Vietnamese Grammar Bank
MAKING REQUESTS IN VIETNAMESE
Making requests in Vietnamese is as important as learning how to ask questions!
We teach you a few sentence structures you will hear frequently in your Vietnamese studies, so make sure to bookmark this page and come back to it whenever you need a quick review.
COULD YOU…FOR ME PLEASE?
To ask for help / ask for a favour or ask for someone to do something for you, you can use the verb could có thể.
Pay attention to the sentence structure below:
PATTERN
Subject + có thể + verb + cho + pronoun + được không ạ?
See more details about the structure:
Subject: the person you are asking
Có thể: could
Pronoun: 1st personal pronoun, such as mình, tôi, anh, em, etc
Được không ạ: please
NOTE || Learn about (or review!) the Vietnamese pronouns here.
| Anh có thể mua bánh cho em được không ạ? | Could you buy a biscuit for me please? |
| Chị có thể gửi tin nhắn cho em được không ạ? | Could you send a message for me please? |
| Bạn có thể đưa tờ giấy này cho mình được không ạ? | Could you give me this paper please? |
PLEASE…!
To give a polite request to the customer in a formal way, you can use “Vui lòng…ạ!” by following this pattern below:
PATTERN
Subject + vui lòng + verb + ạ!
| Anh vui lòng không hút thuốc ở đây ạ! | Please do not smoke here, sir! |
| Bạn vui lòng order món ở đây ạ! | Please take an order here, friend! |
| Chị vui lòng xuất giấy tờ ạ! | Please show me your papers, madam! |
If you want to make a request in a less serious way (sound more friendly), you can use:
PATTERN
Subject + verb + nha!
| Anh đừng hút thuốc ở đây nha | Please do not smoke here, sir! |
| Bạn order món ở đây nha! | Please take an order here, friend! |
| Chị xuất giấy tờ nha! | Please show me your papers, madam! |
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FAQs
How to make requests in Vietnamese?
To ask for help / ask for a favour or ask for someone to do something for you, you can use the verb could có thể.
Pay attention to the sentence structure below:
Subject + có thể + verb + cho + pronoun + được không ạ?
Chị có thể gửi tin nhắn cho em được không ạ?
Could you send a message for me please?
How to use vui lòng in Vietnamese?
To give a polite request to the customer in a formal way, you can use “Vui lòng…ạ!” by following this pattern below:
Subject + vui lòng + verb + ạ!
Anh vui lòng không hút thuốc ở đây ạ!
Please do not smoke here, sir!
What is the Vietnamese command form?
The command form in Vietnamese uses multiple words:
You use “…đi!” when ordering or commanding in an aggressive way.
You use “…nào!” when ordering or commanding in an encouraging way
Không được means to not be allowed to do something.
You use “Đừng…” when you want to command someone not to do something.
You use “Xin hãy…” when you want to ask for help or favour (please) but in a very desperate way.
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Check out sentence examples in our lesson about the Vietnamese command form.
Is Vietnamese SVO or SOV?
The Vietnamese language structure is SVO, meaning sentences are built according to Subject + Verb + Object.
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Learn more about Vietnamese sentence structure here.
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