Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Incorrect / Wrong / False: Not in accordance with fact, truth, or a standard. Describes something that is erroneous, inaccurate, or mistaken.
   • Fruitful / Bearing much fruit: Describes a plant or tree that produces a large or dense quantity of fruit.
   • Out of alignment / Not matching: Describes things that do not fit together correctly or are misaligned.

2. Verb:

   • To order / To send / To dispatch: To instruct or command someone, typically of a lower status, to go somewhere or do something.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Tin đồn đó hoàn toàn sai. (That rumor is completely false.)
  • Cây xoài này rất sai quả. (This mango tree is very fruitful.)
  • Cánh cửa bị sai khớp. (The door is out of alignment.)

• Verb:

  • Mẹ sai con đi mua sữa. (The mother sends her child to buy milk.)

Advanced Usage

• "sai bét" / "sai be bét": (adjective, colloquial) Completely wrong, utterly incorrect.

  • Bài toán của cậu tính sai bét rồi. (Your math problem is completely wrong.)

• "sai khiến": (verb) To order about, to boss someone around (often with a negative connotation).

  • Ông chủ hay sai khiến nhân viên. (The boss often orders the employees around.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sai sót (n): Error, mistake, omission.

  • Bản báo cáo có nhiều sai sót. (The report has many errors.)

• Sai lệch (adj): Deviant, discrepant, not in conformity.

  • Số liệu bị sai lệch so với thực tế. (The data is discrepant from reality.)

• Sai phạm (n): Violation, infraction (often of rules or laws).

  • Anh ta bị phát hiện có sai phạm trong công việc. (He was found to have committed violations in his work.)

Different Meanings in Context

• As an Adjective:
  • Logical/Moral Incorrectness: Lập luận sai. (Faulty reasoning.)
  • Mechanical/Physical Misalignment: Bánh xe bị sai. (The wheel is misaligned.)
• As a Verb:
  • Implies a hierarchy where the subject has authority over the object being sent or ordered.

Synonyms

• Incorrect: Wrong, false, erroneous, inaccurate.
• Fruitful: Prolific, productive, heavy with fruit.
• To order: To command, to instruct, to dispatch.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Sai một li, đi một dặm: Literally "To be off by a millimeter, to go astray by a mile." Equivalent to "A miss is as good as a mile" or "For want of a nail the shoe was lost." Highlights how a small error can lead to a large mistake.

  • Phải tính toán cẩn thận, sai một li đi một dặm đấy. (You must calculate carefully; a tiny error can lead to a huge mistake.)

• Sai lời / Sai hẹn: To break one's promise or word.

  • Anh ấy đã sai lời với tôi. (He broke his promise to me.)

• Sai kiểu: Out of style, not conforming to the model.

  • Chiếc áo này bị sai kiểu. (This shirt is the wrong style/out of model.)

adj

1. fruitful, bearing much fruit false
   • tin đồn sai
     false numerer failing to keep
   • sai lời
     to fail to keep one's words out of
   • sai kiểu
     out of model
   • sai khớp
     out of joint

verb

1. to order, to send
   • sai con đi tiệm
     to send one's child for some shopping