Indicates an inanimate, tangible thing / Indicates animals / Precedes another classifier (any one but “cái” itself), effectively acting as a focus marker, sometimes conveying a connotation of deprecation, especially if persons are referred to.

(only in compounds) a thing; a whatsit

(archaic) mother

(of a non-human and non-avian species of animal or plant or their reproductive organs) female / (now chiefly in compounds) big, large, main

(Northern Vietnam) Title affixed to rural young girls' names.

this

(anatomy) a thumb or a big toe

itch mite

(grammar) the feminine gender

(grammar) feminine