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🎨 Colors & Descriptions Cheat Sheet
All colors, sizes, adjectives, patterns, and descriptive vocabulary — the words that multiply everything else you know.
🎨 All Colors
The xanh problem: Vietnamese uses
xanh for both blue AND green. Add a clarifier to remove ambiguity:xanh dương (ocean blue) = blue · xanh lá (leaf green) = green · xanh da trời (sky color) = sky blue
| Color | Vietnamese | Pronunciation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | đỏ | daw | National color of Vietnam |
| Blue | xanh dương | sahn yuh-ung | Literally "ocean blue" |
| Green | xanh lá | sahn lah | Literally "leaf color" |
| Yellow | vàng | vahng | Also means gold |
| White | trắng | chung | |
| Black | đen | den | |
| Orange | cam | kahm | Also means orange (the fruit) |
| Pink | hồng | hohng | |
| Purple | tím | tim | |
| Brown | nâu | noh | |
| Grey | xám | sahm | |
| Dark red | đỏ đậm | daw dum | đậm = dark/deep |
| Light pink | hồng nhạt | hohng nyat | nhạt = light/pale |
💡 Making shades: Add nhạt (nyat) for light/pale or đậm (dum) for dark/deep after any color. "Xanh nhạt" = light blue · "Đỏ đậm" = dark red.
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Upgrade to Pro — $9.99/mo →📏 Sizes & Dimensions
| English | Vietnamese | Pronunciation | Opposite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big / large | to / lớn | taw / luhn | nhỏ / bé (small) |
| Small / little | nhỏ / bé | nyaw / beh | to / lớn (big) |
| Medium / just right | vừa | vyuh-ah | — |
| Long | dài | die | ngắn (short) |
| Short (length) | ngắn | ngun | dài (long) |
| Wide / broad | rộng | rawng | hẹp (narrow) |
| Narrow | hẹp | hep | rộng (wide) |
| Thick | dày | day | mỏng (thin) |
| Thin | mỏng | mawng | dày (thick) |
| Tall (height) | cao | kow | thấp (short) |
| Short (height) | thấp | tup | cao (tall) |
| Thin / slim (person) | gầy | gay | béo (fat) |
| Fat / chubby (person) | béo | bay-oh | gầy (thin) |
| Young | trẻ | cheh | già (old) |
| Heavy | nặng | nung | nhẹ (light) |
| Light (in weight) | nhẹ | nyeh | nặng (heavy) |
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Upgrade to Pro — $9.99/mo →⭐ Essential Adjectives
| English | Vietnamese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Beautiful / pretty / handsome | đẹp | dep |
| Ugly | xấu | soh |
| Good | tốt | tote |
| Bad | xấu / tệ | soh / teh |
| New | mới | muh-ee |
| Old / used | cũ | koo |
| Expensive | đắt | dat |
| Cheap | rẻ | reh |
| Hot | nóng | nawng |
| Cold | lạnh | lahn |
| Fast / quick | nhanh | nyan |
| Slow | chậm | chum |
| Easy | dễ | yeh |
| Difficult | khó | khaw |
| Clean | sạch | sahk |
| Dirty | bẩn | bun |
| Interesting | thú vị | thoo vee |
| Boring | chán | chan |
💡 Intensifiers: Add lắm (lahm) or quá (kwah) after any adjective to mean "very" or "too". "Đẹp lắm" = very beautiful · "Đắt quá" = too expensive.
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Upgrade to Pro — $9.99/mo →🔲 Patterns & Textures
| English | Vietnamese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Striped | có sọc | kaw sawk |
| Floral / with flower pattern | có hoa | kaw hwah |
| Plain / solid color | trơn | chuhn |
| Polka dot | có chấm bi | kaw chum bee |
| Checkered | có ô vuông | kaw oh voo-ung |
| Smooth / soft | mịn | min |
| Rough | thô | thoh |
| Soft (feel) | mềm | mem |
| Hard / firm | cứng | kyung |
| Shiny / glossy | bóng | bawng |
| Matte / dull | mờ | muh |
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Upgrade to Pro — $9.99/mo →📐 How Adjectives Work in Vietnamese
Key rule: In Vietnamese, adjectives come AFTER the noun — opposite of English.
🇺🇸 English:
🇻🇳 Vietnamese:
More examples:
"big house" =
"beautiful woman" =
"new phone" =
🇺🇸 English:
red shirt (adjective first)🇻🇳 Vietnamese:
áo đỏ (shirt red) — noun firstMore examples:
"big house" =
nhà to (house big)"beautiful woman" =
người đẹp (person beautiful)"new phone" =
điện thoại mới (phone new)
💡 Adding "very" and "too":
lắm (lahm) = very → "đẹp lắm" = very beautiful
quá (kwah) = too/so → "đắt quá" = too expensive / "đẹp quá" = so beautiful
Both go AFTER the adjective.
lắm (lahm) = very → "đẹp lắm" = very beautiful
quá (kwah) = too/so → "đắt quá" = too expensive / "đẹp quá" = so beautiful
Both go AFTER the adjective.
Asking About Colors & Descriptions
| English | Vietnamese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Color (the word) | màu | mow |
| What color is it? | Màu gì? | mow yee |
| Do you have another color? | Có màu khác không? | kaw mow khahk khome |
| I like this color | Tôi thích màu này | toy tick mow nay |
| Which one is better? | Cái nào đẹp hơn? | kai now dep huhn |
| What size is this? | Cái này size mấy? | kai nay size may |
| Is there a bigger one? | Có cái lớn hơn không? | kaw kai luhn huhn khome |
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