Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Spicy, hot: Having a pungent, burning flavor characteristic of chili peppers or certain spices.
   • Pungent, acrid, stinging: Causing a sharp, irritating sensation, often to the eyes or nose, as from smoke or fumes.
   • Bitter, galling: Describing a feeling of deep resentment, frustration, or sharp disappointment following a loss or failure.

2. Adjective (colloquial):

   • Eager, bent on, set on: Having a strong, often impatient, desire to do something or to achieve a specific outcome, especially to recover from a setback.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Spicy):

  • Món cà ri này rất cay. (This curry is very spicy.)
  • Quả ớt cay xé. (The chili pepper is blisteringly hot.)

• Adjective (Stinging):

  • Mắt tôi bị cay vì khói. (My eyes are stinging from the smoke.)
  • Mắt cay sè vì thiếu ngủ. (Eyes feel prickly from lack of sleep.)

• Adjective (Bitter/Galling):

  • Đội bóng nhận một thất bại rất cay. (The team suffered a very bitter defeat.)
  • Bà ta cay vì mất cả vốn lẫn lãi. (She is bitterly disappointed because she lost both her capital and profit.)

• Adjective (Eager/Set on):

  • Nó đang cay làm việc ấy. (He is dead set on doing that work.)
  • Con bạc cay ăn cay gỡ. (The gambler, stung by loss, is bent on winning to recoup his losses.)

Advanced Usage

• "cay nghiến": Intensely bitter or resentful.

  • Nỗi thất vọng cay nghiến. (A deeply bitter disappointment.)

• "thua cay": To lose badly, to suffer a galling defeat.

  • Quân địch thua cay. (The enemy suffered a crushing defeat.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cay cay (adj): Mildly spicy or stinging.

  • Cảm giác cay cay nơi đầu lưỡi. (A tingling spicy sensation on the tip of the tongue.)

• Cay đắng (adj): Bitter (both in taste and figuratively for sorrow/resentment).

  • Bài học cay đắng. (A bitter lesson.)

Synonyms

• Spicy/Hot: Piquant, peppery.
• Pungent: Acrid, irritating.
• Bitter: Resentful, galling, vexing.
• Eager: Keen, determined.

Related Idioms

• Cay như ớt: As hot as a chili pepper; used to describe something extremely spicy.

  • Món súp này cay như ớt. (This soup is as hot as chili.)

• Gừng cay muối mặn: Literally "ginger is spicy, salt is salty"; symbolizes the shared bitter and sweet experiences in a long-term relationship, like marriage.

  • Tình nghĩa vợ chồng gừng cay muối mặn. (The marital bond has weathered life's ups and downs.)

noun

1. Quail

adj

1. Hot (like pepper)
   • quả ớt cay xé
     the chilli pod is stingingly hot
2. Pungent, stinging, pricking, acrid
   • mắt bị cay khói
     eyes stung by smoke
   • mắt cay sè vì thiếu ngủ
     eyes having a pricking sensation from lack of sleep
   • bị một vố rất cay
     to receive a stinging blow
3. Set on, bent on
   • con bạc cay ăn cay gỡ
     a gambler set on winning and on making good his losses
   • nó đang cay làm việc ấy