Danh từ và số nhiều

A1 — Danh từ & Loại từ

Nouns: no plural marking! Use những/các for explicit plural

Can use nouns correctly without plural markers and apply những/các when explicit plural is needed

Examples

Tôi thích đọc sách. — I like reading books.
Các bạn có khỏe không? — Are you all well?
Những người này là bạn tôi. — These people are my friends.

Danh từ & Loại từA1

Nouns and Plurals

Nouns: no plural marking! Use những/các for explicit plural

Learning Goal

Can use nouns correctly without plural markers and apply những/các when needed

Exam Skills:Đọc hiểuViết

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Tôi thích đọc sách.

I like reading books.

Các bạn có khỏe không?

Are you all well?

Những người này là bạn tôi.

These people are my friends.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Danh từ và số nhiều — Nouns and Plurals

Vietnamese nouns never change form. There is no plural ending — sách means both 'book' and 'books'. Context tells you which!

Marker	Meaning	Example
(none)	singular or generic	Tôi thích sách. (I like books/a book.)
những	some specific (plural)	Những cuốn sách này hay. (These books are good.)
các	all/each (plural)	Các bạn ơi! (Hey everyone!)
mấy	a few (small number)	Mấy cái áo (a few shirts)

những vs các: những = some of the group. các = all/every member. Những sinh viên giỏi (some good students) vs Các sinh viên (all the students).

No articles! Vietnamese has no 'a/an/the'. Context determines definiteness. Tôi mua sách can mean 'I buy a book', 'I buy the book', or 'I buy books'.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Trying to add plural suffixes or articles. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Try to add -s/*sáchs. Use classifier as article (một cái = 'a', but there's no 'the'). Overuse những where bare noun works.

Common Error Patterns

Added a plural suffix to a Vietnamese noun

Vietnamese nouns NEVER change form. sách = book(s). Use những/các only when you need to explicitly mark plural.

Tôi thích đọc sách.

I like reading books.

sách = book/books. No plural marker needed for generic statements. Vietnamese doesn't distinguish singular from plural here.

Các bạn có khỏe không?

Are you all well?

các = all/every (plural marker). Các bạn = all of you / you all. Emphasizes the whole group.

Những người này là bạn tôi.

These people are my friends.

những = some specific (plural). Những người này = these (particular) people. Compare: các người = ALL people (everyone).

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

3. Family and friends

Frequently asked questions

When is Danh từ và số nhiều used?: Vietnamese nouns never change form . There is no plural ending — sách means both 'book' and 'books'. Context tells you which!
How is Danh từ và số nhiều formed?: những vs các: những = some of the group. các = all/every member. Những sinh viên giỏi (some good students) vs Các sinh viên (all the students). No articles! Vietnamese has no 'a/an/the'. Context determines definiteness. Tôi mua sách can mean 'I buy a book', 'I buy the book', or 'I buy books'.
What are common mistakes with Danh từ và số nhiều?: Trying to add plural suffixes or articles. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Try to add -s/*sáchs. Use classifier as article (một cái = 'a', but there's no 'the'). Overuse những where bare noun works. 🇩🇪 German speakers: Miss articles (der/die/das) and plural forms (-e, -er, -en). Vietnamese is simpler but the lack of markers feels incomplete. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian has complex plural forms. The lack of ANY plural marking feels liberating but disorienting. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech has 7 cases × singular/plural — Vietnamese none of this. The simplicity is a huge relief!

Marker

Meaning

Example

(none)

singular or generic

Tôi thích sách. (I like books/a book.)

những

some specific (plural)

Những cuốn sách này hay. (These books are good.)

các

all/each (plural)

Các bạn ơi! (Hey everyone!)

mấy

a few (small number)

Mấy cái áo (a few shirts)

Frequently asked questions

When is Danh từ và số nhiều used?

Vietnamese nouns never change form . There is no plural ending — sách means both 'book' and 'books'. Context tells you which!

How is Danh từ và số nhiều formed?

những vs các: những = some of the group. các = all/every member. Những sinh viên giỏi (some good students) vs Các sinh viên (all the students). No articles! Vietnamese has no 'a/an/the'. Context determines definiteness. Tôi mua sách can mean 'I buy a book', 'I buy the book', or 'I buy books'.

What are common mistakes with Danh từ và số nhiều?

Trying to add plural suffixes or articles. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Try to add -s/*sáchs. Use classifier as article (một cái = 'a', but there's no 'the'). Overuse những where bare noun works. 🇩🇪 German speakers: Miss articles (der/die/das) and plural forms (-e, -er, -en). Vietnamese is simpler but the lack of markers feels incomplete. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian has complex plural forms. The lack of ANY plural marking feels liberating but disorienting. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech has 7 cases × singular/plural — Vietnamese none of this. The simplicity is a huge relief!