[giang]

I remember someone telling me that there are some grammatical differences between Southern and Northern Vietnamese but I hadn't seen one till I saw this topic. Nktvn probably gave you the explanation for Southern grammar. So lemme show you how "Vậy" and "Đâu" look like in the Northern part of Vietnam.

Let's start with vậy. Study the following examples:
_ Đừng chạy nhanh (như) vậy --- Don't run fast like that
_ Nói (như) vậy có nghĩa là tôi sai à? --- *roughly means:* Saying such thing means I'm wrong huh?
==> Vậy sometimes means "a fact / an event mentioned earlier in the article/dialogue" and usually accompanies with như, which means like/such. In the South, people tend to drop như to make the sentences shorter. And in the North, people use thế instead of vậy.

_ Thôi được! Tao ở lại vậy. --- Alright! I stay then.
_ Vậy mày biến đi được rồi đấy! --- Then get lost already!
==> In those examples, vậy means "then" in English.


The usages of đâu:
_ Cô ấy đang ở đâu? --- *roughly means:* She's at where by now?
_ Ở đâu có pháo hoa, tối nay? --- *roughly means:* At where there are fireworks tonight?
==> Đâu means "where".

_ Vậy đâu có được! (Southern) Như thế không được đâu! (Northern) --- That's not OK.
_ Không, tao không ăn đâu. --- No, I'm not gonna eat.
_ Cô ta có thích mình tí nào đâu --- She doesn't like me even just a little bit.
==> In the first two examples, vậy conveys the sense of rebuking/refusing gently and friendly. In the last examples, đâu is an integral part of a grammar structure, which I will explain later in another post. Razz

Hope it helps.
Chubby
_________________
Life is like a boat.

We are all rowing the boat of fate
The waves keep on coming and we can’t escape
But if we ever get lost on our way
The waves would guide you through another day

[ChubbyChocobobo]

Let me repost it with text-format so everything is clearer:

=================================================

I remember someone telling me that there are some grammatical differences between Southern and Northern Vietnamese but I hadn't seen one till I saw this topic. Nktvn probably gave you the explanation for Southern grammar. So lemme show you how "Vậy" and "Đâu" look like in the Northern part of Vietnam.

Let's start with vậy. Study the following examples:
_ Đừng chạy nhanh (như) vậy --- Don't run fast like that
_ Nói (như) vậy có nghĩa là tôi sai à? --- *roughly means:* Saying such thing means I'm wrong huh?
==> Vậy sometimes means "a fact / an event mentioned earlier in the article/dialogue" and usually accompanies with như, which means like/such. In the South, people tend to drop như to make the sentences shorter. And in the North, people use thế instead of vậy.

_ Thôi được! Tao ở lại vậy. --- Alright! I stay then.
_ Vậy mày biến đi được rồi đấy! --- Then get lost already!
==> In those examples, vậy means "then" in English.


The usages of đâu:
_ Cô ấy đang ở đâu? --- *roughly means:* She's at where by now?
_ Ở đâu có pháo hoa, tối nay? --- *roughly means:* At where there are fireworks tonight?
==> Đâu means "where".

_ Vậy đâu có được! (Southern) Như thế không được đâu! (Northern) --- That's not OK.
_ Không, tao không ăn đâu. --- No, I'm not gonna eat.
_ Cô ta có thích mình tí nào đâu. --- She doesn't like me even just a little bit.
==> In the first two examples, đâu conveys the sense of rebuking/refusing gently and friendly. In the last examples, đâu is an integral part of a grammar structure, which I will explain later in another post. 8)

Hope it helps.
Chubby

[giang]

Dear Chubby,

I think we should distinguish the vậy at the beginning of the sentence and vậy at the end of the sentence.

_ Thôi được! Tao ở lại vậy. --- Alright! I stay then.
_ Vậy mày biến đi được rồi đấy! --- Then get lost already!

1. Vậy, anh sẽ làm gì? So, what wil you do ? Vậy at the beginning of the sentence means "so", "therefore", while at the end of the sentence, it is more complicated.
2. Anh đi đâu vậy? Where are you going? Vậy is used to ask about what is occurring at the moment of speaking
3. Bao nhiêu tiền vậy ? How much is it? Vậy is used to ask more (additionally) about something after observing, comparing or discussing it.

In the North, “thế” is more used instead of “vậy”.

Another vậy, as a pronoun, is used in the following sentences:
Em nói vậy là sai. What you said is wrong.
Cô ấy vẽ (như) vậy là đẹp. Her drawing that way is beautiful. Vậy here refers to the way She has drawed.

[rachel_doll]

thanks a lot.
your information helps me so much in English translaion.

[trinhh]

thanks for posting this! thats really helped. I understand some words but it has different meanings depends on how you use it. its driving me crazy, but one day, i will get it. Thanks again!