What does "it" mean in Vietnamese?
For the autodidact student: English cannot make a sentence without a subject, and so it supplies a small empty word when it has nothing to say: "It is raining", "It is late", "It is hard to learn". It also has one word, "it", for every thing and every animal that has already been mentioned: "I saw the cat and fed it". Vietnamese has no single word that does all this. The word that dictionaries give for "it" is nó (acute tone, rising), but nó is not the English "it". It is a third-person pronoun that is used above all for animals, children and things, and in most sentences where English has "it", Vietnamese has no pronoun at all.
This lesson teaches the word nó and the three ways in which Vietnamese says what English says with "it": the pronoun nó; saying nothing; and the pointing words đây and đó.
Five things differ from English:
1. Most English "it"s are not translated. Where "it" is only a grammatical placeholder, Vietnamese begins with the weather, the time or the state itself: Trời mưa ("it rains", literally "sky rains"), Muộn rồi ("it is late already"), Chín giờ rồi ("it is nine o'clock"). Do not put nó in front of these. 2. Nó is a person-word as much as a thing-word. It means "he" or "she" for a child or an animal, and "it" for an object. Nó đói is "it is hungry" of a cat, and "he is hungry" or "she is hungry" of a small child. The speaker does not choose between "he" and "it", because Vietnamese does not make the distinction here. 3. Nó has a rank. With adults it is rough, and often rude. A speaker uses it for children, for animals, for things, and for an adult only when scorning that person. For a classmate or an older person, the words of Lesson 8 and Lesson 9 apply: anh ấy, chị ấy, cô ấy, ông ấy, bạn ấy. 4. For things, nó is colloquial and optional. In talk, a speaker often names the topic and then repeats it with nó: Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi ("this chair, it has snapped"). The sentence is as complete without nó. Dictionaries add that nó for an inanimate "it", used as a translation of English "it", is often artificial. A beginner will usually do better to repeat the noun or to say nothing. 5. "It is …" that points is made with đây or đó. Đây là is "this is", Đó là is "that is": Là tôi đây! ("It is I!", 10.30).
Etymology. Wiktionary gives nó as probably a variant of nọ, "that yonder": a pointing word became a pronoun, which is a very common path. Chữ Nôm writes it with the characters 奴 or 伮. The Vietnamese-language Wiktionary defines it as a third-person singular pronoun, used for persons of lower status or for something already mentioned.
Orthography. Nó is n + ó: the acute accent is the sắc tone. Do not write no ("full, replete"), nọ ("that yonder") or nỏ ("crossbow"), which differ in tone only. Tone is part of the spelling.
- nó = he, she or it, said of animals, children and things; it is rough or rude when said of adults - Most English "it"s have no word: Trời mưa. / Muộn rồi. / Chín giờ rồi. (no nó) - For a thing, nó is colloquial and optional: Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi. = Cái ghế này gãy rồi. An object that is already known is often simply left out: Tôi rất thích. = "I like it a lot." - nó never changes form: Tôi thấy nó (object), Nó đói (subject), nhà nó / sách của nó (owner). The plural is chúng nó. - "It is …" that identifies is made with đây or đó: Là tôi đây!
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The IPA in this lesson is a broad transcription of the Hanoi standard, with the tone written in Chao tone letters after each syllable, as in the earlier lessons. The six tones, in Hanoi values:
- Level, no mark: ma /maː˧˧/ "ghost" - Falling, grave accent: mà /maː˨˩/ "but" - Rising, acute accent: má /maː˧˦/ "mother (Southern); cheek" - Dipping, hook above: mả /maː˧˩/ "grave, tomb" - Broken rising, tilde: mã /maː˧˥/ "horse (Sino-Vietnamese)", with a glottal break in the middle of the vowel - Heavy, dot below: mạ /maː˧˨ʔ/ "rice seedling", short, low, ending in a glottal catch
Key words for this lesson:
- nó /nɔ˧˦/ — n is as in English "no". The vowel o is an open, rounded [ɔ], the vowel of British "not" or of "law", and not the closed [o] of English "go". The acute tone rises. Wiktionary records the Saigon pronunciation as [nɔ˦˥]: the same word, the same rise. - chúng nó /t͡ɕuŋ͡m˧˦ nɔ˧˦/ — "they" for children, animals and things. The lips close at the end of chúng, as in Lesson 8. - ghế /ɣe˧˦/ — gh is the same sound as g, a voiced [ɣ], like the soft "g" of Spanish lago, and not an English hard "g". It is spelt gh before e, ê and i. The vowel ê is a closed [e]. - gãy /ɣaj˧˥/ — the ngã tone rises with a break in the middle; ay has a short a: [aj]. - hỏng /hawŋ͡m˧˩/ — the vowel is written o and spoken as [aw], and the lips close at the end of the word, as in không. - mưa /mɨə˧˧/ — ư is [ɨ], a high vowel said with the lips spread, not rounded. mưa glides from [ɨ] to [ə]. - trời /t͡ɕəːj˨˩/ — in the Hanoi standard tr is [t͡ɕ], the same as ch; the Saigon speaker pronounces it differently, and both are understood. The vowel is ơ [əː], and the grave tone falls. - ngại, ngủ — ng at the beginning of a word is [ŋ], the sound at the end of "sing". An English speaker can practise by saying "sing-er" and cutting off the "si-". - giờ /zəː˨˩/ — gi is [z] in Hanoi.
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10.1a Nó it đói hungry
10.1b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM đói /ʔɗɔj˧˦/ hungry.STAT
10.2a Nó it ở be-at đâu where
10.2b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM ở /ʔəː˧˩/ be.at đâu /ʔɗəw˧˧/ where.Q
10.3a Tôi I thấy see nó it
10.3b Tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG thấy /tʰəj˧˦/ see nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(OBJ)
10.4a Nó it ở be-at nhà home
10.4b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM ở /ʔəː˧˩/ be.at nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house/home
10.5a Nó it thích like cá fish
10.5b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM thích /tʰik˧˦/ like cá /kaː˧˦/ fish
10.6a Nó it là be con (animal) mèo cat của of tôi me
10.6b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM là /laː˨˩/ COP con /kɔn˧˧/ CL.animal mèo /mɛw˨˩/ cat của /kuə˧˩/ of.POSS tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG(POSS)
10.7a Cái thing ghế chair này this nó it gãy snapped rồi already
10.7b Cái /kaːj˧˦/ CL.thing ghế /ɣe˧˦/ chair này /naj˨˩/ DEM.near nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(RESUME) gãy /ɣaj˧˥/ snap.STAT rồi /zoj˨˩/ PFV
10.8a Con (animal) chó dog nhà house tôi me nó it rất very hiền gentle
10.8b Con /kɔn˧˧/ CL.animal chó /t͡ɕɔ˧˦/ dog nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG(POSS) nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(RESUME) rất /zət˧˦/ very.INTENS hiền /hiən˨˩/ gentle.STAT
10.9a Em younger-sibling bé small khóc cry vì because nó it đói hungry
10.9b Em /ʔɛm˧˧/ younger.sibling bé /ʔɓɛ˧˦/ small khóc /xawk͡p˧˦/ cry vì /vi˨˩/ because nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM đói /ʔɗɔj˧˦/ hungry.STAT
10.10a Tôi I không not thấy see nó it ở at trong inside nhà house
10.10b Tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG không /xəwŋ͡m˧˧/ NEG thấy /tʰəj˧˦/ see nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(OBJ) ở /ʔəː˧˩/ at.LOC trong /t͡ɕawŋ͡m˧˧/ inside nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house
10.11a Quyển volume sách book này this nó it hay good lắm, very tôi I rất very thích like
10.11b Quyển /kwiən˧˩/ CL.volume sách /sajk˧˦/ book này /naj˨˩/ DEM.near nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(RESUME) hay /haj˧˧/ good/interesting lắm /lam˧˦/ very.INTENS tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG rất /zət˧˦/ very.INTENS thích /tʰik˧˦/ like
10.12a Nếu if bạn you thấy see con (animal) mèo, cat bạn you cho give nó it ăn eat nhé (okay?)
10.12b Nếu /new˧˦/ if.COND bạn /ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ/ 2SG thấy /tʰəj˧˦/ see con /kɔn˧˧/ CL.animal mèo /mɛw˨˩/ cat bạn /ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ/ 2SG cho /t͡ɕɔ˧˧/ give/let nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM(OBJ) ăn /ʔan˧˧/ eat nhé /ɲɛ˧˦/ PRT.SOFT.REQUEST
10.13a Hôm day nay this trời sky mưa, rain nên so tôi I ở stay nhà home
10.13b Hôm /hom˧˧/ day nay /naj˧˧/ this.present trời /t͡ɕəːj˨˩/ sky/weather mưa /mɨə˧˧/ rain nên /nen˧˧/ so/therefore tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG ở /ʔəː˧˩/ stay/be.at nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house/home
10.14a Muộn late rồi, already chúng (plural) ta we về return nhà home thôi let's
10.14b Muộn /muən˧˨ʔ/ late.STAT rồi /zoj˨˩/ PFV chúng /t͡ɕuŋ͡m˧˦/ PL ta /taː˧˧/ 1.INCL về /ve˨˩/ return nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house/home thôi /tʰoj˧˧/ PRT.let's
10.15a Con (animal) mèo cat ấy that tuy although nhỏ small nhưng but nó it chạy run rất very nhanh fast
10.15b Con /kɔn˧˧/ CL.animal mèo /mɛw˨˩/ cat ấy /ʔəj˧˦/ that.DEM tuy /twi˧˧/ although nhỏ /ɲɔ˧˩/ small.STAT nhưng /ɲɨŋ˧˧/ but nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM chạy /t͡ɕaj˧˨ʔ/ run rất /zət˧˦/ very.INTENS nhanh /ɲajŋ˧˧/ fast
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10.1 Nó đói. → "It's hungry." (of a cat, a dog or a small child: "he/she's hungry")
10.2 Nó ở đâu? → "Where is it?"
10.3 Tôi thấy nó. → "I see it." (an animal or a child that has been mentioned)
10.4 Nó ở nhà. → "It's at home."
10.5 Nó thích cá. → "It likes fish."
10.6 Nó là con mèo của tôi. → "It's my cat."
10.7 Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi. → "This chair is broken." (literally "This chair, it has snapped.")
10.8 Con chó nhà tôi nó rất hiền. → "Our dog is very gentle." (literally "The dog of my house, it is very gentle.")
10.9 Em bé khóc vì nó đói. → "The baby is crying because it's hungry."
10.10 Tôi không thấy nó ở trong nhà. → "I can't see it in the house."
10.11 Quyển sách này nó hay lắm, tôi rất thích. → "This book is very good; I like it a lot." (no word for the second "it")
10.12 Nếu bạn thấy con mèo, bạn cho nó ăn nhé. → "If you see the cat, feed it, will you?"
10.13 Hôm nay trời mưa, nên tôi ở nhà. → "It's raining today, so I'm staying at home." (no word for "it")
10.14 Muộn rồi, chúng ta về nhà thôi. → "It's late; let's go home." (no word for "it")
10.15 Con mèo ấy tuy nhỏ nhưng nó chạy rất nhanh. → "That cat is small, but it runs very fast."
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10.1 Nó đói.
10.2 Nó ở đâu?
10.3 Tôi thấy nó.
10.4 Nó ở nhà.
10.5 Nó thích cá.
10.6 Nó là con mèo của tôi.
10.7 Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi.
10.8 Con chó nhà tôi nó rất hiền.
10.9 Em bé khóc vì nó đói.
10.10 Tôi không thấy nó ở trong nhà.
10.11 Quyển sách này nó hay lắm, tôi rất thích.
10.12 Nếu bạn thấy con mèo, bạn cho nó ăn nhé.
10.13 Hôm nay trời mưa, nên tôi ở nhà.
10.14 Muộn rồi, chúng ta về nhà thôi.
10.15 Con mèo ấy tuy nhỏ nhưng nó chạy rất nhanh.
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These are the grammar rules for nó in Vietnamese:
1. Who nó stands for. Nó is a third-person singular pronoun that does not distinguish he, she and it. It refers to animals (10.1–10.6, 10.12, 10.15), to children (10.9), and, colloquially, to things (10.7, 10.11). Wiktionary and the Vietnamese-language dictionaries agree on the range: a person of lower status, an animal, a child, or something already mentioned. It must always have been mentioned or be plain from the situation, since nó has no use as an empty subject.
2. One form, three jobs. As with tôi and bạn, nó is the same word as subject, object and owner.
- Subject, before the verb: Nó đói. (10.1), Nó thích cá. (10.5) - Object, after the verb: Tôi thấy nó. (10.3), Tôi không thấy nó ở trong nhà. (10.10), bạn cho nó ăn (10.12) - Owner, after the noun: nhà nó "its house, his house", sách của nó "its book, his book", đuôi của nó "its tail"
3. The animal classifier and nó. Animals take con (10.6, 10.8, 10.12, 10.15): con mèo "the cat", con chó "the dog". Objects take cái (10.7, "the chair") or a more particular classifier, such as quyển for books (10.11). Nó replaces the whole phrase: con mèo … nó, cái ghế … nó.
4. Topic, then nó. Spoken Vietnamese often names the topic first, and then comments on it, repeating it with nó: Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi. (10.7), Con chó nhà tôi nó rất hiền. (10.8), Quyển sách này nó hay lắm. (10.11). The nó is not required. Cái ghế này gãy rồi. is the same sentence, and a little more neutral. With animals and children the repetition feels natural, and with things it is colloquial and a learner may leave it out.
5. Saying nothing: the object that is already known. English must say "it" again and again: "I like it", "give it", "I saw it". Vietnamese often does not. Quyển sách này nó hay lắm, tôi rất thích. (10.11): the second clause has no "it". The listener knows what thích is about. Tôi thích alone means "I like it". When a direct answer is wanted: Bạn có ô không? — Có. "Do you have an umbrella? — Yes (I do)", with no "it" and no "one".
6. Saying nothing: weather, time, state. There is no subject "it" in these sentences, and nó must not be added.
- Weather: Trời mưa. (10.13, 10.16), Trời mưa to quá. The word trời ("sky") stands where English puts "it". - Time: Muộn rồi. (10.14) "It's late (already)", Còn sớm. (10.25) "It's still early", Chín giờ rồi. (10.25) "It's nine o'clock", Mấy giờ rồi? (10.24) "What time is it?" - "It is hard to …": the verb phrase is the subject: Học tiếng Việt rất khó. "Learning Vietnamese is very hard."
7. Pointing: đây and đó. For "it is …" that identifies something, Vietnamese points: Đây là sách của tôi. "This (here) is my book", Đó là một con mèo. "That is a cat". Đây is near the speaker, đó is near the listener or further off. In 10.29 and 10.30 the two meet: Ai đó? "Who is it?" (literally "who there?") is answered Là tôi đây! "It is I!" (literally "be me here!").
8. The plural: chúng nó. "They", said of children, animals or things, is chúng nó; bọn nó and tụi nó are also recorded, the last being Southern. For people the plural is a different word: họ ("they"), or các before the noun (các bạn, Lesson 9). Chúng is the plural marker also in chúng ta and chúng tôi (Lesson 8).
9. The other words for "he/she", compared with nó. The pronouns of Lesson 8 and Lesson 9 are the respectful ones, and nó is the familiar one.
- anh ấy, chị ấy, ông ấy, bà ấy, cô ấy — "he/she" for someone to whom a kinship word or title would be used - bạn ấy — "he/she", said of a classmate or friend of one's own age - nó — "he/she" for a child or a younger person who is close to the speaker, or "it" for an animal; used of an adult it is dismissive
10. Possession, quantity and age. Nó tên là gì? (10.27) is "What is its name?": literally "it name is what?", with the pronoun as the owner of the name. Age takes no verb: Nó mới mười tuổi. (10.21) "He is only ten years old", with mới "only just" before the number and tuổi "years of age" after it. The question is Nó bao nhiêu tuổi? (10.20).
11. Two linked clauses.
- vì … nên …: "because … so …". 10.9 has only vì (Em bé khóc vì nó đói.), and 10.13 only nên (Hôm nay trời mưa, nên tôi ở nhà.). The two words may be used together, and often only one is. - tuy … nhưng …: "although … but …". 10.15: Con mèo ấy tuy nhỏ nhưng nó chạy rất nhanh. Both words are used, and nó begins the second clause as a reminder of the subject.
12. Giving food: cho nó ăn. Cho + the one who receives + a verb means "let/make X do", and with ăn it means "to feed": bạn cho nó ăn (10.12) "you feed it". Nó stands between cho and ăn.
- Putting nó before the weather. ~~Nó mưa~~ is wrong. Say Trời mưa. English "it" has nothing to do with nó. - Putting nó before the time. ~~Nó muộn rồi~~ is wrong for "it is late". Say Muộn rồi. The same for ~~Nó là chín giờ~~: say Chín giờ rồi. - Looking for a subject in "it is hard to learn". ~~Nó khó để học~~ is English order. Say Học tiếng Việt khó. - Using nó for an adult. ~~Nó là giáo viên của tôi~~ ("he/she is my teacher") is rude. Use thầy ấy, cô ấy, ông ấy … - Adding là before an adjective. ~~Nó là đói~~ is wrong: Nó đói. As in Lessons 8 and 9, a state needs no là. - Pronoun for every object. ~~Tôi thích nó, tôi thấy nó, tôi cho nó~~ for every "it" makes a text that reads like a translation. Repeat the noun, or say nothing. - Dropping the marks. nó (it) is not no (full), nọ (that yonder) or nỏ (crossbow).
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Frequency and register. Nó is rank 10 in the list of the thousand most useful words that this course follows, and it is a word of the household: parents speak of their small children as nó, children speak of a younger brother or sister as nó, and everyone speaks of the family dog and cat as nó. It is not a polite word. A speaker who wants to be correct about an adult uses a kinship word or title with ấy; a speaker who calls an adult nó is being familiar or contemptuous. Wikipedia's grammar of Vietnamese adds that nó is "considerably less arrogant" than the rough second-person forms tao and mày, and that it is used of animals, children and scorned adults such as criminals. Both are true: nó has no honour in it, but in the family it carries affection.
Fixed phrases with nó.
- Kệ nó! — "Never mind it/him!", "Let it be": a very common dismissal - Mặc kệ nó! — the full form of Kệ nó!: "Never mind it/him!". The dictionaries give the example Nó muốn đi thì mặc kệ nó. "If he wants to go, let him." - chúng nó, bọn nó, tụi nó — "they, them" (children, animals, things) - nhà nó, của nó — "his/her/its house", "his/hers/its" - Nó tên là gì? — "What is its/his/her name?" - Thằng cháu nó ngoan, dễ bảo. — "That nephew of his is obedient and easy to teach": the example in the Vietnamese-language Wiktionary, where nó follows the noun thằng cháu and belongs to him
Regional forms. The Hanoi pronunciation is [nɔ˧˦] and the Saigon pronunciation [nɔ˦˥]: the same word, with the same rising tone. The Southern habit is to join the pronoun and ấy in one syllable: ảnh (anh ấy), chỉ (chị ấy), ổng (ông ấy), bả (bà ấy). Nó is understood everywhere and does not change. A learner will meet ảnh, chỉ, ổng and bả in the South and should know that they are the respectful forms, shortened, and not forms of nó.
The dog called Vàng. In 10.28 Anna tells Nam that her landlady's cat is called Vàng, "Gold", because the cat is yellow. Vàng is a classic name for a yellow dog or cat. Nam Cao's short story Lão Hạc (1943), a text that Vietnamese pupils read at school, has an old man whose only companion is a dog he calls cậu Vàng ("Master Gold"). The old man's cậu is a title of affection, where the ordinary pronoun for a dog would be nó.
Tú Xương and the three trifles. The citation in Section F is a quatrain by Tú Xương (1870–1907), a satirical poet from Nam Định. In it nó is used for three things that are not people at all: tea, wine and women, which the poet calls his "three trifles". The poet treats his vices as small, pestering creatures, and he is laughing at himself.
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Tú Xương (Trần Tế Xương, 1870–1907), Ba cái lăng nhăng ("Three Trifles"), a thất ngôn tứ tuyệt (four lines of seven syllables). The text is as given on Tạo Đàn (taodan.vn), which prints it under the title Ba cái lăng nhăng. Other sources print the same lines with small differences, and these are set out in F-D.
> Một trà, một rượu, một đàn bà, > Ba cái lăng nhăng nó quấy ta. > Chừa được cái gì hay cái nấy, > Có chăng chừa rượu với chừa trà!
F.1a Một one trà, tea một one rượu, wine một one đàn flock-of bà ladies
F.1b Một /mot˧˨ʔ/ one trà /t͡ɕaː˨˩/ tea một /mot˧˨ʔ/ one rượu /zɨəw˧˨ʔ/ liquor/wine một /mot˧˨ʔ/ one đàn /ʔɗaːn˨˩/ CL.group bà /ʔɓaː˨˩/ lady
F.2a Ba three cái thing lăng frivo- nhăng -lous nó it quấy pester ta. me
F.2b Ba /ʔɓaː˧˧/ three cái /kaːj˧˦/ CL.thing lăng /laŋ˧˧/ frivolous(1) nhăng /ɲaŋ˧˧/ frivolous(2) nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM quấy /kwəj˧˦/ pester/disturb ta /taː˧˧/ 1SG.LIT
F.3a Chừa give-up được manage cái thing gì what hay good cái thing nấy, that-same
F.3b Chừa /t͡ɕɨə˨˩/ abstain.from được /ʔɗɨək˧˨ʔ/ get/manage cái /kaːj˧˦/ CL.thing gì /zi˨˩/ what/any hay /haj˧˧/ good cái /kaːj˧˦/ CL.thing nấy /nəj˧˦/ that.same
F.4a Có have chăng perhaps chừa give-up rượu wine với and chừa give-up trà! tea
F.4b Có /kɔ˧˦/ have chăng /t͡ɕaŋ˧˧/ PRT.if.at.all chừa /t͡ɕɨə˨˩/ abstain.from rượu /zɨəw˧˨ʔ/ liquor/wine với /vəːj˧˦/ with/and chừa /t͡ɕɨə˨˩/ abstain.from trà /t͡ɕaː˨˩/ tea
Một trà, một rượu, một đàn bà, Ba cái lăng nhăng nó quấy ta. Chừa được cái gì hay cái nấy, Có chăng chừa rượu với chừa trà!
"One tea, one wine, one woman: these three trifles pester me. Whichever of them I manage to give up, so much the better for that one; if anything, it will be wine and tea that I give up!"
Một trà, một rượu, một đàn bà, Ba cái lăng nhăng nó quấy ta. Chừa được cái gì hay cái nấy, Có chăng chừa rượu với chừa trà!
Nó for three things. The grammatical point of the quatrain is line 2: Ba cái lăng nhăng nó quấy ta. The topic, ba cái lăng nhăng ("three trifles"), is named first, and nó repeats it before the verb, as in 10.7 (Cái ghế này nó gãy rồi) and 10.11. It follows a plural topic and does not turn into chúng nó, which a modern speaker might expect. This is the construction of Rule 4 in Section D, in verse, and it shows that the topic-and-nó pattern is not a new fashion. The Vietnamese-language Wiktionary quotes the same line as an example of nó, written Ba cái lăng nhăng nó quấy ta, for the same reason. The only other pronoun in the poem is the "I" of that line, ta (Lesson 9, Section F).
The word lăng nhăng. Lăng nhăng is a descriptive word that means "frivolous, trifling, of no order". Said of a person it also has a worse meaning ("loose in one's loves"), but here the poet means the three vices, which are small and bothersome and which he cannot quite give up. The classifier cái in ba cái is the classifier for things, and the poet counts his vices as things.
Đàn bà. Đàn bà is one word and means "woman, women"; the first part is đàn, the classifier for groups ("flock"), but a Vietnamese speaker feels the word as one. In the poem the humour is the list, "one tea, one wine, one woman", three items of the same weight, and the claim that the poet will give up only the first two (line 4).
Chừa and có chăng. Chừa is "to give up, to abstain from, to leave off" (a bad habit). Có chăng is "if there is any, then at most …", a literary hedge: line 4 says "the most I will do is give up wine and tea", leaving out the third trifle, in a joke that is on the poet himself. Line 3, Chừa được cái gì hay cái nấy, has cái gì … cái nấy: "whichever (thing) … that same (thing)".
The form. Four lines of seven syllables each (Một-trà-một-rượu-một-đàn-bà), a thất ngôn tứ tuyệt. The end-rhyme is -a: bà, ta, trà (lines 1, 2 and 4). Line 3 does not rhyme, as the form requires.
Version. Printed texts vary. The version above is the one on Tạo Đàn, titled Ba cái lăng nhăng. Two other web sources print line 2 as Ba thứ lăng nhăng nó quấy ta and line 3 as Chừa được thứ nào hay thứ ấy (thứ is "kind, sort" in place of cái). The Vietnamese-language Wiktionary quotes line 1 with chè in place of trà: Một chè, một rượu, một đàn bà, and chè is the Northern word for tea, with the same meaning. All versions agree on nó quấy ta. The date of composition and the original title are not recorded in the sources consulted.
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It is Saturday, the morning of the day on which Anna and Nam agreed to meet (Lesson 9). It is raining in Hà Nội. They write to each other on their phones before Nam sets off.
10.16a Chào greet Nam! Nam Hôm day nay this trời sky mưa rain to big quá. too-much
10.16b Chào /t͡ɕaːw˨˩/ greet Nam /naːm˧˧/ Nam.NAME Hôm /hom˧˧/ day nay /naj˧˧/ this.present trời /t͡ɕəːj˨˩/ sky/weather mưa /mɨə˧˧/ rain to /tɔ˧˧/ big/heavy quá /kwaː˧˦/ so.much.INTENS
10.17a Ở at đây here cũng also mưa. rain Bạn you có have ô umbrella không? or-not
10.17b Ở /ʔəː˧˩/ at.LOC đây /ʔɗəj˧˧/ here cũng /kuŋ͡m˧˥/ also mưa /mɨə˧˧/ rain Bạn /ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ/ 2SG có /kɔ˧˦/ have ô /ʔo˧˧/ umbrella không /xəwŋ͡m˧˧/ Q.NEG
10.18a Có, have nhưng but nó it hỏng broken rồi. already
10.18b Có /kɔ˧˦/ have nhưng /ɲɨŋ˧˧/ but nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM hỏng /hawŋ͡m˧˩/ broken/out.of.order rồi /zoj˨˩/ PFV
10.19a Vậy so tôi I sẽ will đến come đón pick-up bạn you nhé. (okay?) Em younger-sibling trai male tôi my cũng also đi go cùng. together
10.19b Vậy /vəj˧˨ʔ/ so/then tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG sẽ /sɛ˧˥/ FUT đến /ʔɗen˧˦/ come/arrive đón /ʔɗɔn˧˦/ meet/pick.up bạn /ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ/ 2SG(OBJ) nhé /ɲɛ˧˦/ PRT.SOFT.REQUEST Em /ʔɛm˧˧/ younger.sibling trai /t͡ɕaːj˧˧/ male tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG(POSS) cũng /kuŋ͡m˧˥/ also đi /ʔɗi˧˧/ go cùng /kuŋ͡m˨˩/ together
10.20a Cảm feel ơn favour Nam! Nam Nó he bao how nhiêu many tuổi? years-old
10.20b Cảm /kaːm˧˩/ feel ơn /ʔəːn˧˧/ favour/gratitude Nam /naːm˧˧/ Nam.NAME Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM bao /ʔɓaːw˧˧/ how(much) nhiêu /ɲiəw˧˧/ much/many.Q tuổi /tuəj˧˩/ years.of.age
10.21a Nó he mới only-just mười ten tuổi. years-old Nó he học study lớp class năm. five
10.21b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM mới /məːj˧˦/ only.just mười /mɨəj˨˩/ ten tuổi /tuəj˧˩/ years.of.age Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM học /hawk͡p˧˨ʔ/ study lớp /ləːp˧˦/ class năm /nam˧˧/ five
10.22a Nó he có have thích like tiếng language Anh England không? or-not
10.22b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM có /kɔ˧˦/ have thích /tʰik˧˦/ like tiếng /tiəŋ˧˦/ language Anh /ʔajŋ˧˧/ England không /xəwŋ͡m˧˧/ Q.NEG
10.23a Có, yes nhưng but nó he hơi slightly ngại hesitant nói. speak
10.23b Có /kɔ˧˦/ have nhưng /ɲɨŋ˧˧/ but nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM hơi /həːj˧˧/ slightly ngại /ŋaːj˧˨ʔ/ reluctant/shy.of nói /nɔj˧˦/ speak
10.24a Không not sao. how Bây now- giờ -time mấy how-many giờ hour rồi? already
10.24b Không /xəwŋ͡m˧˧/ NEG sao /saw˧˧/ how/matter Bây /ʔɓəj˧˧/ now(1) giờ /zəː˨˩/ now(2) mấy /məj˧˦/ how.many.Q giờ /zəː˨˩/ hour/o'clock rồi /zoj˨˩/ PFV
10.25a Chín nine giờ hour rồi. already Còn still sớm. early Bạn you cứ just từ slow- từ -ly nhé. (okay?)
10.25b Chín /t͡ɕin˧˦/ nine giờ /zəː˨˩/ o'clock rồi /zoj˨˩/ PFV Còn /kɔn˨˩/ still sớm /səːm˧˦/ early.STAT Bạn /ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ/ 2SG cứ /kɨ˧˦/ just.go.ahead từ /tɨ˨˩/ slowly(1) từ /tɨ˨˩/ slowly(2) nhé /ɲɛ˧˦/ PRT.SOFT.REQUEST
10.26a Bà lady chủ owner nhà house có have một one con (animal) mèo. cat Nó it đang now ngủ sleep trên on ghế. chair
10.26b Bà /ʔɓaː˨˩/ lady chủ /t͡ɕu˧˩/ owner nhà /ɲaː˨˩/ house có /kɔ˧˦/ have một /mot˧˨ʔ/ one con /kɔn˧˧/ CL.animal mèo /mɛw˨˩/ cat Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM đang /ʔɗaːŋ˧˧/ PROG ngủ /ŋu˧˩/ sleep trên /t͡ɕen˧˧/ on/above ghế /ɣe˧˦/ chair
10.27a Dễ easy thương love quá! too-much Nó it tên name là be gì? what
10.27b Dễ /ze˧˥/ easy thương /tʰɨəŋ˧˧/ love/pity quá /kwaː˧˦/ so.much.INTENS Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM tên /ten˧˧/ name là /laː˨˩/ COP gì /zi˨˩/ what.Q
10.28a Nó it tên name là be Vàng, Gold vì because nó it màu colour vàng. yellow
10.28b Nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM tên /ten˧˧/ name là /laː˨˩/ COP Vàng /vaːŋ˨˩/ Gold.NAME vì /vi˨˩/ because nó /nɔ˧˦/ 3SG.FAM màu /maw˨˩/ colour vàng /vaːŋ˨˩/ gold/yellow
10.29a Có there-is tiếng sound gõ knock cửa. door Ai who đó? there
10.29b Có /kɔ˧˦/ EXIST tiếng /tiəŋ˧˦/ sound gõ /ɣɔ˧˥/ knock/tap cửa /kɨə˧˩/ door Ai /ʔaːj˧˧/ who.Q đó /ʔɗɔ˧˦/ DEM.there
10.30a Là be tôi me đây! here Tôi I ở at ngoài outside cửa. door
10.30b Là /laː˨˩/ COP tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG đây /ʔɗəj˧˧/ DEM.here Tôi /toj˧˧/ 1SG ở /ʔəː˧˩/ at.LOC ngoài /ŋwaːj˨˩/ outside cửa /kɨə˧˩/ door
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10.16 Anna: Chào Nam! Hôm nay trời mưa to quá. → "Hello, Nam! It's raining so hard today."
10.17 Nam: Ở đây cũng mưa. Bạn có ô không? → "It's raining here too. Do you have an umbrella?"
10.18 Anna: Có, nhưng nó hỏng rồi. → "Yes, but it's broken."
10.19 Nam: Vậy tôi sẽ đến đón bạn nhé. Em trai tôi cũng đi cùng. → "Then I'll come and pick you up. My younger brother is coming too."
10.20 Anna: Cảm ơn Nam! Nó bao nhiêu tuổi? → "Thank you, Nam! How old is he?"
10.21 Nam: Nó mới mười tuổi. Nó học lớp năm. → "He's only ten. He's in year five."
10.22 Anna: Nó có thích tiếng Anh không? → "Does he like English?"
10.23 Nam: Có, nhưng nó hơi ngại nói. → "Yes, but he's a little shy of speaking it."
10.24 Anna: Không sao. Bây giờ mấy giờ rồi? → "That's all right. What time is it now?"
10.25 Nam: Chín giờ rồi. Còn sớm. Bạn cứ từ từ nhé. → "It's nine o'clock. It's still early. Take your time, okay?"
10.26 Anna: Bà chủ nhà có một con mèo. Nó đang ngủ trên ghế. → "My landlady has a cat. It's asleep on the chair."
10.27 Nam: Dễ thương quá! Nó tên là gì? → "How sweet! What's its name?"
10.28 Anna: Nó tên là Vàng, vì nó màu vàng. → "Its name is Vàng ('Gold'), because it's yellow."
10.29 Anna: Có tiếng gõ cửa. Ai đó? → "There's a knock at the door. Who is it?"
10.30 Nam: Là tôi đây! Tôi ở ngoài cửa. → "It's me! I'm outside the door."
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10.16 Anna: Chào Nam! Hôm nay trời mưa to quá.
10.17 Nam: Ở đây cũng mưa. Bạn có ô không?
10.18 Anna: Có, nhưng nó hỏng rồi.
10.19 Nam: Vậy tôi sẽ đến đón bạn nhé. Em trai tôi cũng đi cùng.
10.20 Anna: Cảm ơn Nam! Nó bao nhiêu tuổi?
10.21 Nam: Nó mới mười tuổi. Nó học lớp năm.
10.22 Anna: Nó có thích tiếng Anh không?
10.23 Nam: Có, nhưng nó hơi ngại nói.
10.24 Anna: Không sao. Bây giờ mấy giờ rồi?
10.25 Nam: Chín giờ rồi. Còn sớm. Bạn cứ từ từ nhé.
10.26 Anna: Bà chủ nhà có một con mèo. Nó đang ngủ trên ghế.
10.27 Nam: Dễ thương quá! Nó tên là gì?
10.28 Anna: Nó tên là Vàng, vì nó màu vàng.
10.29 Anna: Có tiếng gõ cửa. Ai đó?
10.30 Nam: Là tôi đây! Tôi ở ngoài cửa.
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Three ways of saying "it" in one conversation. The messages above hold all the ways that Vietnamese says "it". Silence: the weather is trời mưa (10.16, 10.17), and the time is chín giờ rồi and còn sớm (10.25), with no pronoun. Nó: the umbrella (10.18), as a thing mentioned a moment before; Nam's brother (10.20–10.23), as a child; the cat (10.26–10.28), as an animal. Pointing: the person at the door is đó and tôi đây (10.29, 10.30). Where English uses the same small word six or seven times, Vietnamese uses a pronoun for the child, the animal and the thing, and none for the rest.
Nó for Nam's brother. In 10.20 Anna says nó of a ten-year-old boy whom she has never met. She is an adult speaking about a child, and the word is natural; the same word of an adult stranger would not be. When Nam talks about him he too says nó (10.21, 10.23). If Anna wished to be more formal she could say em ấy ("that younger one"), which is warmer and a little more careful. Learners who are not sure may use em ấy for a young person whom they do not know well, and keep nó for family, animals and things.
The question words. Nó bao nhiêu tuổi? (10.20) asks the age, with bao nhiêu "how many" (Lesson 8) before tuổi; Nó học lớp mấy? would ask the class. Mấy giờ rồi? (10.24) is "What time is it?": mấy is "how many" for a small number and giờ is "hour, o'clock". The answer repeats the pattern with a number: Chín giờ rồi. The word rồi at the end says that the time has already come. Ai đó? (10.29) asks "Who is it?" from behind a door.
Không sao. Không sao (10.24) is "it doesn't matter", "no problem": literally "not how?". It is the usual answer to an apology or to an admission like 10.23. It is another place where English has "it" and Vietnamese none.
Từ từ. Từ từ (10.25) is "slowly, little by little"; Bạn cứ từ từ nhé is "Just take your time", with cứ "go ahead, just". The repeated word is a reduplication that softens the adjective.
Hôm nay trời mưa to quá. In 10.16 the word to ("big") is used of rain: mưa to is "heavy rain". Quá at the end adds "so much, too": to quá "so heavy".
Có … không and có alone. In 10.17 and 10.22 the question has có before the verb and không at the end: Bạn có ô không?, Nó có thích tiếng Anh không? The answer is Có, "yes" (10.18, 10.23). The có is not required: Lesson 9 has Bạn thích cà phê không? with no có, and the meaning is the same.
Bà chủ nhà. Chủ nhà is "owner of the house" (landlord) and bà before it is "lady": bà chủ nhà "the landlady". Ngủ trên ghế (10.26) is "sleeps on the chair". The cat sleeps, and the chair does not "have" the cat on it: trên means "on, above".
Dễ thương and the name. Dễ thương (10.27) means "cute, lovable" (literally "easy to love"), and it is what is said about a baby, a puppy or a kitten. The name is asked as Nó tên là gì? (10.27) and given as Nó tên là Vàng. (10.28), and là is needed here, as in Lesson 9, since a name is an identity. The reason for the name is the colour: nó màu vàng, "it is yellow in colour", where màu ("colour") stands without là.
Ai đó? — Là tôi đây! The pair 10.29 and 10.30 is idiom. A person who knocks answers Tôi đây! or, with the là, Là tôi đây!, "It's me!". Neither is nó and neither is a translation of "it": the Vietnamese speaker points to himself.
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The letters of this lesson. Vietnamese adds to the Latin alphabet ă, â, đ, ê, ô, ơ, ư, and marks five of its six tones with à á ả ã ạ. A letter may carry a vowel mark and a tone mark at once: nó (o + sắc), quấy (â + sắc), chạy (a + nặng), nhỏ (o + hỏi), gãy (a + ngã), hỏng (o + hỏi), trời (ơ + huyền), cứ (ư + sắc), ngại (a + nặng).
Where the tone mark goes. On the main vowel of the syllable. In ươ it goes on the ơ: được, rượu, thương. In iê it goes on the ê: hiền, tiếng. In uô it goes on the ô: muộn, tuổi. In ia, ua, ưa with no final consonant it goes on the first vowel: của, cửa, chừa, mưa (here the tone is level and no mark is written). In oa, oe, uy this course uses the older style (the mark on the first vowel), as in Lessons 8 and 9. Both styles are read as the same word.
Nó and its neighbours. nó /nɔ˧˦/ (it) / no /nɔ˧˧/ (full, replete) / nọ /nɔ˧˨ʔ/ (that yonder) / nỏ /nɔ˧˩/ (crossbow) have the same vowel and differ only in tone. nô (the vowel ô) and nơ (the vowel ơ, "a bow, a ribbon") are different vowels. Learn the spelling with the word.
The initial gh, ng, nh, tr, gi. gh is [ɣ], the same as g and spelt gh only before e, ê, i: ghế. ng [ŋ]: ngủ, ngại, ngoài; it is spelt ngh before e, ê, i. nh [ɲ]: nhà, nhỏ, nhưng, nhanh, nhé. tr [t͡ɕ] in Hanoi, like ch: trời, trà, trong, trên. gi [z]: giờ, gì.
Final -ng, -c after o, ô, u. Close the lips at the end: không [xəwŋ͡m], hỏng [hawŋ͡m], trong [t͡ɕawŋ͡m], cũng [kuŋ͡m], cùng [kuŋ͡m]. Final -c after o also closes the lips: học [hawk͡p], khóc [xawk͡p]. After ư, ơ, ươ and a the final -c is a plain [k]: được [ʔɗɨək].
Tone pairs to drill. nó (it) / no (full) / nọ (that yonder) / nỏ (crossbow); mèo (cat) / méo (twisted) / mẹo (trick) / meo (the sound a cat makes); gãy (snapped) / gầy (thin); đói (hungry) / đòi (to demand).
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)