In Vietnamese, we use nhất to form superlative adjectives and adverbs, like “-est” and “most” in English.
Basic structure
Structure
Place nhất after an adjective or adverb to turn it into the superlative form.
adj. / adv. + nhất
Examples
With a psychological verb
A psychological verb is a verb that expresses a mental state, e.g., “to like”, “to hate”, and “to fear”.
Structure
Place nhất after the object of a psychological verb.
psychological verb + obj. + nhất
Alternatively, place nhất là after the verb and the object after nhất là.
psychological verb + nhất là + obj.
The first structure works well if the object is relatively short. Otherwise, it’s better to use the second structure.
Examples
Comparing quantities
We use nhiều (“many/much”) or ít (“few/little”) with nhất to compare quantities, like “most” or “fewest/least” in English.
Structure
Place a noun after nhiều (or ít) and nhất after the noun.
nhiều / ít + noun + nhất