Learn how to use the comparative
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hey there! I’m Brandon, and welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. This is lower beginner Season 1, Lesson 6 - Deciding on Dinner in Vietnam |
| Huyen: Xin chào! I’m Huyen. |
| Brandon: In this lesson you will learn how to use comparatives in Vietnamese. The conversation takes place at a speaker’s house, and is between Minh and her aunt. |
| Huyen: They are family members, so they will be using informal Vietnamese, but Minh will be speaking in a respectful tone to her aunt. |
| Brandon: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Nga: Minh ơi, đi chợ với cô không? |
| Minh: Vâng ạ. |
| Nga: Hôm nay cháu thích ăn thịt bò hay thịt gà? |
| Minh: Thịt bò đi ạ. Thịt bò ngon hơn thịt gà. |
| Nga: Ừ, bò bít tết nhé. |
| Minh: Vâng, quá tuyệt ạ. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Nga: Minh ơi, đi chợ với cô không? |
| Minh: Vâng ạ. |
| Nga: Hôm nay cháu thích ăn thịt bò hay thịt gà? |
| Minh: Thịt bò đi ạ. Thịt bò ngon hơn thịt gà. |
| Nga: Ừ, bò bít tết nhé. |
| Minh: Vâng, quá tuyệt ạ. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Nga: Minh ơi, đi chợ với cô không? |
| Brandon: Hey Minh, do you want to go to the market with me? |
| Minh: Vâng ạ. |
| Brandon: Yes, aunt. |
| Nga: Hôm nay cháu thích ăn thịt bò hay thịt gà? |
| Brandon: Would you like beef or chicken for today? |
| Minh: Thịt bò đi ạ. Thịt bò ngon hơn thịt gà. |
| Brandon: Beef. Beef is more delicious than chicken. |
| Nga: Ừ, bò bít tết nhé. |
| Brandon: Okay, how about beef steak? |
| Minh: Vâng, quá tuyệt ạ. |
| Brandon: Yeah, awesome. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Huyen, how do Vietnamese people prepare meals? Do they often eat out? |
| Huyen: Vietnamese people really value a family meal, because they think it is a great time for family members to see each other and share their daily stories. Unless they are too busy, they prefer eating at home on weekdays. They eat out more on weekends. |
| Brandon: Who cooks the meal? Is it mostly done by women? |
| Huyen: Yes, that’s right. The women in the family, such as the mother, wife, or daughter, are the main cooks. |
| Brandon: Where do they go shopping for food? |
| Huyen: They shop at outdoor markets in the early morning or late afternoon after they finish work. This is because they have cheaper and fresher food there, than at supermarkets. |
| Brandon: Don’t they go to the supermarket? |
| Huyen: They do. Working women shop more in the supermarket, because the outdoor market is usually open and closed very early. |
| Brandon: Is it a trend to shop at the supermarket nowadays? |
| Huyen: You could say so. Supermarkets are more convenient and the food there is believed to be safer in terms of sanitation. But there are still outdoor markets in most residential areas. Many people think that a house near a market is a great living location. |
| Brandon Listeners, make sure you check out the outdoor market when you’re in Vietnam! Now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: The first word we shall see is: |
| Huyen: chợ [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: "market" |
| Huyen: chợ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: chợ [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: cô/cháu [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: I, me, you |
| Huyen: cô/cháu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: cô/cháu [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: thích [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to like, to love |
| Huyen: thích [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: thích [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: thịt bò [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: beef |
| Huyen: thịt bò [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: thịt bò [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: thịt gà [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: chicken |
| Huyen: thịt gà [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: thịt gà [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: ngon [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: delicious |
| Huyen: ngon [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: ngon [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: hơn [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: more |
| Huyen: hơn [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: hơn [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: bò bít tết [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: beef steak |
| Huyen: bò bít tết [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: bò bít tết [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| Huyen: tuyệt [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: great, wonderful, awesome |
| Huyen: tuyệt [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: tuyệt [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Huyen: chợ |
| Brandon: It refers to the outdoor market where fresh food and vegetables are sold. As you know, Vietnamese people usually buy food and ingredients at those markets, the verb phrase… |
| Huyen: đi chợ, literally “go to the market” |
| Brandon: ...refers to the act of going shopping for food in general. |
| Huyen: “Đi chợ” is the common topic among housewives. It can be a greeting when two women meet each other in the morning or late afternoon. |
| Brandon: Instead of saying hello, they may say: |
| Huyen: Chị đi chợ à? |
| Brandon: Are you going to the market? |
| Huyen: Chị đi chợ chưa? |
| Brandon: Have you gone to the market? |
| Huyen: Chị vừa đi chợ về à? |
| Brandon: Have you just returned from the market? |
| Huyen: Secondly, we have a pair of pronouns: cô - cháu |
| Brandon: This is equivalent to “I or me” and “you”. They are used when a person is talking with their aunt or a woman around their aunt’s age, about 15 years older. |
| Huyen: The older woman in this case calls herself “cô” and the other “cháu” regardless of the gender. The younger person, regardless of the gender, calls himself or herself “cháu” and calls the older one “cô”. |
| Brandon: For example, a person - who is the first speaker - is saying to their aunt, or a woman around their aunt’s age: |
| Huyen: Cháu sẽ đến thăm cô vào chủ nhật này. |
| Brandon: I will come visit you this Sunday. |
| Huyen: A woman is saying to her niece or nephew, or someone about 15 years younger: “Cháu làm xong báo cáo thì gửi cho cô nhé” |
| Brandon: Send me the report after you finish it. |
| Huyen: Finally, we will learn the equivalents for an animal and its meat. |
| Brandon: In English, in most cases, the word referring to the animal is different from the word referring to its meat. |
| Huyen: In Vietnamese, if you want to mention the meat of any animal, simply add the word “thịt” meaning “meat” in front of the name of the animal. |
| Brandon: For example, in English the meat of a cow is called beef. |
| Huyen: In Vietnamese, a cow is called “bò” and its meat is called “thịt bò”. |
| Brandon: All the same, a pig is called… |
| Huyen: lợn, and its meat is called “thịt lợn”. |
| Brandon: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use comparatives. |
| Huyen: In the dialogue, we had Thịt bò ngon hơn thịt gà. |
| Brandon: "Beef is more delicious than chicken" |
| Huyen: To change an adjective or adverb into its comparative form, simply add the word “hơn” meaning “more” right after that adjective or adverb. |
| Brandon: This rule applies to all adjectives and adverbs in Vietnamese, whether they are singular, or compound adjectives and adverbs. |
| Huyen: For example: đẹp hơn |
| Brandon: “more beautiful” or “nicer” |
| Huyen: nhanh hơn |
| Brandon: “quicker”, or, “faster” |
| Huyen: giỏi hơn, tốt hơn |
| Brandon: better |
| Huyen: chăm chỉ hơn |
| Brandon: more hardworking |
| Huyen: hiệu quả hơn |
| Brandon: “more effective”, or, “more efficient.” To put a comparative form of an adjective in a sentence, start with the subject, followed by the adjective. |
| Huyen: Then, add “hơn”, and finally the noun indicating the person or thing that is being compared with the subject. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear some examples. |
| Huyen: Cô ấy cao hơn tôi. |
| Brandon: "She is taller than me" |
| Huyen: Anh ấy thông minh hơn các bạn cùng tuổi . |
| Brandon: "He is smarter" or "more intelligent than friends of the same age". |
| Huyen: “thông minh” means “smart, or, intelligent” |
| Brandon: To put a comparative form of an adverb in a sentence, start with the subject, followed by the verb, then the object if any. |
| Huyen: Next comes the adverb to supplement the verb, then add “hơn” after the adverb. |
| Brandon: Finally add another subject and verb phrase to compare with what was mentioned in the first clause. The verb phrase of the second clause can be omitted if it is the same as the first clause. For example: |
| Huyen: Chị tôi học giỏi hơn tôi.. |
| Brandon: "My elder sister learns better than me" |
| Huyen: Anh ấy làm việc hiệu quả hơn các đồng nghiệp. |
| Brandon: “He works more efficiently than his colleagues” To learn more about the use of adjectives and adverbs, please refer to the accompanying lesson notes. |
Outro |
| Huyen: Listeners, now you should be able to use Vietnamese to compare any two people or things! |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Huyen: Tạm biệt. |
| MARKETING PIECE |
| Brandon: Listeners, ever have any Vietnamese language or lesson-related questions? |
| Huyen: Or maybe you have some feedback for us... |
| Brandon: Leave us a comment or ask a question on the lessons page! |
| Huyen: It's super simple. Go to VietnamesePod101.com... |
| Brandon: ...click on comments, |
| Huyen: ...enter your comment and name, |
| Brandon: ...and that's it! |
| Huyen: Commenting is a great way to practice writing and reading in Vietnamese. |
| Brandon: It helps you learn faster. |
| Huyen: And it helps us get better through your feedback. |
| Brandon: No excuses. |
| Huyen: Go to VietnamesePod101.com, and comment now. |
| Brandon: NOW! |
16 Comments
HideHi Listeners! What will you have for dinner? *Answer in Vietnamese!
Hello AQ,
Thank you very much for your comment. The correct answer is:
English: "pig" - "pork"
Vietnamese: "lợn" - "thịt lợn"
I have reported this mistake to our team and we will correct it shortly.
Please let us know if you have further question.
Best regards,
Nguyet Nguyen
Team VietnamesePod101.com
Xin Chao,
In the accompanied notes, pg 5, Pork and Chicken written the same? is this correct?
English: "pig" - "pork"
Vietnamese: gà - thịt gà
English: "cock/hen/chicken" - "chicken"
Vietnamese: gà - thịt gà
Hi Kn,
The taxi driver can say "Bạn muốn đi đâu?" if his age is same as the customer's age. The pronoun will be changed up to the sex and age of the person he talks to.
To be polite, he may use : "Cô muốn đi đâu ạ?"
Best,
Huyền.
Team VietnamesePod101.com
In absolute beginner lesson 14 the taxi driver says: Cô muốn đi đâu ạ (where do you want to go, miss?)
Could he have said: bạn muốn đi đâu ạ
Xin lỗi, I would have posted this question in that lesson, but I forgot to say the sentence above is from the Absolute beginner series before.
Hi Kn,
Good question! The main reason we do NOT use "làm ơn" in the sentence "Thịt bò đi ạ!" is: its structure.
- "Làm ơn" is NEVER followed directly by a NOUN. We don't say : "Làm ơn thịt bò đi ạ!". If you want to use it, you need to add "cho tôi" after it. For example: "Chị làm ơn cho tôi thịt bò ạ!" (literally means: you - please - give me beef.) This sounds too formal and serious.
- Normally, "ạ" does not mean "please". It is put at the end of the sentence to make it sounds more polite AND to show respect to the person you are talking with. It does not really have particular meaning, it is a particle. So to apply it correctly and naturally, you may need to study and practice more Vietnamese to achieve higher level.
Best,
Huyền.
Team VietnamesePod101.com
Yes, I remember in lesson 14 - taking a taxi in vietnam, the driver used: Cô muốn đi đâu ạ (where do you want to go, miss?). The “ạ” is polite.
In that lesson (lesson 14) we learnt the phrase "Làm ơn" (to say please). Here (with "Thịt bò đi ạ") seems we don't need to use "Làm ơn" at the beginning when the sentence finishes with “ạ”. Is "Làm ơn" used more in formal situations?
And "Thịt bò đi ạ" literally means "Beef, please". Let me explain more detail about this sentence. Please note that: "đi" in this sentence is NOT a verb. It is a particle and normally is put at the end of the sentence.
- We have "Noun + đi." , it means: "Let's choose (Noun)" or "(Noun), please." For example:
---> "Chị muốn ăn pizza hay phở?" - "Phở đi." means: "You want to eat pizza or pho?" - "Pho, please."
- We have "Verb + đi." It is used when you want to make an order such as:
---> "Đi đi!" means "Go away!" or "Go!"
---> "Chạy đi!" means "Run!"
In this lesson, as Minh is younger so Minh put the particle "ạ" at the end of the sentence to show Nga respect. In this situation, without "ạ", the sentence will sounds disrespectful because it sounds like an order.
Best,
Huyen
Team VietnamesePod101.com
Hi Kn,
You are right. In Vietnamese, "không" could be: No/ not ( depends on context ).
- You can use "Không" only, to say: "No" or:
- "không + Verb" ; "không + Adjective" to make negative forms of verb or adjective.
---> "Cô ấy không hát." means: "She does not sing."
---> "Quyển sách này không hay." means: "This book is not interesting." or "This book is un-interesting."
In addition, "không" can be used to form a yes-no question (in which "yes" is "có" and "no" is "không") with the formula:
- "S + (có) + Verb + (Objective) + không?" (You can say it with or without "có")
---> "Bạn (có) đọc quyển sách này không?" means "Do you read this book?"
- "S + (có) + adjective + không?" (You can say it with or without "có")
---> "Quyển sách này (có) hay không?" means "Is this book interesting?"
*** In this lesson, "Minh ơi, đi chợ với cô không?" is a yes-no question, and is often used to ask whether (somebody) wants to do (something) with (somebody) or not. As this sentence is in daily conversation so it was spoken shortly. The full sentence should be: "Minh ơi, cháu có muốn đi chợ với cô không?" literally means :"Minh, do you want to go to the market with me?"
So now you can make negative form sentences and yes-no questions. Hope you ẹnoy it!
Best,
Huyen
Team VietnamesePod101.com
What does Thịt bò đi ạ literally translate to. Is it Beef. go for it..or something like this?
the first line of the dialog Minh ơi, đi chợ với cô không literally translates to:
Minh, go market with Aunt, No/Not?..So, we have, Subject, Verb, Object (Market). Is this correct. By the way, is there a distinction between No/Not in Vietnamese ? In English we would say, Are you not going to the market, whereas Are you no going to the market would be wrong.
In Vietnamese do we use Không ? and that could mean No or Not (depending on context).