Vietnamese Grammar Bank

VIETNAMESE MEASUREMENTS

In Vietnamese, expressing measurements is essential for daily conversations, whether discussing length, weight, or volume.

This lesson will introduce common measurement units, such as meters, kilograms, and liters, and how to use them correctly in sentences.

TIME

Here is a list of the most common time measurements: 

VIETNAMESEENGLISH
nămyear
thángmonth
tuầnweek
ngàyday
giờ/ tiếnghour
phútminute
giâysecond

TIME QUESTIONS

You can follow this pattern to make a question about time: 

PATTERN

 Bao lâu? / Bao nhiêu + time measurement 

For example: 

vietnameseenglish
Bao nhiêu năm?
→ 5 năm
How many years? 
→ 5 years
Bao nhiêu tháng?
→ 7 tháng
How many months?
→ 7 months 
Bao nhiêu tuần?
→ 10 tuần
How many weeks?
→ 10 weeks
Bao lâu?
→ 10 ngày
How long?
→ 10 days 
View More Examples:
Bao lâu?
→ 15 giờ/ tiếng
How long?
→15 hours
Bao lâu?
→ 10 phút
How long?
→10 minutes
Bao lâu?
→ 10 giây
How long?
→10 seconds

NOTE || Unless it is about time measurement, you can use “Bao nhiêu + measurement” to ask “How many?” for the rest of three measurements below: 

WEIGHT

vietnameseenglish
mi-li-gam (mgr)
Bao nhiêu mi-li-gam?
→ 5 mi-li-gam
miligram (gr)
How many milligrams?
→ 5 milligrams
gam (gr)
Bao nhiêu gam?
→ 5 gam
gram (gr)
How many grams
→ 5 grams
ki-lô-gam (kg)
Bao nhiêu ki-lô-gam?
→ 7 ki-lô-gam
kilogram (kg) 
How many kilograms?
→ 7  kilograms
tấn (t)
Bao nhiêu tấn?
→ 7 tấn
ton (t)
How many tons?
→ 7  tons

NOTE || You can make a question about quantity with the suitable adjectives 

For weight measurement, you use “nặng” which means “heavy”:
Nặng bao nhiêu? = How heavy is it? 

HEIGHT / DISTANCE

vietnameseenglish
mi-li-mét (mm)
Bao nhiêu mi-li-mét?
→ 5 mi-li-mét
millimeter (mm)
How many millimeters? 
→ 5 millimeters
xăng-ti-mét (cm)
Bao nhiêu xăng-ti-mét?
→ 5 xăng-ti-mét
centimeter (cm)
How many centimeters? 
→ 5 centimeters
mét (m)
Bao nhiêu mét?
→ 5 mét
meter (m)
How many meters? 
→ 5 meters
ki-lô-mét (km)
Bao nhiêu ki-lô-mét?
→ 7 ki-lô-mét
kilometer (km) 
How many kilometers?
→ 7  kilometers

NOTE || You can make a question about quantity with the suitable adjectives.

For height measurement, you use “cao” which means “high”:
Cao bao nhiêu? = How high is it? 

For distance measurement, you use “dài” which means “long”:
Dài bao nhiêu? = How long is it? 

VOLUME, DEPTH, CAPACITY, AREA

VietnameseEngliSh
mét khối (m3)
Bao nhiêu mét khối?
→ 5 mét khối
cubic meter (m3)
How many cubic meters? 
→ 5 cubic meters
xăng-ti-mét khối (cm3)
Bao nhiêu xăng-ti-mét khối?
→ 5 xăng-ti-mét khối
cubic centimeter (cm3)
How many cubic centimeters? 
→ 5 cubic centimeters
lít (l)
Bao nhiêu lít?
→ 5 lít
liter (l)
How many liters? 
→ 5 liters
mi-li-lít (ml)
Bao nhiêu mi-li-lít?
→ 5 mi-li-lít
mililitre (ml)
How many milliliters? 
→ 5 milliliters
Mét vuông (m2)
Bao nhiêu mét vuông?
→ 5 mét vuông
square meter (m2)
How many square meters? 
→ 5 square meters
ki-lô-mét vuông (km2)
Bao nhiêu ki-lô-mét vuông?
→ 7 ki-lô-mét vuông
square kilometer (km2) 
How many square kilometers?
→ 7  square kilometers
héc-ta (ha)
Bao nhiêu héc-ta?
→ 7 héc-ta
hectare (ha)
How many hectares?
→ 7  hectares

NOTE || You can make a question about quantity with the suitable adjectives.

For depth measurement, you use “sâu” which means “deep”:
Sâu bao nhiêu? = How deep is it? 

For area measurement, you use “rộng” which means “wide”:
Rộng bao nhiêu? = How wide is it?

ELECTRICITY

VietnameseEnglish
am-pe (A)
Bao nhiêu am-pe?
→ 5 am-pe
ampere (A)
How many amperes? 
→ 5 amperes
vôn (V)
Bao nhiêu vôn?
→ 5 vôn
volt (V)
How many volts? 
→ 5 volts
mã lực (Hp)
Bao nhiêu mã lực ?
→ 5 mã lực
horsepower (Hp)
How much horsepower? 
→ 5 horsepower

NOTE || You can make a question about quantity with the suitable adjectives 

For electricity measurement, you use “mạnh” which means “powerful”:
Mạnh bao nhiêu? = How powerful is it? 

DEGREE

For degree measurement, it is not a metric unit so you omit the measurement after “Bao nhiêu?”. Instead, you follow this pattern: 

PATTERN

Bao nhiêu + object? 

VietnameseEnglish
ít
Bao nhiêu bánh?
→ Ít bánh
little/ not a lot
How many cakes? 
→ Not a lot of cakes 
rất ít
Bao nhiêu kẹo?
→ rất ít kẹo
very little/ very few 
How many candies?
→ very few of candies 
nhiều
Bao nhiêu bánh?
→ nhiều bánh
a lot
How many cakes? 
→ a lot of cakes 
rất nhiều
Bao nhiêu kẹo?
→ rất nhiều kẹo
very a lot/ so much
How many candies?
→ very a lot of candies 

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FAQs

What are common units of measurement?

Common units include mét (meter), kilômet (kilometer), gam (gram), kilôgam (kilogram), and lít (liter).

How do you express length in Vietnamese?

Length is typically expressed using units such as mét (meter) or centimét (centimeter), for example, “Chiều dài là hai mét” (The length is two meters).

What difference between trọng lượng & khối lượng?

Trọng lượng refers to weight (the force exerted by gravity on an object), while khối lượng refers to mass (the amount of matter in an object).

Are there any measurement phrases unique to Vietnamese culture?

Yes, Vietnamese culture uses specific measurements for things like rice or fabric, such as mấy chục cân (how many dozens of kilograms) or một thước (one measure, often referring to fabric length).

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