Vietnamese forms an ordinary comparative by putting hơn after a gradable predicate or after the element being ranked: Lan cao hơn Mai means “Lan is taller than Mai,” and Tôi thích trà hơn cà phê means “I like tea more than coffee.” The adjective does not change form. There is no ending like English -er, and hơn does the comparative work without a separate word corresponding exactly to than.
This reflects a larger pattern: Vietnamese comparison relies on predicate syntax and word order, not adjective inflection or determiner morphology. Learn the frame, then place the items being compared where their roles are clear. This page teaches the core comparative. Ways of introducing and fronting a standard with so với belong on Standards with Hơn and So Với.
The core frame
For a property comparison, use:
A + adjective + hơn + B
Lan cao hơn tôi.
Lan is taller than me.
Phòng này sáng hơn phòng kia.
This room is brighter than that room.
Hôm nay nóng hơn hôm qua.
Today is hotter than yesterday.
Cao, sáng, and nóng are already predicates. Vietnamese therefore needs no copula corresponding to English is. Hơn follows the property and precedes the standard of comparison.
The standard B can be a person, object, place, time, or earlier state. It must be comparable along the named scale:
Đường về qua cầu ngắn hơn đường ven sông.
The route home across the bridge is shorter than the riverside route.
Here ngắn hơn compares two routes along length. A context that compares price would use rẻ hơn, and one comparing travel time might use nhanh hơn or mất ít thời gian hơn. Hơn does not identify the scale by itself; the predicate does.
Comparisons with verbs
Many Vietnamese verbs can be graded by preference, frequency, fluency, or manner. Put hơn after the verb phrase or the relevant predicate.
Tôi thích trà hơn cà phê.
I like tea more than coffee.
Em gái tôi đọc nhanh hơn tôi.
My younger sister reads faster than I do.
Dạo này anh ấy ngủ nhiều hơn trước.
These days he sleeps more than before.
The first sentence compares two objects of one preference: tea versus coffee. The second compares two readers in speed; Vietnamese does not repeat đọc after the standard. The third compares the same person's present sleeping amount with an earlier state.
Word order can change what is compared. Tôi thích trà hơn cà phê normally contrasts the objects. Tôi thích trà hơn anh ấy is potentially ambiguous without context: it can be understood as “I like tea more than I like him” or “I like tea more than he does.” Natural speakers avoid the unwanted reading by expanding the standard:
Tôi thích trà hơn là thích cà phê.
I prefer tea to coffee.
Tôi thích trà hơn là anh ấy thích trà.
I like tea more than he does.
At A1, the safest strategy is to use two clearly parallel nouns or spell out the clausal standard when people and objects could be confused. In the last example, là introduces the full standard clause; it is not a copula before an adjective.
More, even more, and a measurable difference
Add degree words before the comparative predicate or a measure after hơn, depending on meaning.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| adjective + hơn | comparative | rộng hơn |
| predicate + hơn + nhiều | much more of a quantity/property in suitable contexts | đông hơn nhiều |
| adjective + hơn + measure | difference amount | cao hơn năm xăng-ti-mét |
| còn + adjective + hơn | even more / still more | còn khó hơn |
Phòng mới rộng hơn phòng cũ nhiều.
The new room is much more spacious than the old one.
Nam cao hơn em trai năm xăng-ti-mét.
Nam is five centimeters taller than his younger brother.
Bài thứ hai còn khó hơn bài thứ nhất.
The second exercise is even harder than the first.
Do not automatically insert rất into a comparative. Rất cao means “very tall” relative to a contextual norm; cao hơn means “taller” relative to a standard. They answer different questions.
Hơn without an overt standard
When the standard is obvious, omit it:
Đôi màu xanh đẹp hơn.
The blue pair is nicer.
In a shop, the intended comparison may be with another pair just discussed. Đẹp hơn is still comparative even without an overt B. Context supplies the standard. For a general request meaning “a little bigger,” say Cho tôi cỡ lớn hơn một chút.
The same form can request improvement:
Bạn nói chậm hơn một chút được không?
Could you speak a little more slowly?
The understood standard is the listener's current speaking speed. This use is natural and polite; một chút softens the request.
Do not confuse comparison with quantity “more than”
Before a number, hơn means “more than/over”:
Hơn một trăm người đã đăng ký.
More than one hundred people have registered.
That is a numerical threshold, not the A + predicate + hơn + B comparative frame. Likewise, hơn nữa means “furthermore/moreover” in discourse. Recognizing the position of hơn tells you which function is active.
The wider comparison system
Use this compact map to keep neighboring constructions separate:
| Model | Relation |
|---|---|
| cao hơn tôi | comparative: taller than me |
| đẹp nhất lớp | superlative: prettiest in the class |
| bằng nhau | equality: equal / the same as each other |
| càng học càng hiểu | proportional: the more one studies, the more one understands |
| ai cũng biết | free-choice/universal: everyone knows |
| mỗi người một việc | distributive: one task for each person |
Only the first row is the ordinary hơn comparative. The other rows use separate constructions rather than adjective endings or English-style determiners. Mỗi, mọi, từng, đều, cả, and cũng are not interchangeable words for every: their scope and distributive meanings have dedicated pages.
Dialogue: what hơn changes
A: Mình lấy phòng nào? B: Phòng bên trái sáng hơn, nhưng phòng bên phải yên tĩnh hơn. A: Mình làm việc ở nhà, nên phòng yên tĩnh hơn sẽ hợp với mình.
A: Which room should we take? B: The room on the left is brighter, but the one on the right is quieter. A: I work from home, so the quieter room will suit me better.
Each hơn selects a scale: brightness, quietness, then suitability. The last standard is implicit—the quieter room is more suitable than the brighter alternative. Remove hơn, and the speaker merely describes each room as bright, quiet, or suitable without ranking it against the other.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an English-style copula
❌ Lan là cao hơn Mai.
Incorrect: là is not used before an ordinary comparative adjective.
✅ Nam cao hơn em trai.
Nam is taller than his younger brother.
Cao is the predicate; the noun phrase after hơn gives its comparison standard.
2. Translating than as a separate word
❌ Căn này thoáng hơn hơn căn kia.
Incorrect: the first hơn already marks the comparison; Vietnamese needs no second word for English ‘than.’
✅ Căn này thoáng hơn căn kia.
This place is airier than the other one.
In the basic frame, one hơn sits between the predicate and the standard.
3. Copying English adjective inflection
❌ Xe này nhanh-er xe kia.
Incorrect: Vietnamese does not add an English comparative ending.
✅ Xe này nhanh hơn xe kia.
This vehicle is faster than the other one.
The Vietnamese predicate nhanh never changes form.
4. Making the compared items unclear
❌ Tôi thích cà phê hơn Minh.
Ambiguous: I may like coffee more than I like Minh, or more than Minh likes coffee.
✅ Tôi thích cà phê hơn là Minh thích cà phê.
I like coffee more than Minh does.
Spell out a parallel standard clause to show that Minh is the second experiencer, not the second object of preference. Là can introduce that clause after hơn.
5. Treating quantifiers as synonyms
❌ Mỗi người đều một việc.
Incorrect for ‘each person has one task’: the predicate and distributive frame are incomplete.
✅ Mỗi thành viên phụ trách một nhiệm vụ.
Each member is responsible for one task.
This is not a comparative at all. Mỗi thành viên distributes the predicate over people; đều may be added in a suitable plural statement, but it cannot replace mỗi mechanically.
Key Takeaways
- Use A + predicate + hơn + B: Lan cao hơn Mai.
- Do not add là, change the adjective, or translate English than as a second word.
- Hơn can compare properties, actions, preferences, times, and states; context may supply an omitted standard.
- Clear parallel wording prevents ambiguity about which people, objects, or actions are being compared.
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Start learning Vietnamese →Related Topics
- Standards with Hơn and So VớiA1 — Place a comparison standard after hơn or frame it with so với when the standard is topical, complex, or analytically important.
- Less-Than Comparison with KémA2 — Express falling short of a standard with kém, distinguish that frame from kém hơn, and state measured shortfalls naturally.
- Equatives with Bằng and NhưA2 — Compare equal degrees with bằng, express resemblance with như, and distinguish exact equality from vivid similarity.
- Contextual Standards without an Overt ComplementA2 — Omit an already recoverable comparison standard after hơn, kém, bằng, or nhất without leaving the listener to guess the wrong baseline.