Expressing quantities with numbers

In Vietnamese, expressing quantities with numbers is quite straightforward, but it’s important to remember to use a measure word.

Basic structure

Structure

Place a number before the measure word of a noun to express a quantity.

number + measure word + noun

When the noun is understood from context, it’s acceptable to drop it.

number + measure word

If the noun doesn’t have a measure word, place the number before the noun.

number + noun

Examples

  • một cái giường
    one bed
  • ba cái ghế
    three chairs
  • năm cái
    five (instances of something)
  • sáu con
    six (animals)
  • hai thành phố
    two cities
  • mười quốc gia
    ten countries

The one and only

If the number is “one”, and the noun has a measure word (otherwise it wouldn’t make sense), we can omit it. This is similar to “a/an” in English.

Structure

The structure looks like the basic measure word structure:

measure word + noun

Examples

  • cái bàn
    a table
  • cuốn sách
    a book
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