Plural Marker 'các' — Southern Vietnamese Grammar

In Vietnamese, nouns do not change their form to indicate whether they are singular or plural. To explicitly mark a noun as plural, you place a marker before the noun. is a specific plural marker used to refer to all members of a specific group or set.

Meaning and Usage

functions similarly to the English phrase "all the" or "each and every". It indicates that you are talking about the entire group of objects or people mentioned, not just some of them. It adds a sense of definiteness to the noun.

Because implies a specific, defined group, it is rarely used with numbers. You would not say "các hai người" (all the two people); you would simply use the number or just if the number is already known contextually.

Các bạn đi đâu đó?
Where are you guys going?
Các món ăn ở đây ngon lắm.
The dishes here are very delicious.
Tôi thích các bức tranh này.
I like these paintings.

Addressing Groups of People

One of the most common uses of is to turn a singular pronoun or title into a plural "you". When addressing a group of people, you place before the title that applies to them. This is used for greetings, questions, or commands directed at a group.

: You guys / Friends (Addressing a group of friends or peers)
: You (Addressing a group of younger people or students)
: You (Addressing a group of men slightly older)

Chào các bạn.
Hello everyone / Hello friends.
Mời các anh uống cà phê.
I invite you (gentlemen) to drink coffee.
Các con ngủ ngon.
Goodnight children.

Difference between 'Các' and 'Những'

Vietnamese has another common plural marker: . While both indicate plurality, they have distinct meanings:

: Inclusive and specific. It refers to "all the" members of a group. It implies the speaker is addressing or referring to the whole set.
: General or indefinite. It refers to "some" or simply marks the noun as plural without emphasizing the totality of the group.

For example, if a teacher talks to her class:

: Refers to "all the students" currently in that specific class.
: Refers to "students" in general or a plural group that isn't necessarily the whole set.

Structure with Classifiers

When using with nouns that usually require a classifier (words like for animals or for inanimate objects), the structure is:

Các + [Classifier] + [Noun]

However, in many contexts, especially with inanimate objects, the classifier can be omitted if the meaning is clear.

Các con mèo đang ngủ.
The cats are sleeping.
Các cái ghế này cũ rồi.
These chairs are old already.

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