Adjectives
Adjectives after nouns, no là needed
Can use adjectives after nouns
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Cà phê Việt Nam rất ngon.
Vietnamese coffee is very delicious.
Tôi muốn một cái áo mới.
I want a new shirt.
Người Việt Nam rất thân thiện.
Vietnamese people are very friendly.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Tính từ — Adjectives
Vietnamese adjectives go AFTER the noun they describe. This is the opposite of English/German but similar to French/Spanish.
| Vietnamese | Literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| nhà lớn | house big | big house |
| cô gái đẹp | girl beautiful | beautiful girl |
| cà phê nóng | coffee hot | hot coffee |
| sách hay | book interesting | interesting book |
No 'to be' needed! Adjectives function as verbs: Nhà lớn = The house is big. No là required! Trời đẹp = The weather is beautiful.
Adjective stacking: Multiple adjectives follow the noun: một cái bàn lớn đỏ = a big red table (table big red).
Common Error Patterns
Placed adjective before noun
Vietnamese adjectives come AFTER the noun: nhà lớn (house big), NOT *lớn nhà.
Cà phê Việt Nam rất ngon.
Vietnamese coffee is very delicious.
ngon (delicious) after the noun. No là! rất = very (before adjective).
Tôi muốn một cái áo mới.
I want a new shirt.
mới (new) comes after áo (shirt): áo mới = shirt new = new shirt. With classifier: một cái áo mới.
Người Việt Nam rất thân thiện.
Vietnamese people are very friendly.
thân thiện (friendly) acts as a verb-adjective: Người... thân thiện = People... are friendly. No là!
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 Tính từ used?
- Vietnamese adjectives go AFTER the noun they describe. This is the opposite of English/German but similar to French/Spanish.
- How is Tính từ formed?
- No 'to be' needed! Adjectives function as verbs: Nhà lớn = The house is big. No là required! Trời đẹp = The weather is beautiful. Adjective stacking: Multiple adjectives follow the noun: một cái bàn lớn đỏ = a big red table (table big red).
- What are common mistakes with Tính từ?
- Putting adjectives before nouns and using là with adjectives. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Say *lớn nhà (big house) instead of nhà lớn (house big). Also add *là: Nhà là lớn — WRONG. 🇩🇪 German speakers: Same problem: *großes Haus → *lớn nhà. Must reverse: nhà lớn. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian adjectives before nouns (большой дом). Must reverse. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech adjectives before nouns (velký dům). Must reverse.