Vẫn tells the listener that a situation continues, remains true, or holds despite a reason to expect otherwise. It often corresponds to English still: Tôi vẫn ở đây “I'm still here.” But in a concessive sentence it may be better translated as nevertheless or anyway: Trời mưa nhưng tôi vẫn đi “It was raining, but I went anyway.”
This combination of continuation and counterexpectation is the key. Vẫn does not locate an event in time by itself; it relates the current reference point to an earlier state or an alternative expectation. Từng, which looks back on prior experience rather than continuation, is treated on the next dedicated page.
The uses covered here are neutral standard Vietnamese and occur in both (informal) speech and (formal) prose; formality comes from the surrounding vocabulary, not from vẫn itself.
The basic position of vẫn
Vẫn normally comes before the predicate and before aspect markers that describe the predicate's current phase:
subject + vẫn + (đang / chưa) + predicate
Bà tôi tám mươi tuổi rồi nhưng vẫn làm vườn mỗi sáng.
My grandmother is eighty, but she still gardens every morning.
Tôi chuyển chỗ làm rồi nhưng vẫn ở căn hộ cũ.
I've changed workplaces, but I still live in the old apartment.
The prior state need not be stated. In Anh ấy vẫn ở Hà Nội, shared context supplies “as before” or “contrary to what we thought.” Without such a background, vẫn can feel unmotivated.
— Anh Minh chuyển vào Đà Nẵng chưa? — Chưa, anh ấy vẫn ở Hà Nội.
— Has Minh moved to Đà Nẵng yet? — No, he's still in Hà Nội.
Continuation through time
With a state or repeated activity, vẫn says that the situation persists.
Sau mười năm, quán ấy vẫn đông khách.
After ten years, that restaurant is still busy.
Đến giờ cô ấy vẫn nhớ tên từng học sinh.
Even now, she still remembers every student's name.
With an activity in progress, add đang when the internal ongoing phase matters:
Đã gần nửa đêm mà họ vẫn đang họp.
It is nearly midnight, but they are still in a meeting.
Vẫn họp can mean that holding meetings remains the practice, or—given the right context—that the meeting continues. Vẫn đang họp explicitly selects the ongoing phase. Vietnamese therefore does not need to press vẫn into doing all the work of English tense and aspect.
Vẫn chưa: continued noncompletion
Vẫn chưa + predicate says that an expected event remains unrealized despite time or effort.
Tôi gọi ba lần mà anh ấy vẫn chưa trả lời.
I've called three times, but he still hasn't answered.
Đến thứ Sáu tuần trước, hồ sơ vẫn chưa được duyệt.
By last Friday, the application still had not been approved.
The order matters: vẫn has wider scope over the continuing state of noncompletion expressed by chưa. This is not the same as a simple chưa trả lời “has not answered yet.” Adding vẫn makes the delay or counterexpectation salient.
Vẫn không: a negative situation persists
Vẫn không + predicate means that a negative state, refusal, failure, or absence continues. Unlike vẫn chưa, it does not necessarily keep a future completion open.
Tôi giải thích rất kỹ nhưng anh ấy vẫn không đồng ý.
I explained it very carefully, but he still did not agree.
Dù đã đổi mật khẩu, tôi vẫn không đăng nhập được.
Even after changing the password, I still can't log in.
Compare:
- Anh ấy vẫn chưa trả lời — He still has not replied; a reply remains expected.
- Anh ấy vẫn không trả lời — He continues not to reply / still refuses or fails to reply; the negative behavior is foregrounded.
This difference is pragmatic rather than a mechanical translation rule, but it frequently changes the tone.
Counterexpectation with nhưng and dù
Nhưng...vẫn... means “but still / but nevertheless.” Dù...vẫn... creates an “although/even though...still...” frame. In careful writing, mặc dù...vẫn... is also common. These patterns explicitly name the circumstance that should have led to a different result.
Trời mưa rất to nhưng chúng tôi vẫn đi xem hòa nhạc.
It was raining heavily, but we went to the concert anyway.
Dù mệt, chị ấy vẫn ở lại giúp mọi người.
Although she was tired, she still stayed to help everyone.
In English, translating every vẫn with still can sound awkward. “She nevertheless stayed” or “she stayed anyway” may better express the concessive value.
Vẫn versus còn
Both words can be translated as still, but their centers differ. Vẫn emphasizes persistence or counterexpectation. Còn often means “remain, be left,” or marks an ongoing quantity/state without the same contrary-to-expectation force.
| Need | Natural choice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A situation persists as before | vẫn | Cô ấy vẫn làm ở đây. |
| A quantity remains | còn | Còn hai vé. |
| Persistence plus ongoing phase | vẫn đang | Họ vẫn đang chờ. |
| Expected endpoint remains unreached | vẫn chưa | Xe vẫn chưa đến. |
| Negative situation persists | vẫn không | Máy vẫn không chạy. |
| Old situation no longer holds | không còn...nữa | Tôi không còn ở đó nữa. |
In some contexts vẫn còn naturally combines the two meanings: Tôi vẫn còn giữ bức thư ấy “I still have that letter.” Vẫn marks persistence; còn presents the item or state as remaining.
Sau bao lần chuyển nhà, tôi vẫn còn giữ bức thư ấy.
After so many moves, I still have that letter.
Orientation among common markers
| Form | Viewpoint |
|---|---|
| đã ăn | eating realized before the reference point |
| đang ăn | eating in progress |
| sẽ ăn | eating projected |
| ăn rồi | eating complete or a changed state |
| từng đi | prior experience of going |
| mới đến / vừa đến | recent arrival |
| chưa xong | not finished yet |
| sắp mưa | rain is imminent |
| vẫn chờ | waiting continues despite time or expectation |
Vẫn can combine with several of these because it operates at a different layer. Vẫn đang chờ says the ongoing waiting persists; vẫn chưa xong says noncompletion persists; vẫn sẽ đi means the projected action remains the speaker's plan despite an obstacle.
Nếu mai trời vẫn mưa, chúng tôi vẫn sẽ đi.
If it is still raining tomorrow, we will go anyway.
The two occurrences have different interpretations: the first is temporal continuation of rain; the second is counterexpectational persistence of the plan.
A dialogue where vẫn changes the conclusion
— Mưa từ sáng đến giờ rồi. Buổi chiếu ngoài trời có hủy không? — Chưa. Ban tổ chức vẫn đang chuẩn bị, và họ nói dù mưa thì chương trình vẫn diễn ra. — Vậy tôi vẫn đi.
— It has been raining since this morning. Has the outdoor screening been canceled? — No. The organizers are still preparing, and they say the program will go ahead even if it rains. — Then I'm going anyway.
The first vẫn đang describes an activity continuing through time. The second vẫn diễn ra rejects the expected consequence “rain means cancellation.” The final vẫn đi preserves the speaker's decision in spite of the weather. One form supports three closely related readings because discourse supplies three different expectations.
Common Mistakes
1. Using đang when the intended meaning is persistence. Đang only presents an event as in progress; it does not say “as before” or “despite expectations.”
❌ Sau mười năm, quán ấy đang đông khách.
Wrong for ‘the restaurant is still busy after ten years’—đang makes the state current but does not express persistence across the ten years.
✅ Bao năm rồi mà quán ấy vẫn đông khách.
After all these years, that restaurant is still busy.
2. Reversing the order in vẫn chưa. Vẫn scopes over the continuing noncompletion.
❌ Xe chưa vẫn đến.
Incorrect word order for ‘the bus still hasn't arrived.’
✅ Xe vẫn chưa đến.
The bus still hasn't arrived.
3. Translating English still as còn in every context. Use vẫn when the central meaning is persistence despite a reason for change.
❌ Trời mưa nhưng tôi còn đi.
Wrong for ‘I went anyway’; còn does not express the intended counterexpectation here.
✅ Trời mưa nhưng tôi vẫn đi.
It was raining, but I went anyway.
4. Adding đã simply because the English sentence is past. The temporal phrase and discourse may already anchor the event.
❌ Hôm qua trời đã mưa nhưng chúng tôi đã vẫn đi.
Incorrect marker order and unnecessary tense copying from English.
✅ Hôm qua trời mưa nhưng chúng tôi vẫn đi.
Yesterday it rained, but we went anyway.
5. Using rồi as an automatic perfect marker. Rồi highlights completion or change; it cannot replace the continuation relation.
❌ Tôi ở đây rồi từ năm ngoái.
Wrong for the neutral meaning ‘I have been here continuously since last year’; rồi does not build the required persistence frame.
✅ Từ năm ngoái đến giờ, tôi vẫn ở đây.
I've been here continuously since last year.
Key Takeaways
- Vẫn marks continuation, unchanged truth, or a result that holds despite counterpressure.
- Use vẫn đang for a continuing ongoing activity, vẫn chưa for continuing noncompletion, and vẫn không for a persistent negative situation.
- Nhưng...vẫn... and dù...vẫn... explicitly create counterexpectation.
- Còn centers on what remains; vẫn centers on persistence. They can combine as vẫn còn.
- Time reference comes from context and temporal framing. Vẫn is not a tense auxiliary, and đã or rồi should not be added automatically from English.
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- Chưa for Not-Yet and Experiential QuestionsA2 — Use chưa to present an expected event as unrealized so far and to ask whether a relevant boundary has been reached.
- Từng for Past ExperienceA2 — Use từng to present an event, role, or state as part of someone's prior experience rather than as one dated narrative event.
- Đã and Prior RealizationA2 — Use đã to present a situation as realized before a reference point without treating it as a compulsory past-tense marker.
- Dám and Willingness to RiskB1 — Use dám to express the courage or nerve to act, and distinguish willingness to risk from ability, permission, and obligation.