Vietnamese Particles

'mà' is frequently used to express mild contrast ('but', 'though') or as a sentence-final particle indicating reminder, explanation, or emphasis, essential for learners.

'nữa' means 'more', 'still', or 'another', and is often used in negative sentences to mean 'no longer'.

Thêm indicates adding, supplementing, or doing a bit more.

Còn can mean "still have," "additionally," or introduce a contrasting topic.

Thì là is used after a topic to give a judgment, definition, or explanation.

Besides meaning "to be," là is used in emphasis structures to highlight the focus.

Mà connects additional explanations or restrictions and is not always equivalent to "but."

Mà at the end or middle of a sentence can convey a tone similar to "you know" or "since."

'có ... mà' is used in spoken Vietnamese to confirm or contradict, similar to saying 'Yes, there is' or 'Clearly there is'.

'với' can mean 'and' or 'with', and is often used in spoken requests to soften the tone.

'ra' can be a directional or result complement, and appears in 'ngoài ... ra' meaning 'besides' or 'except'.

'vào' indicates inward movement or adding something into a place or range.

'lên' indicates upward movement or increase, and can also express intensification of a state.

'xuống' indicates downward movement, decrease, or weakening.

The particle lại can indicate repetition, returning to a previous state, or contrast in certain sentences.

The particle qua can mean 'to pass by' or 'to go through'; note it is different from quá with a tone mark, which means 'too' or 'very'.

Mất indicates losing something, doing something away, or spending time or money.

Hết indicates something is completely done, used up, or no longer available.

Được can indicate successful completion of an action or obtaining a result.

Cho indicates the beneficiary of an action, similar to 'for', 'to', or 'on behalf of'.

'giúp' means to help someone do something, and can also make requests more polite.

'lấy' means to take or get something, and in fixed structures can mean to use something as a basis or for a purpose.

'mình' can express a soft first-person 'I', a close-knit 'we', or a reflexive 'myself'.

mà thôi limits the scope of a statement, meaning "only that" or "just that."

mà lại indicates an unexpected or surprising contrast, often translated as "yet" or "but still."

'nữa kia' expresses an even stronger addition than what was previously mentioned, with an emphatic tone.

'luôn' can mean 'continuously' or, in colloquial speech, 'directly' or 'straightaway.'

'cả' can indicate the whole or be combined with 'ngay cả' to mean 'even... also.'

'chỉ' limits the scope, equivalent to 'only' or 'just.'

'mới' can indicate recent occurrence or emphasize 'only then' as a focus particle.

'cứ' expresses continuing an action, following through, or a tone of 'just go ahead.'

hoài indicates repeated or continuous action, often with a colloquial sense of "always" or "constantly."

mãi expresses a long duration of time, often implying "only after a long time" or "continuously until."