đã
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
đã means already (marks a past or completed action).
Meanings of đã in English
Particle
- before action verb having completed this action, perfect aspect
- Đã xong!Done!
- Bờ biển Nha Trang đẹp thế nào? Tôi đã đi Nha Trang bao giờ đâu mà biết.How beautiful the Nha Trang beaches are? I have never been to Nha Trang so how can I know?
- before stative/adjective having reached this state ≈ rồi
- indicates an action has been initiated
- irrealis, used in a statement that did not come about due to a condition not being met
- indicates the statement refers to a time prior to the one suggested by the context
- sentence final indicates the action or task described in the sentence needs to be completed before something else could start
- Đi chơi đi ! / Đợi tớ rửa bát xong đã.Let's go out! / Let me finish the dishes first.
- Đi đâu mà vội, chờ cho tạnh mưa đã.Why rush? Just wait until it stops raining.
- Vội gì, cứ ăn cho xong bát cơm đã.No need to rush, take time to finish your meal first.
Verb
- colloquial to satisfy; to pleasure; to refresh
- đã khátto slake one's thirst
Words with đã
Example sentences with đã
- Tom đã mất cả bố và mẹ. Tom has lost both of his parents.
- Bạn đã rửa xe ô tô chưa? Have you washed the car yet?
- Nó đã ăn hết tất cả táo. He ate all of the apple.
- Anh ấy đã đề cập đến nó. He mentioned it.
- Cô ấy đã mua một con gà. She bought a chicken.
- Tất cả họ đều đã rời đi. They all left.
- Anh đã đọc hết nó rồi à? Did you read it all?
- Tôi đã để ví tiền ở nhà. I left my wallet at home.
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, đã could be written as 㐌, 吔, 諸. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Usage note: đã
Vietnamese verbs never change form. To show that something happened in the past or is completed, you can put đã before the verb — but you often do not have to.
- Tôi đã gặp anh ấy. — I met him / I have met him.
- Hôm qua tôi đi chợ. — Yesterday I went to the market. (no đã needed: hôm qua already shows the time)
- Tôi đã ăn rồi. — I've already eaten. (đã … rồi is a very common frame)
Learners tend to put đã in every past sentence. That is not wrong, but it can sound heavy; Vietnamese use it mainly to stress completion or to make the time clear.
A second use, especially in the North: đã at the end of a sentence means "first, before anything else": Ăn đã, rồi nói chuyện sau. — Let's eat first, talk later. Khoan đã! — Wait a moment!
And in đã + adjective, informal: Tắm xong đã quá! — That shower felt great! (đã = satisfying, mainly Southern slang.)
Frequently asked questions
What does đã mean in English?
đã (particle) means "already (marks a past or completed action)".
How do you pronounce đã?
IPA: Hanoi [ʔɗaː˦ˀ˥]; Saigon [ʔɗaː˨˩˦]. Tones: đã — creaky rising tone (ngã).