Learn vocabulary to describe people's character and behavior
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 11 - A Good-Looking Vietnamese Couple. Eric here. |
| Hoang Anh: Xin chào. I'm Hoang Anh. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe people's character and behavior in Vietnamese. The conversation takes place in a cafeteria. |
| Hoang Anh: It's between Trang and Tâm. |
| Eric: The speakers are co-workers, so they’ll speak both formal and informal Vietnamese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Trang: Tuần sau là ăn hỏi cái Lan mà em còn chưa biết mặt chồng nó. |
| Tâm: Ơ, chị nhớ là người yêu nó đã ra mắt nhóm mình rồi mà. |
| Trang: Hình như hôm đó em không đi. Chồng nó thế nào ạ? |
| Tâm: Cao ráo, trông khá hiền lành. Có vẻ chững chạc và điềm đạm. |
| Trang: Anh ta làm gì hả chị? |
| Tâm: Kiến trúc sư. Nghe nói là học thạc sĩ ở Anh về. |
| Trang: Mấy anh đi Tây về là hay kiêu căng lắm. |
| Tâm: Không, cậu này ăn nói từ tốn, phong cách cũng khá là giản dị. |
| Trang: Thế ạ? Cái Lan đanh đá thế mà lại lấy một anh hiền lành nhỉ? |
| Tâm: Nhìn hai đứa cũng đẹp đôi phết đấy. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Trang: Next week is Lan's engagement but I still haven't seen her husband's face. |
| Tâm: hmm, I remember her boyfriend was introduced to our group, wasn't he? |
| Trang: It seems I wasn’t there that day. How is her husband? |
| Tâm: Tall, looks quite gentle. He seems mature and calm. |
| Trang: What does he do? |
| Tâm: He’s an architect. I heard that he studied for a master’s degree in England. |
| Trang: Those men who return from abroad tend to be very arrogant. |
| Tâm: No, this guy speaks moderately and has quite a simple style. |
| Trang: Really? How come a sharp-tongued girl like Lan will marry a gentle guy? |
| Tâm: They look quite good together. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Hoang Anh, are there any rules for engagement ceremonies in Vietnam? |
| Hoang Anh: I don’t think so. But it should be a good day on the lunar calendar. It can be held as early as several months or just one week or a few days before the official wedding ceremony. |
| Eric: On the day of the ceremony, the groom and his family members and relatives bring gifts to the bride's house, right? |
| Hoang Anh: Yes. The gifts are placed in a number of trays covered with red cloth and they should be odd numbers such as 5, 7, 9 etc because odd numbers are considered lucky. |
| Eric: So, what are these gifts? |
| Hoang Anh: These gifts vary in different regions in Vietnam but always include betel leaves, areca nut fruits, wine, tea, and tobacco. |
| Eric: Each gift is brought to the bride's house by a young single guy chosen by the groom's family, and these gifts will be passed on to the young single girls chosen by the bride's family when they arrive at the bride's house. |
| Hoang Anh: A red Vietnamese dress is traditional but nowadays many brides choose a different color or even wear a Western-style dress. The groom can wear traditional dress or a suit. |
| Eric: Who are the main participants of this ceremony? |
| Hoang Anh: Family members and relatives. Some of the bride and groom's close friends can join too. |
| Eric: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Hoang Anh: cái [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a particle that denotes a girl of one's rank or below, followed with her name |
| Hoang Anh: cái [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: cái [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: ra mắt [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to be introduced/presented to, to launch |
| Hoang Anh: ra mắt [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: ra mắt [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: cao ráo [natural native speed] |
| Eric: tall |
| Hoang Anh: cao ráo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: cao ráo [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: anh ta [natural native speed] |
| Eric: another way to say “he,” about an unknown person |
| Hoang Anh: anh ta [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: anh ta [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: thạc sĩ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: master’s degree |
| Hoang Anh: thạc sĩ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: thạc sĩ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: Tây [natural native speed] |
| Eric: abroad, foreign countries |
| Hoang Anh: Tây [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: Tây [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to talk, to speak |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: lấy [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to marry |
| Hoang Anh: lấy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: lấy [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: đẹp đôi [natural native speed] |
| Eric: look good together (talking about a couple) |
| Hoang Anh: đẹp đôi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: đẹp đôi [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Hoang Anh: phết [natural native speed] |
| Eric: quite |
| Hoang Anh: phết [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: phết [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Hoang Anh: cái |
| Eric: This is a particle denoting a girl of one's rank or below, followed by her name. |
| Hoang Anh: So cái + a girl's name, refers to a girl of one's rank or below, usually of the same age or younger. |
| Eric: You can use it to address a girl who is very close to you. |
| Hoang Anh: Right. But it can also be used towards girls you have disdain or distaste for. Listeners, cái is colloquial language and very informal so don't use it to address someone you don't know very well. |
| Eric: Hoang Anh, can you give us an example using this word? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. For example, you can say.. Cái Mai rủ bọn mình đi uống cà phê đấy. |
| Eric: ..which means “Mai invited us to go out for some coffee.” Okay, what's the next word? |
| Hoang Anh: ra mắt |
| Eric: which means “to be introduced,” “to be presented to,” “to launch” |
| Hoang Anh: ra mắt literally means “to come into sight.” |
| Eric: It’s a verb and is often followed by a noun indicating a person or people to mean “to be introduced, presented to someone.” You can also use it with a noun indicating an object to mean “to launch something.” |
| Hoang Anh: We use ra mắt when someone is introduced officially and formally to a person or some people for the first time, especially when someone introduces his/her lover to family or close friends. |
| Eric: This verb also means “to launch.” You can use it when something is presented for the first time in front of a crowd, for example when a newly published book or a new version of a product is presented to the audience. |
| Hoang Anh: Listeners, ra mắt is formal, so we almost never use it in daily conversation. Generally we use giới thiệu, which means “to introduce.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. Chủ nhật này tôi sẽ ra mắt gia đình anh ấy. |
| Eric: .. which means “I will be introduced to his family for the first time this Sunday.” |
| Hoang Anh: Another example is...Apple đã ra mắt iPhone 6 vào ngày hôm qua. |
| Eric: “Apple launched the iPhone 6 yesterday.” Okay, what's the last word? |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói |
| Eric: which means “to talk,” or “to speak” and is used to emphasize someone’s manner of speaking. |
| Hoang Anh: ăn means “to eat” and nói means “to talk,” or “to speak.” Ăn nói is a compound verb and is often followed by an adverb to indicate a style of talking. |
| Eric: You can use it to refer to someone’s style of talking, or the way one behaves rather than its literal meaning of “eating and talking.” It emphasizes the manner of speaking. |
| Hoang Anh: For example...ăn nói khéo léo |
| Eric: “to be clever in speaking” |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói bừa bãi |
| Eric: “to be rash in speaking” |
| Hoang Anh: ăn nói từ tốn |
| Eric: “speak moderately.” Hoang Anh, let's give our listeners a sample sentence. |
| Hoang Anh: Cô ấy ăn nói khéo léo nên được nhiều người yêu mến. |
| Eric: .. which means “She has a clever way of speaking so she is popular with many people.” Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe people's character and behavior in Vietnamese. |
| Hoang Anh: To do this you can use the following structure- Subject + trông or nhìn, which mean “look.” Then you can add adverbs and adjectives. Adverbs are optional but we often use them. |
| Eric: The phrase means “Someone looks…” Hoang Anh, I know that some adverbs can come before the adjective, and some after. |
| Hoang Anh: Right. Adverbs that can come before the adjective are khá |
| Eric: “quiet” |
| Hoang Anh: hơi |
| Eric: “a little” |
| Hoang Anh: rất |
| Eric: “very” |
| Hoang Anh: vô cùng or cực kì |
| Eric: “extremely.” What about adverbs that can come after the adjective? |
| Hoang Anh: They are...lắm or ghê |
| Eric: Meaning “much,” “so much,” or “so” |
| Hoang Anh: and quá |
| Eric: Meaning “too.” Hoang Anh, can you give us some sample sentences? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. Cậu ấy nhìn rất chững chạc. |
| Eric: “He looks very mature.” |
| Hoang Anh: Anh ta trông kiêu căng quá. |
| Eric: “He looks too arrogant.” |
| Hoang Anh: Lan nhìn thân thiện ghê. |
| Eric: “Lan looks so friendly.” |
| Hoang Anh: Another way to describe people's character and behavior is by using the word có vẻ, which means “seem.” Just take our grammar pattern and replace trông or nhìn with có vẻ. Everything else remains the same. |
| Eric: Ok. Please give us some sample sentences. |
| Hoang Anh: Cô ấy có vẻ rất năng động và hòa đồng. |
| Eric: “She seems very dynamic and sociable.” |
| Hoang Anh: Cô giáo mới có vẻ khó tính. |
| Eric: “The new teacher seems hard to please.” |
| Hoang Anh: Lan có vẻ hơi trẻ con. |
| Eric: “Lan seems a little childish.” Great! How can we describe a manner of speaking in Vietnamese? |
| Hoang Anh: “Manner of speaking” in Vietnamese is cách ăn nói. |
| Eric: Literally, this means “way of eating and talking.” |
| Hoang Anh: There are two ways to describe someone’s manner of speaking. The first one is...Subject + ăn nói , which means “speak, talk” + adverb. |
| Eric: In English it means “Someone speaks in a ...[something]… style” |
| Hoang Anh: Another way is to use the words có meaning “to have” and cách ăn nói, which as you know means “manner of speaking.” So, the grammar pattern is... Subject + có + cách ăn nói + adjective. |
| Eric: “Someone has a …[something..] manner of speaking” |
| Hoang Anh: For example, you can say...Cô ấy ăn nói khá nhẹ nhàng or Cô ấy có cách ăn nói khá nhẹ nhàng |
| Eric: which means “She speaks in quite a soft (gentle) way” or “She has a soft (gentle) manner of speaking.” |
| Hoang Anh: Đứa bé này ăn nói rất lễ phép. |
| Eric: “This child speaks in a respectful way.” |
| Hoang Anh: Anh ta có cách ăn nói rất khoa trương. |
| Eric: Which means “He has a boastful manner of speaking.” Ok! Listeners, we have more grammar rules and explanations in the lesson notes, so be sure to check them out! |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Hoang Anh: Tạm biệt. |
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