Language/Vietnamese/Grammar/Possessive-Pronouns

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Vietnamese Grammar → Nouns and Pronouns → Possessive Pronouns

In this lesson, we will explore possessive pronouns in Vietnamese. Possessive pronouns are used to indicate ownership or possession of something. For example, "my book", "her car", "his dog", etc. Possessive pronouns can be a bit tricky to learn, but with practice, you can master them.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Future Tense Verbs & Adverbs.

Possessive Pronouns

To form possessive pronouns in Vietnamese, you simply add the pronoun after the noun. Vietnamese does not have a separate word for "my", "his", "her", etc. Instead, the word for the person is used. For example:

• Cái nhà của tôi. (My house.)
• Cái xe hơi của anh ấy. (His car.)
• Cái con chó của cô ấy. (Her dog.)

As you can see, the word "của" is used to show possession. The word "của" means "of" in English. So, "cái nhà của tôi" literally means "the house of me". This may seem strange to English speakers, but it is perfectly normal in Vietnamese.

Here are some more examples:

Vietnamese	Pronunciation	English
Cái áo của tôi.	kaɪ ʔaw kɨ̂ə̯ kʊ̂a twə́j	My shirt.
Ngôi nhà của ông ấy.	ŋɔ̌j ɲâ kʊ̂a ʔowŋ zɐ̂j	His house.
Con sách của chị ấy.	koŋ sə́k kʊ̂a t͡ɕi ʔɛ́j	Her book.
Cái bàn của chúng tôi.	kaɪ bàn kʊ̂a t͡ɕuŋ twə́j	Our table.

As you can see, the word "của" is used for all possessive pronouns in Vietnamese.

Practice

Here are some sentences to practice using possessive pronouns:

• Cái bút của tôi màu đen. (My pen is black.)
• Con mèo của chị ấy rất đáng yêu. (Her cat is very cute.)
• Cái áo của anh ấy màu xanh. (His shirt is green.)
• Cái cửa sổ của căn phòng này rất lớn. (The window of this room is very big.)

Summary

In Vietnamese, possessive pronouns are formed by adding the pronoun after the noun. The word "của" is used to show possession. Don't worry if it seems strange at first – with practice, you will get the hang of it!

Sources

• Say Pronouns in Vietnamese: I/You/We and My/Your/Our ...
• Vietnamese | Duolingo Tips and Notes Wiki | Fandom
• Vietnamese nouns – YourVietnamese

Table of Contents - Vietnamese Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

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Greetings and Introductions

• Hello and Goodbye
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Vietnamese Culture Basics

• Vietnamese Values
• Social Etiquette
• Cuisine and Dining

  ---

Numbers and Counting

• Counting 1-10
• Counting 11-20
• Counting 21 and Beyond

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Nouns and Pronouns

• Nouns and Gender
• Pronouns and Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

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Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

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Holidays and Celebrations

• Tet
• Mid-Autumn Festival

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Verbs and Verb Tenses

• Present Tense Verbs
• Past Tense Verbs
• Future Tense Verbs
• Modal Verbs

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Food and Drink

• Vietnamese Food
• Drinks and Beverages
• Food Ordering

  ---

Arts and Entertainment

• Traditional Music
• Movie and Television

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Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives
• Adverbs

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Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Giving Directions

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Traditional Clothing

• Ao Dai
• Other Traditional Clothing

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• 0 to A1 Course
• Present Tense Verbs
• Adverbs
• Questions
• How to Use Have
• Future Tense
• Gender
• Past Tense Verbs
• Modal Verbs

◀️ Pronouns and Personal Pronouns — Previous Lesson

Next Lesson — Family Members ▶️