Vietnamese Grammar Bank
HOW TO SAY MUST IN VIETNAMESE
Have to and must in Vietnamese are expressed using only one word: phải.
We teach you how to use obligation in Vietnamese in the declarative, negative and interrogative form.
PHẢI || HAVE TO, MUST
In Vietnamese, there is only one word to express something that you must do or have to do. The word is “phải”.
PATTERN
Subject + phải + verb
| Tôi phải đi học | I have to go to school |
| Anh ấy phải đi làm | He has to go to work |
| Chị ấy phải ngủ 8 tiếng mỗi ngày | She has to sleep 8 hours everyday |
NEGATIVE FORM
You can add “không” before “phải” in order to turn the sentence in the negative form:
PATTERN
Subject + không phải + verb
| Tôi không phải đi học | I don’t have to go to school |
| Anh ấy không phải đi làm | He doesn’t have to go to work |
| Chị ấy không phải ngủ 8 tiếng mỗi ngày | She doesn’t have to sleep 8 hours everyday |
PHẢI LÀM GÌ || WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?
This is the sentence structure to follow in order to make a question with “phải”:
PATTERN
Subject + phải + làm gì?
| Bạn phải làm gì mỗi ngày? Tôi phải đi học mỗi ngày | What do you have to do everyday? I have to go to school |
| Anh ấy phải làm gì mỗi ngày? Anh ấy phải đi làm mỗi ngày | What does he have to do everyday? He has to go to work |
| Chị ấy phải làm gì mỗi ngày? Chị ấy phải ngủ 8 tiếng mỗi ngày | What does she have to do everyday? She has to sleep 8 hours everyday |
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FAQs
How to say must in Vietnamese?
In Vietnamese, there is only one word to express something that you must do or have to do. The word is “phải”.
Subject + phải + verb
Tôi phải đi học. I have to go to school
Anh ấy phải đi làm. He has to go to work
How to say do not have to in Vietnamese?
You can add “không” before “phải” in order to turn the sentence in the negative form:
Subject + không phải + verb
Tôi không phải đi học. I don’t have to go to school
Anh ấy không phải đi làm. He doesn’t have to go to work
How to make a question with phải?
This is the sentence structure to follow in order to make a question with “phải”:
Subject + phải + làm gì?
Bạn phải làm gì mỗi ngày? What do you have to do everyday?
Tôi phải đi học mỗi ngày. I have to go to school
Is Vietnamese SVO or SOV?
The Vietnamese language structure is SVO, meaning sentences are built according to Subject + Verb + Object.
Learn more about the Vietnamese sentence structure here.
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