Intensifiers
Intensifiers: rất, lắm, quá
Can use intensifiers correctly
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Cà phê sữa đá ngon lắm!
Iced milk coffee is SO delicious!
Đắt quá! Rẻ hơn được không?
Too expensive! Can it be cheaper?
Trời rất nóng hôm nay.
It's very hot today.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Từ "rất/lắm/quá" — Intensifiers
Vietnamese has several ways to say 'very/so/too', differing by position and nuance.
| Word | Position | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rất | BEFORE adj | very (neutral) | rất đẹp (very beautiful) |
| lắm | AFTER adj | very (emphatic) | đẹp lắm! (SO beautiful!) |
| quá | AFTER adj | too/so (exclamation) | đắt quá! (Too expensive!) |
rất vs lắm: rất is neutral/factual. lắm is emotional/emphatic. Cô ấy rất đẹp = She's very beautiful (statement). Cô ấy đẹp lắm! = She's SO beautiful! (exclamation).
quá: Can mean 'too' (excessive) or 'so' (exclamatory). Đắt quá! = Too expensive! / So expensive!
Common Error Patterns
Put lắm/quá before adjective or rất after
rất goes BEFORE: rất đẹp. lắm/quá go AFTER: đẹp lắm, đắt quá.
Cà phê sữa đá ngon lắm!
Iced milk coffee is SO delicious!
ngon lắm = SO delicious (emphatic). lắm after adjective adds emotional emphasis.
Đắt quá! Rẻ hơn được không?
Too expensive! Can it be cheaper?
đắt quá = too expensive! Essential shopping phrase. quá after adjective = too/so much.
Trời rất nóng hôm nay.
It's very hot today.
rất nóng = very hot. rất BEFORE adjective = neutral 'very'. Compare: nóng lắm = SO hot! (emphatic).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Put it into practice
Try a free exercise from the courseFrequently asked questions
- When is Từ "rất/lắm/quá" used?
- Vietnamese has several ways to say 'very/so/too', differing by position and nuance.
- How is Từ "rất/lắm/quá" formed?
- rất vs lắm: rất is neutral/factual. lắm is emotional/emphatic. Cô ấy rất đẹp = She's very beautiful (statement). Cô ấy đẹp lắm! = She's SO beautiful! (exclamation). quá: Can mean 'too' (excessive) or 'so' (exclamatory). Đắt quá! = Too expensive! / So expensive!
- What are common mistakes with Từ "rất/lắm/quá"?
- Mixing up positions (rất before, lắm/quá after). 🇬🇧 English speakers: Put lắm before adjective like English 'very': *lắm đẹp instead of đẹp lắm. 🇩🇪 German speakers: German 'sehr' comes before (like rất). May put all intensifiers before. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian очень comes before (like rất). lắm/quá after is new. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech velmi comes before (like rất). Post-position intensifiers are unfamiliar.