Language/Vietnamese/Grammar/Questions

Vietnamese Grammar - Questions

Hi Vietnamese learners! 😊
In this lesson, we are going to explore questions in Vietnamese. We will learn how to form questions, use question words, and distinguish between different question types in Vietnamese. Let's get started!

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Negation, Plurals, Past Tense Verbs & Nouns.

Introduction

Asking questions is essential for communication, whether you are traveling, making friends, or simply curious. In Vietnamese, questions can be formed by changing the intonation or by adding a question particle or question words. The structure of Vietnamese questions is relatively simple, but you need to know the correct word order and the right intonation to sound natural.

In this lesson, we will cover the following topics:

• Basic question formation
• Yes/No questions
• Wh-questions
• Tag questions
• Indirect questions

Before we start, I would like to remind you that practice makes perfect. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, and try to use Vietnamese questions as much as possible. To improve your Vietnamese Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Basic question formation

In Vietnamese, questions can be formed by changing the intonation or by adding a question particle or question words at the end of a sentence. Here's an example:

• Statement: Tôi ăn cơm. (I eat rice.)
• Question: Tôi ăn cơm? (Do I eat rice?)

As you can see, the intonation rises at the end of the question, indicating that it is a question. The question particle ? is optional in Vietnamese.

Here's another example using the question particle đi:

• Statement: Anh ta đến từ Mỹ. (He comes from the USA.)
• Question: Anh ta đến từ Mỹ đi? (Does he come from the USA?)

In this case, the question particle đi emphasizes the question and makes it sound more natural in informal situations.

Sometimes, Vietnamese also uses the word không (not) to form negative questions, but the intonation still rises at the end:

• Statement: Em đưa xe đạp đến trường. (She brings her bicycle to school.)
• Question: Em không đưa xe đạp đến trường? (Doesn't she bring her bicycle to school?)

To summarize, Vietnamese questions can be formed by:

• Changing the intonation
• Adding a question particle (ột, chứ, đi, hả, à, etc.)
• Using question words (ai, gì, sao, như nào, bao lâu, etc.)

Now let's move on to different types of questions in Vietnamese.

Yes/No questions

Yes/No questions are the simplest type of questions that can be answered with either yes or no. In Vietnamese, you can form Yes/No questions by changing the intonation or by adding a question particle to the end of a sentence.

Here are some examples:

Vietnamese	Pronunciation	English
Anh ta đến từ Mỹ đi?	ăn ta đến từ Mu-ee di?	Does he come from USA?
Cô ấy ở đây không?	Cô ăn ở đây không?	Is she here?
Máy tính của bạn xịn không?	Máy tính của bạn ăn xịn không?	Is your computer fancy?
Đi học bằng xe đạp đi?	Đi học bằng xe đạp đi?	Do you go to school by bike?

Notice that in Vietnamese, the intonation rises at the end of the sentence to indicate a Yes/No question. The question particle đi can also be used to emphasize the question, but it is optional.

Wh-questions

Wh-questions are questions that begin with question words such as who, what, where, when, why, how, etc. In Vietnamese, the word order of Wh-questions is similar to that of Yes/No questions, but they start with a question word and end with a question particle.

Here are some examples:

Vietnamese	Pronunciation	English
Bạn tên gì?	Bạn tên gì?	What's your name?
Bạn đến từ đâu?	Bạn đến từ đâu?	Where are you from?
Sách kia của ai?	Sách kia của ai?	Whose book is that?
Bạn đánh piano như thế nào?	Bạn đánh piano như thế nào?	How do you play piano?
Bạn đi đâu sau này?	Bạn đi đâu sau này?	Where will you go in the future?

In Vietnamese, the question word usually appears first in the sentence, followed by the subject (if there is one), the verb, and the object. The question particle đi can be added at the end of the sentence to indicate a question.

Tag questions

Tag questions are questions that are added to the end of a statement to confirm or seek approval, similar to English phrases such as "isn't it?" or "right?". In Vietnamese, you can form a tag question by adding the question particle nhỉ, phải không or chứ after a statement.

Here are some examples:

Vietnamese	Pronunciation	English
Ngày mai trời mưa nhỉ?	Ngày mai trời mưa nhỉ?	It's going to rain tomorrow, isn't it?
Cô ấy là giáo viên phải không?	Cô ấy là giáo viên phải không?	She's a teacher, isn't she?
Mình đi chơi chứ?	Mình đi chơi chứ?	Let's go out, shall we?
Em không muốn ở đây nửa, đúng không?	Em không muốn ở đây nửa, đúng không?	You don't want to stay here anymore, right?

Notice that the tag question particle appears at the end of the sentence and reflects the tone of the speaker. The question particle nhỉ can be used in informal situations, while phải không and chứ are more formal.

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are questions that are embedded within a sentence, acting as a noun clause. In Vietnamese, they are introduced by question words such as whether, what, how, who, when, etc., and the word order is similar to that of a question.

Here are some examples:

• Direct question: Bạn đã ăn cơm chưa? (Have you eaten rice?)

Indirect question: Tôi không biết bạn đã ăn cơm chưa. (I don't know whether you have eaten rice.)

• Direct question: Bạn đến từ nước nào? (Which country are you from?)

Indirect question: Tôi muốn biết bạn đến từ nước nào. (I want to know which country you are from.)

• Direct question: Bạn học tiếng Việt được bao lâu rồi? (How long have you been studying Vietnamese?)

Indirect question: Tôi không biết bạn học tiếng Việt được bao lâu rồi. (I don't know how long you have been studying Vietnamese.)

Notice that the indirect question follows the same structure as a direct question, but it is embedded within a sentence and introduced by a question word.

Now that you know the different types of questions in Vietnamese, let's practice using them in context.

Dialogue

Here's a dialogue between Hoa and Minh that illustrates different types of questions in Vietnamese:

• Hoa: Chào em, bạn tên là gì? (Hi, what's your name?)
• Minh: Xin chào Hoa, tôi là Minh. (Hello Hoa, I'm Minh.)
• Hoa: Minh đến từ đâu vậy? (Where are you from, Minh?)
• Minh: Tôi đến từ Hà Nội. (I'm from Hanoi.)
• Hoa: Minh học tiếng Việt được bao lâu rồi? (How long have you been studying Vietnamese, Minh?)
• Minh: Tôi học tiếng Việt được 2 năm rồi. (I've been studying Vietnamese for 2 years.)
• Hoa: Minh có muốn đi chơi không? (Do you want to go out, Minh?)
• Minh: Ừ, mình cùng đi chơi đi. (Sure, let's go out.)

I hope this dialogue helps you see how different types of questions can be used in Vietnamese. Don't be afraid to practice and make mistakes. The more you use Vietnamese questions, the easier it will become!

Sources

• Vietnamese basic grammar: sentence structure – YourVietnamese
• Free Vietnamese Language Quiz - Test Your Language
• Vietnamese language - Wikipedia

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• Negation
• Give your Opinion
• Plurals
• Gender
• Articles
• Personal pronouns
• Tenses
• How to Use Have