thế mà

Level ≈B2 (approx.) conjunction Top 5,000 most common

Hanoi [tʰe˧˦ maː˨˩]Huế [tʰej˨˩˦ maː˦˩]Saigon [tʰej˦˥ maː˨˩] browser voice

Syllables · tones

thếrisingsắc màfallinghuyền

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

thế mà means but; however; yet.

Meanings of thế mà in English

Conjunction

but; however; yet; still ≈ vậy mà
nevertheless; for all that

Example sentences with thế mà

Tôi chỉ làm được đến thế mà thôi. This is all I can do.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

thế + mà.

Frequently asked questions

What does thế mà mean in English?

thế mà (conjunction) means "but; however; yet".

How do you pronounce thế mà?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰe˧˦ maː˨˩]; Saigon [tʰej˦˥ maː˨˩]. Tones: thế — rising tone (sắc), mà — falling tone (huyền).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.