kai

See also: Appendix:Variations of "kai"

Languages (35)

Translingual • English

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Antillean Creole • Bola • Chinese • Dongxiang • Estonian • Faroese • Finnish • Guinea-Bissau Creole • Hausa • Hawaiian • Japanese • Kabuverdianu • Karajá • Khumi Chin • Lithuanian • Livvi • Mandarin • Maori • Middle English • Mizo • North Frisian • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Pagu • Papiamentu • Rapa Nui • Southeastern Tepehuan • Sundanese • Tok Pisin • Tokelauan • Tongan • Tuvaluan • Zou

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Karai-Karai.

Symbol

kai

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Karekare.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Karekare terms

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Maori kai. Doublet of makan (via Malay) in Malaysian and Singaporean English varieties.

Pronunciation

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /kaɪ̯/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this pronunciation?) (particularly: the audio is somewhat too fast)
• Rhymes: -aɪ

Noun

kai (uncountable)

1. (Australia, New Zealand, informal) Food. [from 19th c.]
   • 1995, Graeme Williams, The soc.culture.new-zealand FAQ:

     Actually, I'm not sure I like these new hangis using the foil, it tends to stop the juices getting through to the stones and I reckon the hangi kai is drier to the palate.

   • 2003, Carmen, “Is there really a censor in NZ?!”, in nz.general (Usenet):

     Got to go now and get some kai.

   • 2018, Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip, University of Queensland Press, published 2023, page 118:

     When the sausage man handed the kai over, Kerry passed two wieners to a pair of skinny white kids who had been watching the queue the whole time.

See also

• kai kai
• kai-kai
• kai-lan
• koen-kai
• pok kai
• tom kha kai

Anagrams

• AKI, KIA, Kia, aik

Antillean Creole

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Noun

kai

1. house, building

   I bati an kai.

   He built a house.

Bola

Noun

kai

1. tree

   Iau a tolo puru a kai ― I cut down a tree.

References

• René van den Berg and Brent Wiebe, Bola Grammar Sketch, p. 57

Chinese

Etymology

From Mandarin 凱子 / 凯子 (kǎizi).

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): kaai¹

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: kaai¹
    • Yale: kāai
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kaai¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: kai¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaːi̯⁵⁵/

Adjective

kai

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, dated) foolish; idiotic
   • 2012, 回到三國 [Three Kingdoms RPG], episode 1, spoken by 司馬信 (馬國明):

     詰我啲兄弟，佢都kai kai地嘅。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     诘我啲兄弟，佢都kai kai地嘅。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     gat⁶ ngo⁵ di¹ hing¹ dai⁶, keoi⁵ dou¹ kaai¹ kaai¹ dei² ge³. [Jyutping]

     Humilliating my bro? He's such an idiot.

Verb

kai

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, slang, dated) to be foolish; to act like an idiot

See also

• kai子 (kaai1 zi2)

Dongxiang

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰɑj/

Noun

kai

1. wind
2. air

References

• Ma Guozhong (马国忠); Chen Yuanlong (陈元龙) (2012), “kai”, in 东乡语汉语词典 [Dongxiang-Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), 2nd edition, Lanzhou: 甘肃民族出版社, →ISBN, page 216

Estonian

Etymology

From German Kai, from Dutch kaai, from French quai.

Noun

kai (genitive kai, partitive kaid)

1. quay

Declension

Declension of kai (ÕS type 26/koi, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		kai	kaid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	kai
genitive			kaide
partitive		kaid	kaisid
illative		kaisse	kaidesse
inessive		kais	kaides
elative		kaist	kaidest
allative		kaile	kaidele
adessive		kail	kaidel
ablative		kailt	kaidelt
translative		kaiks	kaideks
terminative		kaini	kaideni
essive		kaina	kaidena
abessive		kaita	kaideta
comitative		kaiga	kaidega

Faroese

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish kaj, from Old French kay, cail (modern French quai), from Gaulish cagiíum (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“hedge”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰaiː/
• Rhymes: -aiː

Noun

kai f (genitive singular kaiar, plural kaiir)

1. (colloquial) quay

Declension

f2	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	kai	kaiin	kaiir	kaiirnar
accusative	kai	kaiina	kaiir	kaiirnar
dative	kai	kaiini	kaium	kaiunum
genitive	kaiar	kaiarinnar	kaia	kaianna

Synonyms

• bryggja
• atløgubryggja

Finnish

Etymology

Probably a clipping of kaiketi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑi̯(ˣ)/, [ˈkɑ̝i̯(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -ɑi
• Syllabification^(key): kai
• Hyphenation^(key): kai

Adverb

kai

1. probably, I guess (that) (used to express a possibility or belief of what's going to happen)

   Synonyms: ehkä, kenties, luultavasti, otaksuttavasti, arvatenkin, varmaankin, mahdollisesti, kaiketi

   Tulee kai sade.

   It will probably rain.

   Minun pitää kai lähteä.

   I guess I'll have to go.

   Lasseko tämän rikkoi? — Niin kai.

   Was it Lasse who broke this? — Probably yes.

2. Used to indicate derision or disbelief.

   Luulisi hänen osaavan. — Kyllä kai!

   One would think he can. — Yes, but I doubt!

   Annas minä autan! — Niin kai, et sinä ole ennenkään auttanut.

   Let me help you! — Bah, you haven't been much of a help so far.

3. Used as a fortifier, or to confirm.

   Synonyms: toki, tottahan

   Totta kai minä sinua uskon!

   Of course I believe you!

   Kai sinä tämän tiedät!

   You know this, don't you!

Derived terms

• kaipa

Further reading

• “kai”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Anagrams

• Aki, aik.

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese cair. Cognate with Kabuverdianu kai.

Verb

kai

1. to fall

Hausa

Etymology 1

From Proto-Afroasiatic [Term?]. Cognates include Mangas ka, Polci kii, Miship ɡɨ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kái/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [kéi]

Pronoun

kai

1. you (2nd person singular subject pronoun)

See also

• mákà (2nd person singular indirect object enclitic pronoun)
• ká (2nd person singular independent object pronoun)
• -kà (2nd person singular possessive enclitic pronoun)

Hausa personal pronouns

independent pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person		nī	mū
2nd person	m	kai	kū
	f	kē
3rd person	m	shī	sū
	f	ita
direct object pronouns*
		singular	plural
1st person		ni	mu
2nd person	m	ka	ku
	f	ki
3rd person	m	shi	su
	f	ta
indirect object pronouns
		singular	plural
1st person		minì	manà
2nd person	m	makà	mukù
	f	mikì
3rd person	m	masà	musù
	f	matà

* The default tone of the direct object pronouns is high, but it usually changes to low immediately after a high tone, unless that high tone is part of a verb with a high-low-high pattern.

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See also the Hausa possessive pronouns.

Etymology 2

Cognate with Bole kóːʔiː, Galambu kā, Gera ká, Deno kàá, Mangas kaam, Goemai kāː, Polci gaam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kâi/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [kâi]

Noun

kâi m (plural kāwunā̀, possessed form kâin)

1. head

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *tai (compare with Maori tai), from Proto-Oceanic *tasik, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tasik (compare with Malay tasik).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkai̯/, [ˈkɐj], [ˈkɛj] (rapid speech)

Noun

kai

1. sea

   i kai ― towards the sea

   o kai ― of the lowland, of the sea, seaward

   nā kānaka o kai ― shore dwellers

2. salt water
3. seaside, area near the sea, lowlands
4. tide, current in the sea
5. gravy, sauce, dressing, soup, broth

Derived terms

• Kai Make
• makai (“seaward”)

See also

• wai
• moana

Verb

kai

1. (stative) to be insipid, brackish, tasteless

Interjection

kai

1. my, how much!; how very! how terrific!

   kai ka nani! ― how beautiful!

   kai ke kolohe! ― oh, how mischievous!

See also

• kainō
• keu

References

• Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H. (1986), “kai”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN

Japanese

Romanization

kai

1. Rōmaji transcription of かい

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese cair.

Verb

kai

1. to fall

Karajá

Pronoun

kai

1. you, second-person singular pronoun

Usage notes

• This term is used in both women's and men's speech.

Derived terms

• kaiboho

References

• Michael Dunn, Gender determined dialect variation, in The Expression of Gender (edited by Greville G. Corbett)
• David Lee Fortune, Gramática Karajá: um Estudo Preliminar em Forma Transformacional

Khumi Chin

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *kay, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ka. Cognates include Hakka 𠊎 (ngài) and Burmese ငါ (nga).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kai̯˥/

Pronoun

kai

1. I

See also

Khumi Chin personal pronouns

	singular	plural
1st person	kai	kaiceL kaicheI
2nd person	nang	nangceL nangcheI
3rd person	äni	äniceL änicheI

Varieties of Khumi: ^L Lemi Chin, ^I Khimi Chin

References

• R. Shafer (1944), “Khimi Grammar and Vocabulary”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, volume 11, number 2, page 419
• K. E. Herr (2011), The phonological interpretation of minor syllables, applied to Lemi Chin‎, Payap University, page 44