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Grammar point
A2CommonFinal ParticlesSpokenElementary

Vietnamese particle 'nào' usage (Come on / Which / A bit)

'nào' at the end of a sentence or in imperatives often invites, encourages, or urges joint action.

Quick explanation

Quick explanation

'nào' at the end of a sentence or in imperatives often invites, encourages, or urges joint action.

English meanings

  • Come on
  • Which
  • A bit

Grammar pattern

imperative clause + nào

Examples

1

Đi thôi nào.

Let's go.

2

Cố lên nào!

Come on! Keep it up!

How to use it

'nào' can also mean 'which' as a question word, but sentence-final 'nào' usually has a tone of invitation or encouragement, like 'come on' or 'let's'.

  • Often used to encourage, invite, or energize.
  • Not all 'which' questions translate to sentence-final 'nào'.

Compared with English

Compared with English

English uses 'come on', 'let's', or 'which' depending on context. Vietnamese sentence-final 'nào' mostly invites or encourages.

Common mistakes

Nào đi thôi.

Đi thôi nào.

For sentence-final encouragement, 'nào' usually goes at the end.

Bạn chọn nào?

Bạn chọn cái nào?

When meaning 'which', 'nào' is part of the question, not a sentence-final particle.

Commonly confused grammar

No closely confused forms are listed for this point.

Practice

Multiple choice

Which sentence correctly uses 'nào'?

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  • Đi thôi nào.
  • Nào đi thôi.
  • Bạn chọn nào?

Answer: Đi thôi nào.

Explanation: Often used to encourage, invite, or energize.

Fill in the blank

Fill in the blank: Đi thôi ____.

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Answer: Đi thôi nào.

Explanation: Often used to encourage, invite, or energize.

English to Vietnamese

Translate "Let's go." into Vietnamese.

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Answer: Đi thôi nào.

Explanation: Use nào in the same structure as the example.

True or false

Is this sentence correct? 'Nào đi thôi.'

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Answer: False

Explanation: For sentence-final encouragement, 'nào' usually goes at the end.

Correction

Correct the unnatural placement of 'nào' in this sentence.

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Answer: Đi thôi nào.

Explanation: 'nào' as a sentence-final particle usually goes at the end of the whole sentence or intonation unit.

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