What Does 'Cũng' Mean In Vietnamese? | Let's Understand 'Cũng' In 5 Minutes
Table of Contents
Cũng is one of the basic and common words used in the conversation in Vietnamese. But there are many different ways to be used and it is difficult to understand in each situations. So on today’s post, I will cover all of the usage and show some practical examples.
What is the meaning of “Cũng” in Vietnamese? #
- 1. Also
- 2. When you compromise and accept other's opinions
As for the 2nd usage, it’s hard to understand by only this description. So let me explain more details with some example sentences.
1. Also #
You can use the word “cũng” when you want to say “in addition”. It’s exactly the same usage as “also” in English.
It sounds quite simple but there 2 important rules for “cũng”.
2. Cũng should precedes any other adverbs.
Please take a look at the following examples to understand more deeply.
Hôm nay tôi cũng có bài học.
Today I also have a lesson.
Anh ấy cũng không thích xem phim hành động.
He also does not like watching action movie.
※In this example, there are cũng & không which come before verbs. But cũng should always come first.
As you can see, “cũng” is always placed right after the subject and before any other adverbs.
2. Compromising and accepting other’s opinion #
It sounds a little bit hard to imagine the usage, but this expression is really common usage among Vietnamese native speakers. So let’s try to master this usage, too.
Basically, “cũng” in this usecase always comes with the following format.
In this context, you can express “agreement” or “acceptance” toward others opinions. But in your mind, you don’t think so.
Let’s take a look at the following examples to get the better understandings about “cũng” in this usage.
A: Đồ ăn ngon không?
B: Cũng ngon đấy.
A: Is my food delicious?
B: Yeah, it’s good(In your mind, it’s not).
Idioms by using “cũng” in Vietnamese #
With the basic usage of “cũng” as it’s covered so far, there are many useful expressions using “cũng”. So let’s learn about the idioms and useful expressions with “cũng”.
Ai cũng ~ : everyone #
If you use “cũng” with the following format, it means “everyone”. “Ai” means “who” in English, the direct translation of “ai cũng” is going to be like “whoever also”, resulting in meaning “Everyone” in english.
So let’s take a look at the example sentences.
Ai cũng muốn thành công trong cuộc sống.
Everyone wants to succeed in life..
Ai cũng có những ước mơ riêng của mình.
Everyone has their own dreams.
Cái cũng được : whatever #
The phrase “Sao cũng được” in Vietnamese literally translates to “any way will do” in English.
It’s used to mean “whatever” in English implying that any option or course of action is acceptable or sufficient.
Let’s take a look at the example sentences.
Bạn muốn xem phim gì? - Cái cũng được.
What movie do you want to watch? - Anything is fine.
Cũng như ~ : just like ~ #
The phrase “cũng như” in Vietnamese is used to express similarities or comparisons.
Here is the example sentence to understand the usage and context with “cũng như”.
Anh ta học tiếng Nhật cũng như tôi.
What movie do you want to watch? - Anything is fine.
Cũng được gọi là ~ : It’s also called ~ #
The phrase “cũng được gọi là ~” in Vietnamese is used to indicate that something can also be called or referred to as something else. It can be translated to “also known as” or “also referred to as” in English.
Hồ Gươm ở Hà Nội cũng được gọi là Hồ Hoàn Kiếm.
Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is also known as Sword Lake.
Ai cũng vậy thôi ~ : Everyone also ~ #
The phrase “Ai cũng vậy thôi” in Vietnamese translates to “Everyone also ~” or “That’s just how everyone is” in English. “Ai cũng vậy thôi” is used to express an acceptance of a common behavior or characteristic. So let’s take a look at the following example.
Không cần phải lo lắng, ai cũng vậy thôi.
There’s no need to worry, everyone is like that
Một chút cũng không ~ : not even a little bit #
The phrase “một chút cũng không” in Vietnamese translates to “not even a little bit” in English. It is used to emphasize the complete absence or lack of something.
Tôi mệt đến nỗi một chút cũng không muốn làm việc gì cả.
I am so tired that I don’t want to do anything even a little bit.
Conclusion #
To sum up, there are 2 main meanings of “cũng” as it’s written below.
2. When you compromise and accept other’s opinions
In addition, “cũng” can be used in many different ways like these idioms.
- Ai cũng ~ : everyone
- Cái cũng được : whatever
- Cũng như ~ : just like ~
- Ai cũng vậy thôi ~ : Everyone also ~
- Một chút cũng không ~ : not even a little bit
Cũng is one of the basic words to learn and it is quite useful when you master how to use “cũng”. So let’s try to use it when talking in Vietnamese people!
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- After working in Japan for a couple of years, I moved to Vietnam, Da Nang.
- I love tech, Vietnamese and contents creating
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