Questions and answers with 'phải'

01

Asking for Confirmation

When used as an adjective, phải means correct, right, or true. To turn a statement into a confirmation question (similar to "is that right?" or "isn't it?" in English), you place phải không at the very end of the sentence.

In the Southern dialect, không is often pronounced and sometimes written informally as hông.

• Bạn là sinh viên, phải không?

  You are a student, right?

• Hôm nay trời nóng, phải không?

  It is hot today, isn't it?

• Anh đói bụng, phải không?

  You are hungry, right?

02

Answering 'Phải' Questions

To answer these questions, you confirm or deny the "correctness" of the statement.

• Yes: Use phải (correct). To be polite, especially in the South, add dạ before it: dạ phải.
• No: Use không phải (not correct).

• Cô ấy là bác sĩ, phải không?

  Yes (that's right).

• Đây là đường Lê Lợi, phải không?

  No (that's not right).

03

Negating Identity (Not to be)

In Vietnamese, you cannot simply use không to negate a noun or an identity. While không is used for adjectives (e.g., "not hot"), you must use không phải or không phải là when saying someone or something "is not" a specific noun.

Think of this structure as saying "It is not correct that [X] is [Y]."

• Tôi không phải là người Mỹ.

  I am not an American.

• Đây không phải là nhà của tôi.

  This is not my house.

• Cái này không phải cà phê.

  This is not coffee.

04

Expressing Obligation (Have to)

There is a completely different usage of phải where it functions as a modal verb meaning must, should, or have to. In this context, phải is placed before the main verb of the sentence.

• Tôi phải đi làm.

  I have to go to work.

• Bạn phải ngủ sớm.

  You must sleep early.

• Em phải uống nước.

  You (younger) should drink water.