Emotional cái in front of a noun
(emphasis, emotion)
Pattern: cái + [classifier] + [noun] · cái + [name] (Northern colloquial)
B2 · estimatespoken
In Saigon: cái + [classifier] + [noun] (cái thằng đó, cái con nhỏ này) · In Hà Nội: cái + [classifier] + [noun] · cái + [girl's name] (cái Lan)
Typed without accents: cai
Put cái in front of a person, an animal or a matter that already has its own classifier, and it adds feeling: cái con mèo này (this cat!), cái thằng nhỏ đó (that little boy), cái chuyện hôm qua (that business yesterday). The voice tells you which feeling: annoyance, fondness or plain emphasis, a little like English "that … of yours".
The order is cái + classifier + noun, often with này or đó at the end: cái ông hàng xóm, cái con nhỏ này. This is not the ordinary cái that counts things: in cái bàn (the table), cái is the classifier itself and carries no feeling. The test is a second classifier. If con, thằng, ông or bà follows cái, the cái is the emotional one.
It's casual speech, among family and friends. About a person it can sound rude, so don't use it about anyone older or anyone you owe respect, and never in front of them. With chuyện and vụ (matter) it's mild and very common: Cái vụ đó tính sau. We'll deal with that later.
In Hà Nội, older people also put cái before a girl's name, cái Lan, meaning young Lan. That use is Northern only.
Examples
Highlighted words are what Saigon and Hà Nội say differently.
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Saigon
Cái con mèo này, lại làm bể ly nữa rồi!
Hà Nội
Cái con mèo này, lại làm vỡ cốc nữa rồi!
This cat! It's broken another glass!
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Saigon
Cái thằng nhỏ đó dễ thương ghê.
Hà Nội
Cái thằng bé ấy dễ thương thế.
That little boy is so sweet.
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Saigon
Cái ông hàng xóm mở nhạc lớn quá trời.
Hà Nội
Cái ông hàng xóm bật nhạc to quá.
That neighbour of ours plays his music so loud.
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Cái chuyện hôm qua, thôi bỏ qua đi anh.
That business yesterday, let's just let it go.