giay

Giay, written giày in Vietnamese, is the term for shoes or footwear. The unaccented form giay is common in digital text, labels, and international contexts where diacritics are not used. In everyday Vietnamese, giay appears in many compound names describing different kinds of shoe styles.

Common categories include giày da (leather shoes), giày thể thao (athletic shoes), giày cao gót (high-heeled shoes), and giày bốt (boots). For casual wear, dép refers to sandals or slides, but giay covers most closed-toe footwear. Traditional wooden footwear, known as guốc, also figures in Vietnamese history and culture.

Economically, Vietnam is a major producer and exporter of footwear, manufacturing for many global brands. The industry employs large numbers of workers and spans multiple provinces, with significant production in both northern and southern regions. In recent years, attention has focused on labor conditions, wage levels, and environmental sustainability throughout the supply chain.

Beyond its literal meaning, giay is a common component in product labeling and catalogs. The term thus serves both linguistic and practical roles in Vietnamese commerce and daily life.