Basic Time Words in Vietnamese

In Brief

Vietnamese uses time expressions such as hôm nay (today), hôm qua (yesterday), ngày mai (tomorrow), and bây giờ (now) to make the time of an action clear. The verb itself does not change form: Hôm qua tôi đi làm means “Yesterday I went to work,” while Ngày mai tôi đi làm means “Tomorrow I will go to work.” A time phrase commonly comes before the subject or between the subject and the verb.

Overview

Basic time words are among the most useful expressions at A1. They let you arrange a meeting, describe yesterday, discuss tomorrow, and divide your day into morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. They are also central to understanding how Vietnamese talks about time.

English often marks time by changing a verb: go, went, will go. Vietnamese verbs do not conjugate—that is, they do not change their form to match tense or person. Đi remains đi whether the trip happened yesterday or will happen tomorrow. Instead, the speaker can use a time expression, context, or a marker such as đã, đang, or sẽ. At beginner level, a clear expression such as hôm qua or ngày mai is often enough.

Vietnamese word order is flexible in limited ways, but it is not random. A broad time setting often appears early in the sentence: Hôm nay tôi ở nhà (“Today I am at home”). It may also follow the subject: Tôi hôm nay ở nhà, especially when today is being contrasted with another day. Learning a few reliable sentence patterns will make your speech sound much more natural than translating English word by word.

How It Works

The essential day words

Vietnamese	Core meaning	Typical use
hôm nay	today	the current calendar day
hôm qua	yesterday	the day before today
ngày mai	tomorrow	the day after today
bây giờ	now	the present moment or current period

The first element is not interchangeable in every phrase. Learn hôm nay, hôm qua, and ngày mai as complete units. For example, standard everyday Vietnamese says ngày mai, not hôm mai.

Bây giờ can refer to this exact moment or, depending on context, to “nowadays/currently”: Bây giờ tôi sống ở Hà Nội can mean “I live in Hanoi now.” For the stronger meaning “right now,” speakers often use ngay bây giờ.

Parts of the day

Vietnamese	Approximate English equivalent	Practical sense
sáng / buổi sáng	morning	from early morning until before noon
trưa / buổi trưa	noon, midday	around noon and the midday period
chiều / buổi chiều	afternoon	after noon until early evening
tối / buổi tối	evening, night	the evening and earlier nighttime
đêm / ban đêm	night, nighttime	the later night, especially when people sleep

The boundaries are cultural and contextual rather than exact clock divisions. In particular, English night may correspond to tối or đêm. Use tối for evening activities—dinner, meeting friends, watching a film—and đêm for late-night events, sleeping, or something continuing through the night.

Buổi is a classifier (a word that presents something as a unit or category) for a part or session of the day. Use buổi sáng, buổi chiều, and buổi tối when naming a part of the day generally:

• Buổi sáng tôi uống cà phê. — In the morning, I drink coffee.
• Tôi học vào buổi tối. — I study in the evening.

In many everyday combinations, buổi is omitted:

• sáng nay — this morning
• trưa nay — at noon today / this lunchtime
• chiều nay — this afternoon
• tối nay — this evening / tonight
• sáng mai — tomorrow morning
• chiều mai — tomorrow afternoon
• tối mai — tomorrow evening
• sáng hôm qua — yesterday morning
• tối hôm qua — yesterday evening / last night

Notice the order. With nay and mai, the part of day normally comes first: sáng nay, tối mai. With hôm qua, it is common to say sáng hôm qua, although hôm qua vào buổi sáng is also possible when the phrase is expanded.

Three useful sentence patterns

A subject is the person or thing the sentence is about. A predicate is what is said about that subject, usually beginning with a verb or description.

1. Time + subject + predicate

   Ngày mai + tôi + đi Hà Nội. Tomorrow + I + go to Hanoi.

   This is the safest neutral pattern. The time phrase sets the scene for the whole sentence.

2. Subject + time + predicate

   Tôi + sáng mai + đi Hà Nội. I + tomorrow morning + go to Hanoi.

   This is also natural. It keeps the subject first and places the time before the action. It is especially useful when the conversation is already about that person.

3. Subject + predicate + time

   Tôi đi Hà Nội ngày mai. I go to Hanoi tomorrow.

   A final time phrase is possible, particularly as added information or in a short answer. However, copying English final position in every sentence can sound less neutral than putting the time earlier. As a beginner, prefer one of the first two patterns unless you hear a natural model.

When a sentence has both a broad day and a precise time, move from broader to narrower information:

• Sáng mai lúc tám giờ tôi đi làm. — Tomorrow morning at eight, I go to work.
• Ngày mai lúc hai giờ chiều chúng ta gặp nhau. — Tomorrow at two in the afternoon, we will meet.

Time words can make tense clear

A time expression may be enough to locate the event:

• Hôm qua tôi nghỉ. — I took the day off yesterday.
• Ngày mai tôi nghỉ. — I will take the day off tomorrow.

Vietnamese also has aspect and time markers such as đã (completed or prior), đang (in progress), and sẽ (expected or future). An aspect marker shows how an event unfolds—for example, whether it is completed or currently in progress—rather than changing the verb itself. These markers are useful, but they are not automatically required whenever English uses a past, progressive, or future verb.

• Hôm qua tôi đã gửi email. — I sent/had sent the email yesterday.
• Bây giờ tôi đang ăn. — I am eating now.
• Ngày mai tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn. — I will call you tomorrow.

At A1, remember the simple rule first: a clear time word plus an unchanged verb usually communicates the basic timeline.

Examples in Context

Vietnamese	English	Note
Hôm nay là thứ hai.	Today is Monday.	Hôm nay sets the current day.
Hôm qua trời đẹp.	The weather was nice yesterday.	No past verb ending is needed.
Ngày mai tôi đi Đà Nẵng.	Tomorrow I will go to Da Nang.	The future is clear from ngày mai.
Bây giờ bạn có rảnh không?	Are you free now?	A natural question about the present moment.
Buổi sáng tôi tập thể dục.	I exercise in the morning.	A regular morning routine.
Trưa nay chúng ta ăn ở đâu?	Where are we eating at lunchtime today?	Trưa nay means today around noon.
Chiều nay tôi có một cuộc họp.	I have a meeting this afternoon.	Chiều nay comes before the subject here.
Tối nay họ xem phim.	They are watching a film tonight.	Tối nay suits an evening activity.
Sáng mai anh gọi cho tôi nhé.	Call me tomorrow morning, please.	Sáng mai gives the requested time.
Tôi làm việc vào buổi chiều.	I work in the afternoon.	vào introduces a regular time period.
Tối hôm qua tôi ngủ sớm.	I went to bed early last night.	Literally, the evening of yesterday.
Ban đêm đường này rất yên tĩnh.	At night, this street is very quiet.	ban đêm describes nighttime generally.
Ngày mai lúc chín giờ chúng ta gặp nhau.	We will meet tomorrow at nine.	Broad day comes before exact clock time.
Bây giờ tôi đang nấu cơm.	I am cooking now.	đang highlights an action in progress.

Common Mistakes

Changing the Vietnamese verb as if it were English

• Wrong idea: A past event needs a special past form of đi.
• Right: Hôm qua tôi đi chợ.
• Why: Vietnamese verbs do not acquire tense endings. Hôm qua already places đi in the past.

Translating every English “night” as đêm

• Awkward for an evening plan: Đêm nay chúng ta ăn tối ở nhà hàng.
• More natural: Tối nay chúng ta ăn tối ở nhà hàng.
• Why: Dinner and ordinary evening plans normally belong to tối. Đêm suggests later nighttime or emphasizes the night itself. Đêm nay is correct in a suitable context, such as a late-night storm or overnight work.

Putting buổi into fixed combinations

• Wrong: buổi sáng nay when simply trying to say “this morning” in a basic neutral phrase
• Right: sáng nay
• Why: Fixed combinations such as sáng nay, chiều nay, and tối mai normally omit buổi. Longer forms can occur in marked contexts, but they are not the beginner default.

Reversing part-of-day combinations

• Wrong: nay sáng, mai tối
• Right: sáng nay, tối mai
• Why: In these common expressions, the part of day comes before nay or mai.

Overusing đã and sẽ

• Unnecessarily heavy in a simple context: Hôm qua tôi đã đi chợ và ngày mai tôi sẽ đi chợ.
• Simple and natural: Hôm qua tôi đi chợ, ngày mai tôi lại đi.
• Why: Hôm qua and ngày mai already establish the timeline. Đã and sẽ are not wrong, but use them when completion, expectation, contrast, or clarity matters—not merely because English has went or will go.

Usage Notes

Vào with general periods

Vào can mean “in/at” before a time period: vào buổi sáng (“in the morning”), vào mùa hè (“in summer”). With a time phrase placed directly at the beginning, it is often unnecessary: both Vào buổi sáng tôi đọc sách and Buổi sáng tôi đọc sách are possible.

Do not assume that every English time phrase needs a Vietnamese preposition. Common expressions such as hôm nay, ngày mai, and tối nay usually stand on their own: Tối nay tôi bận, not a mechanical equivalent of “on tonight.”

Routine versus one occasion

Compare:

• Buổi sáng tôi uống trà. — I drink tea in the morning. This can describe a routine.
• Sáng nay tôi uống trà. — I drank/am drinking tea this morning. This points to one particular morning.
• Mỗi sáng tôi uống trà. — I drink tea every morning. Mỗi makes repetition explicit.

Context still matters, but nay identifies today, while mỗi means “every.”

Spoken choices and emphasis

In conversation, a time phrase is often moved to the front because it frames what follows: Chiều nay bạn làm gì? (“What are you doing this afternoon?”). A speaker can place it after the subject to create contrast: Tôi hôm nay bận, nhưng ngày mai rảnh (“I’m busy today, but free tomorrow”). The contrast, not a new tense rule, motivates this placement.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to master these details yet, but you will encounter them as your Vietnamese expands.

A wider relative-day system

Vietnamese can build a sequence around today:

Vietnamese	Meaning
hôm kia	the day before yesterday
hôm qua	yesterday
hôm nay	today
ngày mai	tomorrow
ngày kia	the day after tomorrow

In real speech, context and regional preference can affect which expanded expressions speakers choose. The five forms above are a useful standard set, but beginners should make hôm qua, hôm nay, and ngày mai automatic first.

Nay beyond “today”

Nay appears in compounds such as sáng nay and tối nay, but it can also mean “now/these days” in more formal or literary phrasing. Likewise, hiện nay means “currently/at present” and often appears in informative or formal writing. Everyday bây giờ is usually the best first choice for “now.”

Time reference is not the same as aspect

Hôm qua tells you when an event belongs. Đã can present it as completed or already realized. Đang shows it as ongoing, and sẽ presents it as expected or future. These meanings overlap with English tenses but do not map onto them one for one.

For example, Hôm qua lúc tám giờ tôi đang làm việc means “Yesterday at eight I was working.” Hôm qua gives the past setting, while đang shows that the work was in progress at that moment. This distinction becomes important in longer stories.

Calendar days versus periods of daylight

Ngày can mean “day” as a calendar unit or daytime, depending on context. Hôm appears in relative-day expressions and can refer to a particular occasion, as in hôm đó (“that day”). This is why learners should treat hôm nay, hôm qua, and ngày mai as established expressions rather than trying to derive each one from a single English word for day.

Practice Tips

1. Build a five-day timeline. Write hôm kia – hôm qua – hôm nay – ngày mai – ngày kia on cards. Each day, say one true sentence for the middle three before adding the two advanced forms.
2. Plan one day in four parts. Make sentences with sáng, trưa, chiều, and tối: Sáng mai tôi…, Trưa mai tôi…, and so on. This practices both vocabulary and word order.
3. Keep the verb unchanged. Take one sentence such as Tôi đi làm and move it through time: Hôm qua tôi đi làm, Hôm nay tôi đi làm, Ngày mai tôi đi làm. Add đã, đang, or sẽ only after the basic timeline feels automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers and Time — provides the numbers and clock-time expressions needed for phrases such as lúc tám giờ (“at eight o’clock”).