tai
part of speech
proper noun (Tai — peoples and languages); part of "tai chi"; Mandarin pinyin (tài, tāi, tái); also a name
meaning for a pupil
1) Tai chi (or t'ai chi) is a Chinese system of slow, flowing exercise movements, practised for health and calm. tree →
2) The Tai peoples and Tai languages include Thai and Lao and related languages of South-East Asia and southern China. tree →
3) (Mandarin, pinyin) "Tài" means "too" or "very", as in "tài hǎo le!" (great! — sounds like "tie how luh"); "tài" is also in "tàiyáng", the sun. tree →
4) (a name) Tai is a first name, for example a Welsh or Chinese name. It is not an English word on its own. tree →
5) A tai is a kind of red sea fish, also called red bream. tree →
sense in the lessons
In PE and health lessons, tai chi is a calm exercise done in parks across China and the world, good for balance, especially for older people. In geography, Tai languages are spoken in Thailand, Laos and southern China. In Mandarin heard on the street, "tài" comes before adjectives: tài lěng le (too cold).
examples
- Grandma does tai chi in the park every morning. tree →
- Tai chi moves are slow and gentle. tree →
- Thai and Lao are Tai languages. tree →
- (Mandarin, pinyin) "Tài hǎo le!" means "That's great!" tree →
- (Mandarin, pinyin) "Tài guì le" means "too expensive". tree →
- We tried tai chi in PE and it was surprisingly hard. tree →
- (a name) Tai is new in our class. tree →
- “I think the TAI (the red bream) must be the thief who has stolen the hook!” tree →
note
"Tai" sounds like "tie" to an English ear. On its own it is not an English word: it appears in "tai chi", names, and Chinese words written in pinyin. Do not confuse with "Thai" (from Thailand), which sounds the same, or with the word "tie".
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tai» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.