Simple sentences · Tiếng Việt

Vietnamese grammar is friendlier than most: verbs never change, there are no plurals to add, and no "a" or "the". Most of the work is done by word order and a few small words. This chapter gives you the patterns for real everyday sentences.

8.1 Word order

Vietnamese puts words in the same order as English: who + does + what.

I eat pho.

You drink tea. (to a woman a bit older)

Verbs never change form: ăn is "eat", "eats", "ate" and "eating". Swap the parts and listen:

When did it happen?

Since the verb never changes, time comes from context or from a small word in front of the verb: đã (already happened), đang (happening now) or sẽ (will happen).

In everyday speech these are often left out when the time is obvious: Hôm qua tôi ăn phở is just "yesterday I eat pho", and everyone understands.

Chúng tôi is the standard "we". Among friends, Southerners often say tụi mình or tụi tui instead.

8.2 "Is": là, or nothing at all

là links two things (nouns): "A is B".

I'm a student.

This is my house.

But descriptions (adjectives) don't use là. The adjective follows directly, like a verb:

I'm tired. (literally "I tired")

The pho is delicious.

Tôi là mệt is a classic beginner mistake. Use là only before a noun.

To say "very", put rất before the adjective. In conversation you'll more often hear quá ("so…!") or the Southern lắm after it:

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8.3 Saying no

Put không ("not") before the verb or adjective:

I don't understand.

I don't eat meat.

For a noun, say không phải là ("is not"):

I'm not American.

And for "not yet", use chưa:

I haven't eaten yet.

8.4 Yes/no questions

To ask a yes/no question, add không at the end. Often có goes before the verb too:

Are you well?

Do you like pho?

Answering

There's no single word for "yes". Answer with có (yes) or không (no), or simply repeat the verb or adjective. Add dạ to be polite.

Question	Yes	No

"…yet?" and "…right?"

End with chưa to ask whether something has happened yet. The answers are rồi (already) or chưa (not yet). Ăn cơm chưa? ("Eaten yet?") is also a friendly greeting.

Have you eaten yet? · Yes, I have. · Not yet.

End with phải không ("right?") to check something you think is true:

You're Australian, right?

8.5 Useful verbs

Vietnamese	English	Example
	to have; there is	Is there wifi here?
	to go	I'm going to the market.
	to want	I want to drink some water.
	to know	I don't know.
	to understand	Do you understand?
	to speak	I speak a little Vietnamese.
	to do; to work	What do you do?

Two lifesavers:

Sorry, I don't understand.

Could you speak slowly?

8.6 Dialogue: at a café

Ordering is one pattern: Cho ("give") + me + the thing. Me is your word for yourself, so it depends on who's serving you.

Mark orders an iced coffee in Saigon. The server is younger than him.

Mark: Excuse me!
Server: What would you like to drink?
Mark: An iced milk coffee, please.
Server: Anything to eat?
Mark: No, thanks. Is there wifi here?
Server: Yes, there is.
Mark: Excuse me, the bill please!
Server: That's 25,000.
Mark: Here you go. Thanks!

New words: ly (glass), cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk, a Saigon classic), tính tiền (to pay the bill), ở đây (here).

ly, tô and ổ (for a glass, a bowl and a loaf of bread) are the Southern words. In the North you'll hear cốc for a glass and bát for a bowl.

8.7 Practice

Fix the mistake: Tôi là mệt.

Adjectives don't take là.

Make it a question: Anh khỏe.

Add không at the end.

Say: "I'm not American, I'm Australian."

Say: "Have you eaten yet?" (to a woman a bit older)

Order a bowl of pho (you're a woman, the server is younger)

Vocabulary

Vietnamese	English
	we
	(already happened)
	(happening now)
	will
	very
	not; no
	not yet
	already
	tired
	hungry
	busy
	hot
	to know
	to understand
	to give
	glass (Southern)
	to pay the bill
	a little

Flashcards

Study Vietnamese (Southern) › 08 Simple sentences in the Anki deck.