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thế

Level ≈A1 (approx.) adverbnounverb Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [tʰe˧˦]Huế [tʰej˨˩˦]Saigon [tʰej˦˥] browser voice
Syllables · tones
thếrisingsắc

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

thế means so; thus; like that.

Chinese characters: 勢

Meanings of thế in English

Adverb

  1. thus; so; like that ≈ rứavậy
    • Thế à?Really?
  2. final particle used in an interrogative sentence ≈ rứavậy

Noun

  1. position; posture
    • thế đứngstanding posture
  2. condition; situation
  3. power; authority
    • cậy thếto abuse one's position

Noun

  1. in compounds era; time; generation

Verb

  1. to replace; to substitute ≈ thaythay thế

Words with thế

như thếquyền thếthất thếthế lựcthế nàothế nhưngvị thếyếu thếthay thếthế gianthế-giớithế hệthế kỉthế kỷthế màthế chiếnthế chânthế chấpthế cuộcthế cụcthế hoánthế mạnhthế năngthế tháithế thânthế thìThế Tônthế tậpthế tụcthế à

Example sentences with thế

  • bạn làm gì ở đây thế ? What are you doing here?
  • Bạn nợ anh ta cái gì thế? What do you owe him?
  • Ai đã ăn hết phô mai thế? Who ate all the cheese?
  • Cái túi này là của ai thế? Whose bag is this?
  • Giám đốc đang ở đâu thế ạ? Where's the president?
  • Ai ở trong đó với bạn thế? Who's in there with you?
  • Có lẽ nó không tệ đến thế. Maybe it's not that bad.
  • Đại sứ quán Pháp ở đâu thế? Where is the French embassy?

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, thế could be written as 势, 𱐭, 𱐬. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Usage note: thế

thế is the Northern counterpart of vậy: "so, like this/that", with the same jobs as a particle.

  • Sao thế? — What's wrong?
  • Làm thế nào? — How? (see thế nào)
  • Thế à? — Really?
  • Thế thì đi thôi. — In that case, let's go.
  • Đẹp thế! — So beautiful!

Combined forms: như thế (like that), thế nên (so, therefore), thế mà (and yet): Học cả năm, thế mà vẫn trượt. — Studied all year, and still failed.

After an adjective, thế is an exclamation: Nóng thế! — It's so hot!

thế also has a separate meaning, "to replace, instead of": thay thế (replace), thế chỗ (take someone's place). And thế giới = world.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 勢 (“that which is set up”).

Frequently asked questions

What does thế mean in English?

thế (adverb) means "so; thus; like that".

How do you pronounce thế?

IPA: Hanoi [tʰe˧˦]; Saigon [tʰej˦˥]. Tones: thế — rising tone (sắc).

Is thế a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. thế is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 勢.

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.