In Vietnamese, we use đôi, cặp, dăm, chục, mươi, and tá to express approximate and collective quantities.
An example of approximate quantities in English is the word “couple”, which, despite conceptually meaning “two”, can indicate an amount of “more than two”.
An example of collective quantities in English is the word “dozen”, which indicates groups/sets of twelve elements.
| Quantity | Approximate | Collective | Corresponding number | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| đôi | ✅ | ✅ | hai (2) | couple | |
| cặp | ❌ | ✅ | pair | ||
| dăm | ✅ | ❌ | năm (5) | five | |
| chục | ✅ | ✅ | mười (10) | ten | |
| mươi | ✅ | ❌ | |||
| tá | ❌ | ✅ | mười hai (12) | dozen | |
Approximate quantities
We use đôi, dăm, chục, and mươi to express approximate quantities. As shown in the table above, cặp and tá don’t have this usage.
Structure
Place đôi, dăm, chục, or mươi before a measure word to express an approximate quantity: “couple” (“two or three”), “about five”, or “about ten”. Grammatically speaking, those words are functioning as quantifiers.
đôi / dăm / chục / mươi + measure word (+ noun)
If a noun doesn’t have a measure word, place đôi, dăm, chục, or mươi before that noun.
đôi / dăm / chục / mươi + noun
Examples
- đôi lời
a few words - đôi cái
two or three (items) - dăm ngày
about five days - dăm cái áo
about five shirts - mươi lần
about ten times
Collective quantities
We use đôi, cặp, chục, and tá to express exact quantities in collections. In this usage, for example, đôi (“couple”) means “exactly two”, not “two or three” as in the usage above. As shown in the table above, dăm and mươi don’t have this usage.
Structure
Place đôi, cặp, chục, or tá before a noun to express a collective quantity: “couple/pair”, “ten”, or “dozen”. Grammatically speaking, those words are functioning as collective measure words.
number + đôi / cặp / chục / tá + noun
Examples
- năm đôi đũa
five pairs of chopsticks - ba cặp bánh chưng
three pairs of bánh chưng - một chục trứng
a “ten” eggs - hai tá bút chì
two dozen pencils - một cặp vợ chồng
a (husband and wife) couple
Usage notes
Common mistake: when using đôi, cặp, and tá to express collective quantities, don’t add a measure word because they already serve as measure words.
- năm đôi chiếc đũa ❌
- năm đôi đũa ✅
five pairs of chopsticks
- ba cặp chiếc bánh chưng ❌
- ba cặp bánh chưng ✅
three pairs of bánh chưng
- hai tá cây bút chì ❌
- hai tá bút chì ✅
two dozen pencils
Extras for the curious mind
Normally, chục means “ten” when expressing collective quantities. However, in the Southwestern regions (Mekong River Delta) of the country, chục can indicate various numbers: 11, 12, 14, 16, or even 18; the exact number depends on each region. This ambiguity is particularly evident when it comes to trading within the traditional floating market (chợ nổi), especially buying and selling fruits. For example, một chục dừa can mean “12 coconuts”, or 14, or even a different number.
A way to clearly specify the number is using chục trơn (lit. “plain” chục), which means “exactly ten”. It contrasts with chục có đầu (lit. “headed” chục), which means “more than ten”.