HOW TO USE DIRECTION WORDS: “RA, VÀO, LÊN, XUỐNG, VỀ, ĐẾN”

Direction words in Vietnamese can function as a verb or as a direction article of a motion verb.

• “Ra”: is a word indicating the direction of activity from inside to outside, from narrow to wide, from no to yes, from restriction to advantage.
• “Vào”: is a word for moving to a location in the inner, narrower, or southern part of Vietnam.
• “Lên”: is a word indicating movement to a position above or in front.
• “Xuống”: is a word indicating movement to a lower or lower position.
• “Về”: word indicating the direction of the activity to return to the old place or to bring to one’s own place, place
• “Đến”: the word for having at a place after a process of moving from another place.

Example:

We can say:

• Tôi ra phố. (I go out to the street)
• Bà ấy vào nhà. (She went into the house)
• Cô ấy lên tầng 2. ( She went upstairs)
• Anh ấy xuống tầng 1. ( He is going down to the first floor)

Or we can say:

• Tôi đi ra phố.
• Bà ấy đi vào nhà.
• Cô ấy lên tầng 2.
• Anh ấy xuống tầng 1.

Good luck with your Vietnamese learning. Leave a comment below if you have any questions!