gối

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣoj˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣoj˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ɣoj˦˥]

From Proto-Vietic *-koːlʔ, perhaps from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kulʔ, a variant of *kəl( ) ~ *kəəlʔ (“to support; to help”). Compare Khmer កល់ (kɑl, “to support from below”), ខ្នល់ (khnɑl, “prop; cushion”).

(classifier chiếc, cái) gối • (𩠴, 𫋻)

1. a pillow

   vỏ/bao/áo gối ― a pillow case

   gối ôm ― a body pillow

gối

1. to rest one's head on something

   gối đầu ― to rest one's head (on something)

   sách gối đầu giường ― a bible (literally, “a book to put under your pillow; a book that you can use for head rest”)

From Proto-Vietic *t-kuːlʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *-kuul; cognate with Pacoh tarcoul and Cua takuːl.

• (North Central Vietnam) cúi (no lenition, in dialects where *-l > /j/)
• (North Central Vietnam) cún (no lenition, in dialects where *-l > /n/)
• (North Central Vietnam) gúi (with lenition, in dialects where *-l > /j/)

(classifier cái) gối • (𨆝)

1. (usually in compounds, likely to avoid ambiguity with gối (“pillow”)) a knee (joint in the middle of the leg and area around it)

   Synonyms: đầu gối, trốc gối

   lên gối ― to knee

   Nếu lên gối không được thì xuống chỏ.

   If you can't knee your opponent, try elbowing them.