những
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
những means (plural marker); only.
Meanings of những in English
Determiner
- Plural marker.
- tất cả những người khácall the others
Particle
- Emphasizes the quantity of noun: as many as; as much as
- Bài kiểm tra rồi tớ được những tám điểm đấy!I got an EIGHT on the last exam!
- colloquial Emphasizes the abundance and uncountability of something: nothing but
- những hoa là hoanothing but flowers
- literary, otherwise rare Emphasizes the overwhelming nature of a psychological or emotional state.
Adverb
- archaic only; just (followed by a verb)
Words with những
Example sentences with những
- Những đứa con của Tom bị ốm. Tom's children are sick.
- Tôi tin những gì Tom đã nói. I believe what Tom said.
- Đây là những đồ vật vô dụng. These are useless objects.
- Đây là những món đồ vô dụng. These are useless objects.
- Làm những gì bạn tin là đúng. Do what you believe is right.
- Làm ơn sửa lại những lỗi sai. Please correct the errors.
- Có những thứ mà tôi cần biết. There are things I must know about.
- Tụi nó là những người ăn chay. They are vegetarians.
Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).
Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)
Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, những could be written as 仍, 忍, 𠯹. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: những
Vietnamese nouns do not change for plural. When you want to mark plural, you add những or các. Which one?
- các — all members of a known group: các bạn = you all (everyone here); các nước châu Á = the Asian countries (all of them).
- những — some members, a selection, or things described further: những người tôi gặp hôm qua = the people I met yesterday; những món ăn ngon nhất = the most delicious dishes.
More examples:
- Có những ngày tôi không muốn đi làm. — There are days I don't want to go to work.
- Những cái này bao nhiêu? — How much are these?
những before a number adds emphasis: "as many as". Anh ấy ăn những ba bát phở! — He ate three whole bowls of pho!
Often no marker is needed at all: Tôi mua sách. — I bought (some) books.
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 仍 (“to continue; to be done repeatedly; many; still”, SV: nhưng). Compare nhưng.
Frequently asked questions
What does những mean in English?
những (determiner) means "(plural marker); only".
How do you pronounce những?
IPA: Hanoi [ɲɨŋ˦ˀ˥]; Saigon [ɲɨŋ˨˩˦]. Tones: những — creaky rising tone (ngã).