- There are several classifiers in Vietnamese, but the two main ones are: cái, con.
+ “cái”: a classifier followed by a noun refers to inanimate things such as: cái nhà (a house), cái ô tô (a car), cái cầu (a bridge)…
+ “con”: a classifier followed by a noun refers to animate things such as: con mèo (a cat), con chó (a dog), con chim (a bird)….
- Other classifiers refer to such specific things as:
+ “quyển” often refers to publications: quyển sách (a book), quyển từ điển (a dictionary)…
+ “bức” often refers to pictures: bức tranh ( a picture ), bức ảnh (a photo )… + “to” often refers to papers: to báo (newspaper), tờ giấy (a piece of paper)… a
- When using classifiers, we are referring to individual things. When we omit the classifier, we are referring to things generally.
- For example:
– Đây là cái nhà. (This is a house.)
– Cái nhà này đẹp. (This house is beautiful.)
– Nhà ở đây rất đẹp. (Houses here are beautiful.)
– Ở đây có rất nhiều nhà. (There are many houses here.)
- If there is a number preceding the noun, a classifier must be used.
For example:
– Tôi có hai con mèo. (I have two cats.) (O)
– Tôi có hai mèo. (X)
Good luck with your Vietnamese learning. Leave a comment below if you have any questions!
Hanoi L&C Academy – Teaching Vietnamese to Foreigners
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