảng.

   Not even 40 years old but already a Party veteran.

4. overripe

   cau già ― overripe areca nut

   bầu già ― overripe gourd

5. above average, more than normal

   nước nóng già ― too-warm water

   dọa già dọa non ― to scare someone and make them give in

   nước ô-xi già ― hydrogen peroxide

6. slightly excessive, over

   già một thước ― over by one meter

   lấy già một đấu ― scoop just over one dou

• trẻ

• cũ; lão

già

1. (literary or dialectal) I/me/you, a village/tribe elder or elderly person

   Cám ơn già.

   Thank you, elder.

già

1. (familiar) elder, old person
2. (card games) king

• "già" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)

• gài