Endings

One can convey a lot of information in the final word of a sentence in Vietnamese. Here are some of the more common ones:

chứ

Put at the end to ask a question in casual speech/writing

mà

To add emphasis and negate what the other person said. it is so!

vậy

have to accept something unfortunate

danh vay. damnit danh vay chu biet sao gio. have to accept it

toi cung the. me too

toi cung vay. me too

rồi

Something has already finished or has passed

• het roi (have already run out)
• an xong roi - have already finished eating
• hai gio roi - it is past 2 o’clock

chưa

Something hasn’t yet been done or completed. Often used in the question.

• co vo chua (have you got a wife yet?)
• an com chua (have you eaten yet?)

ạ

Placed at the end when talking with someone older than oneself.

à

A contraction of ‘phai khong’ for yes/no questions.

á

only used in casual speech

toi a? - to show surprise

đi

Added after a verb to form the imperative

• an di (eat!)

xong

Added after the verb to show completion

thôi

với

please

đây

Đang tới đây where are you? (casual)