Elementary

Written by Anh Bui and Jack Noble

Illustrated by Imillus

THROUGH STORIES
Elementary

A publication of LEARN VIETNAMESE

U//ZA /b-itúe
Ho Chi Minh City 3019
fình Bui has an academic background in
Vietnamese linguistics and language teaching. One
is the host of a highly popular ỤouTube channel,
the founder of a successful language school in Ho
Chi (blind City, and the creator of a website
providing a wealth of resources for learning
Vietnamese, fill three projects go by the name of
Learn Vietnamese With rinme.

Jack Goble has many years' experience in the

fields of language teaching and materials develop­
ment, particularly in writing stories and plays for
language learning. He is also a published writer of
short stories in English. He is a dialogue
script-writer and co-host at
leamvietnamesewithannie.com.
 CONTENTS

Page

1. Ở trường mẫu giáo 2

2. Làm mất chìa khóa 6
3. Nhìn em khác quá! 10
4. Anh phải đi toilet! 14
5. Chơi trốn tìm 18
6. Mất nón bảo hiểm 22
7. Cây súng đồ chơi 28
8. Anh phải đeo mắt kính 32
9. Giao đồ ăn 36
10. Lần đầu tiên vào bếp 42
 Ở TRƯỜNỠ MẪU Ỡ1ÁO

MÂU ỠIÁO

CHỊ LÀ MẸ CÙA TRÍ NÈ.

HÔM NAY TRÍ CÕ NỠOAN K.HÔNS?

2
TRÍ NHÀ CHỊ NHƯ QUỶI

□ZB
 WORD LIST

trường mẫu giáo kindergarten

CÔ giáo female teacher
mới new
ngoan well-behaved
với lại in addition
vẽ draw
bình thường usually
đánh fight, hit
dễ thương nice, cute
các bạn friends
Lại đây! Come here!
nói talk
Em tưởng... 1 thought...
kia the other
sao how
như quỷ like a demon

4
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS
• Vietnamese has several ways to say "no I not". "Đâu có" is used
when you want to add some emphasis, for example if you're arguing
or if you just really want to deny something. So, in this story: "Bình
thường nó đâu có thích vẽ" and "Hôm nay nó đâu có đánh bạn".

• "Nó" can be used to refer to someone in the third person,

particularly if that person is a child. It can also be used to refer to an
animal. So, in this story, we can refer to the boy named Tri as "nó".
And you can also refer to your pet dog as "nó"!

• "Với lại" is a very common word that means "also I in addition”.

Here, the teacher says "Trí ngoan lắm", and then she says "Với lại,
hôm nay Trí vẽ đẹp lắm."

• To form plurals in Vietnamese, we can use the word "các".

Bạn" is "friend”, so "các bạn" is "friends".

• Sometimes we want to say something like "Not this one, but

the other one." In such a case, "này" means "this" and "kia" means
"the other". In this story, the teacher is saying, "Oh this Tri? I
thought you were talking about the other Tri!"

• When the mother in this story refers to her child, she doesn't
simply say "my child Tri". She says "Trí nhà chi". This literally means
"Tri of my family". Vietnamese people often phrase it like this.

• "Em tưởng..." means "I thought...", with the specific sense of

"I thought that, but now I know I was wrong.”
 LÀM MẤT CHÌA KHÓA

6
ĐÂU CÓ. EM ỡlữ CHÌA KHÓA MÀ.

7
 WORD LIST

làm mất lose

chìa khoá key
cửa door
mở cửa open the door
khoá cửa lock the door
giữ keep
sáng nay this morning
coi take a look
trong túi in the pocket
đây nè here it is
thấy chưa see?
nói say, tell
vậy / vậy là SO
đúng right

8
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS

• "This morning" in Vietnamese is 'sáng nay". This is just the word

for "morning", "sáng", followed by a shortened form of the word for
"today", "(hôm) nay". Applying the same formula, "yesterday
evening" and "tomorrow afternoon" are tối qua" and "chiều mai".

• "Anh coi trong túi coi." Does that sentence look weird to you?
Like, what's up with that second "coi"? Well, that "coi" means
something like "to see". So here, the wife says "Take a look in your
pocket (to see if it's in there)". If I want you to try Vietnamese cà phê
sữa đá, I might say "Uống coi" ("Drink, to see if you like it".)

• We often like to say "vậy là" rather than "vậy" (both mean "so
I then / in that case"). Similarly, we often say "rất là" and it means
the same as "rat" ("very").

• This story uses a lot of "mà"s and "đâu có"s. You might be
getting a feel for the attitude that these words express. Because the
couple in this story are arguing, they add "mà" to the end of
sentences for argumentative emphasis, and they use "đâu có"
instead of "không" to add stress to their denials.

• In the last sentence, the man starts with the word "thì". "Thì"
is often used at the beginning of sentences like this, similar to the
English word "well". Here, the man uses it because he's beginning
to explain something. "Well...".
 NHÌN EM KHÁC QUÁ!

10
pìĩ
nhìn look
khác different
giống like, same
khác different
mới 1. new
2. just recently
cắt tóc have a haircut
hay là Ol
giảm cân lose weight
mắt kính g asses
váy dress, skirt
đâu có gì / không có gì no problem
đâu phải / không phải be not 1
đồng nghiệp colleague ^^,1
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS

• "Mới' is used in two different ways in this story. In the

sentence "Em mới cát tóc hả?", "mới" means "just recently".
In the sentence "Em mặc váy mới hà?", "mới" means "new".
Now, those two meanings are pretty similar, right? The differ­
ence is just that in the first example, "mới' is used as an
adverb, and in the second, it's used as an adjective.

• literally means "or". In this story, the man uses it

to introduce his next suggestion. This is a common way that
is used. And you can either say
they both mean the same thing. (Remember and

• The final particle is often used when we are identifying

something (or someone), or clarifying something. The girl says 'Em
làm với anh de to point out that they ARE in fact colleagues.

• "You look so different" in Vietnamese is em khác

So the pattern is more like "look you so different". In a similar way,
"This looks so terrifying" becomes cái
 ANH PHẢI ĐI TOILET!

HJ
15
 • and both mean "don't", and are used to tell
someone not to do something. So simply means
"don't (do something) anymore" or "stop (doing something)".

• Languages like English express a lot of meaning through the use of

stress. For example, in the sentence "What do you THINK I am doing?",
the stress on "think" carries some of the meaning. In Vietnamese, this
kind of thing is done with particles. The Vietnamese version of that
sentence is . Here, the particle is
doing the job of the stressed "think" in the English version.

• is "why" and is "suddenly". So

means "Why suddenly...?". We use this phrase often, when someone is
behaving in a strange or objectionable way.

• You probably already know that "mac" means expensive. But there
is another use of "mac", meaning "I want to do something". So "mac
cười" means "funny", or literally "I want to laugh". "Mắc ói" means
"gross", or literally "I want to throw up". In this story, the husband says
"mác tiểu", which means "I want to pee".

• When you're dying to do something, you can express that by

saying "muốn chết nè". But remember to put that phrase after the
action. For example, "Anh mắc tiểu muốn chết nè!" ("nè" is the
showing / presenting particle, in case you've forgotten!) M

17
 CHƠI TRỐN TÌM

H]
19
 ba mẹ dad and mum
con child, kid
chơi play
trò chơi game
trốn tìm hide and seek
chán bored, boring
vui fun
chắc là probably
ở đằng sau behind
ở dưới under
sô pha sofa
màn cửa curtain
viết write
cái gì something

20 I
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS
I
• This story illustrates the pronouns that parents and children
use to address each other. No, it's not anh/chi - em". Children
use and ("dad" and "mum"), and parents use "con"
("child").

• When you want to reject someone's suggestion, you can

simply say The , which in this situation would mean something
like "Nah".

• "Chắc là", or 'chắc both have the same meaning. This follows
the same pattern as rất , hay là", and "vậy là".

• The opposite of ở đằng sau' ("behind") is "ở đằng trước"

("in front of"). Sometimes we might skip the middle word Tang"
(as you will see in story 9). The opposite of ở dưới ("under") is 'Ở
trên’ ("on / above").

• We've already talked about quite a few final particles: "mà",

"đây , "đó", "đi", "nha', and 'nè". It's time to learn about two
new ones:
1. Luôn" can mean "too" or "either". In this story, the
parents say: "She's not behind the door"; "Not under the sofa
either"; "Not behind the curtains either."
2. "Ta" is a funny one. When you ask yourself a question,
stick ta' at the end. For example, the mum says "Đâu rồi
ta?" which carries the sense of "I wonder who she is?" So we
use it when we're thinking aloud, not explicitly addressing
another person.

<ệ>ỉầ CH
 MẤT NÓN BẢO HIỂM

22
I 23 ■
 WORD LIST

nón bảo hiểm helmet

bảo vệ guard
mất lose
đậu xe park
Cần need
thẻ card
để leave (something somewhere)
coi watch
màu đỏ red
SỌC stripes
màu trắng white
đội wear (on your head)
Thằng quỷ! Silly thing!
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS

• Unlike story 4, in which ’chứ" is at the beginning of the

sentence and means "then", here 'chú goes at the end, as part of
the sandwich structure 'phải... chứ". The meaning is "have to" or
"must". You'll hear it used a lot when people are arguing.

• You may have learned "có" meaning "to have", and also to form
yes/no questions in the structure 'có... không?". Here, "có" is used
to add emphasis to the verb. So the sentence "Có coi mà" can be
translated as "I DID watch it." "CÓ here is equivalent to that
emphatic "DID".

• When 'mà" appears between two clauses, you can think of it as

meaning "and" or "but". More precisely, it expresses that the second
clause is in some kind of opposition to the first clause. So the
sentence "Col mà mất nón của em!' can be translated as "You
watched but my helmet is gone!" (How could my helmet have gone
if you watched it carefully?)
 B • OK, so you say ‘đeo mắt kin ("wear glasses") and c váy"
("wear a dress"). Now, how do we say "wear" when we're talking about
a hat or a helmet? Yes, it's đệ . (Don't ask me why we need so many
specific words for "wear"!)

• In story 1, the new teacher described the little boy as 'quý"

("demon/monster"). Here 'quỷ' appears in thằng quỷ" (literally,
"demon young guy"). This phrase refers to someone who is kind of
annoying and silly. It expresses irritation, but it's not really an offensive
term.

• While the young man calls himself "em" and the guard "anh",
the guard calls the young man "mày". This pronoun, meaning "you",
has a casual tone and is commonly used by an older person addressing
someone younger. It very often pairs with tao" (meaning "I").

26
 CÂy SÚNỠ Đồ CHƠI

28
I 29 I
 WORD LIST

một cây súng

đồ chơi
a gun
toy
_
mới just, a moment ago
cháu nephew / niece
thấy ghê terrible, terrifying
thôi just, only
nhìn giống thiệt looks real
nhìn là biết obviously
Ý em là What you're saying is
ngu stupid
phục vụ waiter / waitress
giết kill
giảm giá discount
miễn phí free
luôn

30
 LANGUAGE INSIGHTS

• "Thấy ghê" is formed from

"thấy" ("feel") and "ghê" ("terrible,
terrifying"). Here, you can just learn it
as a fixed chunk meaning "terrible,
terrifying".
• "Ý em là..." means "My I
• In story 5, you learned the your meaning is..." It's often
difference between "chơi' and trò used to clarify what you said,
chơi", remember? In this story, we or to ask the other person to
have yet another term, "đồ chơi". clarify what they said.
Can you guess what it means? Here's
a hint: it's something kids love to • Finally, you've already met
play with. Yep, it means "toy"! the final particle "luôn" in this
book. Do you remember what
• "Nhìn là biết" is often best it means? Yes, "too" or "either"!
translated as "obvious / obviously".
Literally, it means "look and then
you'll know".
ANH PHẢI ĐEO MẮT KÍNH
 ANH ƠI,
ANH PHẢI ĐEO MẮT KÍNH. ANH KHÔN<9 PHẢI ƠEO MAT KÍNH.
ANH PHẢI CHẤP NHẬN
LÀ MÌNH OIÀ HƠN Rồl,
MẮT KHÔNỔ THẤy KÕ NỮA.

ANH CHỈ CẦN MỘT CÁI

TI VI LỚN HƠN THÔI...

33
đeo wear
mắt kính glasses
ngồi sit
gần near
xa far
để in order to
thấy see
rõ clear
tắt turn off
cuốn sách này this book
cái xe máy đó that motorbike
nhìn look (at)
biển số xe number plate
quan trọng important
chấp nhận accept
chỉ... thôi just
được can, be able to
 • "Được", meaning "can / be able to", goes after the verb.
Hence "can read" in Vietnamese is "đọc được".
• By now, you've learned that there are different measure
words for different nouns. Let's do a quick review!
- "Cái" is for "xe máy" and "ti vi" (and lots of other
things)
- "Cuốn" is for "sách"
- "Con" is for "chó" ("dog") and "mèo" ("cat")
- And what's the measure word for "súng" ("gun")?
Well done! It's "cây".

• Right, now let's talk about "là". This word has a wide
range of uses. Let's go through the three common ones.
- "Là" can be used to mean "to be", when we're
saying things like "Annie is a Vietnamese teacher"
("Annie là giáo viên tiếng việt") and "Today is
Monday" ("Hôm nay là thứ hai").
- "Là" can mean "and then". For example, "nhìn là
biết" ("look and then you'll know"). Or, "Đi bộ 200
mét nữa là tới." ("Walk 200 meters more and then
you'll arrive.")
- "Là" can mean "that". For example, "Anh phải
chấp nhận là mình già hơn rồi." ("You have to accept
that you're older now.") Ok, so how do we say, "I think
that we need a bigger TV?" Easy! "Anh nghĩ là mình
cần một cái ti vi lớn hơn." —_

.
ỔIAO ĐỒ ĂN
EM MỠl (SHAO CHO CHỊ Kồl MÀ.

HẢ? TKỜI, EM
OỈAO LỘN NỔƯỜI Rồll
EM BỊ &\ VẬy?

E1Z
 WORD LIST
----- - --- ——--- —
giao deliver
đồ ăn food
HH

đói bụng hungry

tới arrive
Đợi chút nha! Wait a moment!
xuống go down
liền______________ immediately
■ ■ , _____ right
trước cửa________ in front of one's door
thấy_____________ see
quán____________ restaurant
Sao vậy? What's wrong?
lộn người wrong person
Anh bị gì vậy? What's wrong with you?
giận angry
muốn chết nè extremely
y then
Cái gì something
 • As mentioned in story 3, expresses a friendly tone. So you
can use it to soften your tone when asking or telling someone to do
something. For example, Ei's 3 carries a friendlier tone than
, which can sound like a command.

• You can use "lộn" to explain that you have made a mistake. For
example, "lộn số" ("wrong number"), "lộn ngưài" ("wrong person"),
"lộn nha" ("wrong address"), etc.

♦ This story has several examples of the final particle Hgj. This
particle is used when you are drawing someone's attention to something
that is present, or something that is happening nearby.
("Your food has arrived").
("I'm right in front of your house").
("Because I'm extremely hungry!"
Here, the use of is like saying "Look at how hungry I am!")
 • What's that you say? You're confused about when to use
, and . Ok, let's recap!
You can say for "watch TV / watch a movie" (
). It expresses watching something for a
long time.
You can also use u to mean "take a look". In story
2, the wife uses in this way to ask her husband to
take a look in his pocket for the key.
You can say for "look at / glance at":
("Look!"). ("Look at that
motorbike!") It expresses looking at something for a short
time.
You can say for "see":
("I saw you on the street"). It expresses seeing
something unintentionally.

• "Trước" can be used to mean "before I ago I last". With this

meaning, it comes after a term referring to a period of time:
"tuần trước" ("last week"), "sáu năm trước" ("six years ago"),
"ba ngày trước" ("three days ago").

can also mean "in front of":|j<pp4<iiipl ("in front

of someone's house"), ("in front of one's door").
Note that with this meaning, is placed in front of the
noun. So that should be easy to remember!

■40
[41
 LẦN ĐẦU TIÊN VÀO BẾP
HẢ? ANH CÓ LÀM THEO
HƯỚNỠ PAN CỦA EM KTIÔNỔ?

ỪA. XON& Rồl XÀO THỊT &Ò

TRONO MẤY PHÚT.

XON& Rồt THÊM HÀNH TÂy?

42
 ừ, BÂy eiờ ĐÂU có NỮA.
ĐÓN© CỬA SÁU NĂM TRƯỚC Rồl.

|43 ■
 nấu ăn cook
dở taste bad
làm theo follow
hướng dẫn instructions
đầu tiên first
xong rồi then
cắt cut, chop
thêm add
hành tâỵ onion
nước mắm fish sauce
hiệu brand
nhớ remember
siêu thị supermarket
kế bên next to
đóng cửa close
____
1 ị ■■■■Ki

'■'*

■ 44
 • Vietnamese has many words that mean "good" and "bad".
Which words are used depends on what we are describing. To
say that food tastes bad, we use "dở". The opposite of "dở" in
this sense is "ngon" ("tasty, delicious").

• Here are two useful words for telling a story, where we

want to say that one thing happened, and then another, and
then another: "đầu tiên" means “first", and "xong rồi" means
"then", or "after that". "Xong rồi" by itself means "finished".
(Perhaps you can see the logic in using a word that means^_
"finished" to also mean "then"!)

ịỉẬếlẬâlll
• The word "Tây" means "West" or "Western". It is used in
words for things that originally came from the West. Foods of this
kind include "hành tây" ("onion"), "khoai tây" ("potato"), and
Ị "gà tây" ("turkey"— literally, "Western chicken"). Some clothing
also came from the West, for example "quần tây" (Western-style
trousers). "Tây" has become part of the word to the point where
it is no longer written in capital letters.

• And finally... I’ll just repeat this one more time, in case it
hasn't stuck yet! "Thôi" at the beginning of a sentence means
"OK, this conversation is over" or "OK, I've reached a conclusion."
Don't mistaken it with "thôi" at the end of a sentence, which
means "only / just" and often goes with "chỉ".

45
 Made in United States
Orlando, FL
08 November 2021

■Mil
110268665R00029