Talking about places with “ở”

In Vietnamese, we use to talk about places, like “in” and “at” in English.

Structure

Place before a noun indicating a place to express “in/at”.

+ place

If there is some action involved, the verb goes before .

verb (+ obj.) + + place

Examples

  • Tôi ở nhà.I’m at home.
  • Anh ấy ở Hà Nội.He’s in Hanoi. (can also mean “He lives in Hanoi.”)
  • Nó ở đâu?Where is it?
  • Tôi sống ở Huế.I live in Huế.
  • Anh ấy làm việc ở nước ngoài.He works abroad.
  • Anh thích xem phim ở rạp không?Do you like watching films at the cinema?

Usage note

Common mistake: Note that it doesn’t require any verb to express “to be in/at”. A common mistake made by Vietnamese learners is using the verb (“to be”) as if it was English, but this is wrong:

  • Tôi ở công viên. ❌
  • Tôi ở công viên. ✔I’m at the park.
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