Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Lesson focus

Lesson 45 - How Do You Eat This? in Southern Vietnamese.
In Vietnam there are many delicious dishes! We've already covered how to order them, but now how to eat them! That, however, is not always so straight forward. So today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to ask "How do you eat this?"
In Vietnamese "How do you eat this?" is Cái này ăn thế nào?
Cái này ăn thế nào?
Let’s break this down by syllable: Cái này ăn thế nào?
Once again: Cái này ăn thế nào?
The first two words, cái này, we know means "this" but as a reminder, cái is the rising tone and này is falling.
cái này
cái này
cái này
This is followed by ăn, which means "eat" or “to eat.”
Ăn is flat.
ăn
ăn
This phrase ends with thế nào, which means "how."
Thế is rising and nào is falling.
thế nào
thế nào
So all together, we have Cái này ăn thế nào? Literally this means "How do you eat this?"
There are instances when you may want to add some sauce to your dish. In this case, you can ask "Do you add something to this?" which is Có cho thêm gì không?
Có cho thêm gì không?
Once again, Có cho thêm gì không?
We already know the word pair; có - không is used to ask a yes or no question.
Following có is cho thêm.
cho thêm
This simply means "to add."
Both words, cho thêm, are flat.
cho thêm
cho thêm
This is followed by gì, which is "what" or "something" in a yes or no question.
Gì falls gradually.
So all together, Có cho thêm gì không?
Có cho thêm gì không literally means "Do you add something to this?"
Finally, something that may come in handy for everyone out there adverse to hot things, the all-important question, “Is this hot?” hot as in spicy. “Is this hot?” is Cái này có cay không?
Cái này có cay không.
Let’s break this down: Cái này có cay không.
Once again, Cái này có cay không.
The only word you might not know is cay, which is "hot" or "spicy."
cay
cay
So once again, Cái này có cay không.
When you order a bowl of pho, the spices are usually not included. You usually add spices to your dish and adjust it to your taste. This is kind of like an art form. It takes a while to learn how to put the lime, vinegar, salt, black pepper, hot pepper, and a whole lot of other stuff in your dish to make it taste the best. And also, in the middle of the country, everything is usually spicier than everywhere else, so is the climate. So when you’re there, you might want to be careful.

Outro

Okay, to close out today’s lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You’ll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so chúc may mắn, this means “good luck” in Vietnamese.
Okay, here we go!
“How do you eat this?” - Cái này ăn thế nào?
Cái này ăn thế nào?
Cái này ăn thế nào?
“Do you add something to this?” - Có cho thêm cái gì không?
Có cho thêm cái gì không?
Có cho thêm cái gì không?
“Is this hot (spicy)?” - Cái này có cay không?
Cái này có cay không?
Cái này có cay không?

Comments

Hide