Vietnamese can rank something below a standard with kém “to fall short; to be inferior.” In Tôi kém anh ấy hai tuổi, the speaker is two years below the other person in age; in Nhóm mình kém họ về kinh nghiệm, the speaker's team is inferior in experience. Unlike English younger, less experienced, or worse, kém does not change form.
The central idea is syntactic: Vietnamese puts the scale, standard, and difference into a predicate frame rather than adding comparative morphology to an adjective. Kém is useful when the communicative point is a shortfall. Equality with bằng and resemblance with như belong on Equatives with Bằng and Như.
Three useful kém frames
| Frame | Typical meaning | Example | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| A + kém + B + measure | A is below B by an amount | Tôi kém chị ấy hai tuổi. | neutral |
| A + kém + B + về + domain | A is inferior to B in a domain | Đội này kém đội kia về kinh nghiệm. | neutral; common in analysis |
| predicate + kém hơn + B | the performance/quality is worse than B's | Tôi hát kém hơn Lan. | neutral |
| không + predicate + bằng + B | A is not as … as B | Tôi không cao bằng Lan. | neutral, often softer |
The measured frame is especially natural with age, scores, quantities, distance, and other scales whose direction is understood from context.
Tôi kém anh trai ba tuổi nhưng cao hơn anh ấy.
I am three years younger than my older brother, but I am taller than him.
Đội mình đang kém họ hai điểm.
Our team is two points behind them.
Doanh thu tháng này kém tháng trước gần một trăm triệu đồng.
This month's revenue is nearly one hundred million đồng below last month's.
In the last example, doanh thu supplies the relevant scale. English chooses below or less than; Vietnamese simply places the standard and difference after kém.
Naming the domain with về
When the dimension is not a simple number, về + domain makes it explicit. This pattern is neutral in careful conversation and frequent in comparisons, reviews, and formal analysis.
Căn hộ này kém căn kia về ánh sáng tự nhiên, nhưng vị trí thuận tiện hơn.
This apartment is inferior to the other one in natural light, but its location is more convenient.
Sản phẩm mới không kém mẫu cũ về độ bền.
The new product is not inferior to the old model in durability.
The negated phrase không kém often makes a positive claim: “not inferior,” and therefore “at least as good” in the named respect. Không kém phần + adjective is a semi-formal evaluative expression meaning “no less …”: không kém phần quan trọng “no less important.” It does not normally introduce a person as the comparison standard.
Khâu chuẩn bị không kém phần quan trọng so với phần trình bày.
The preparation stage is no less important than the presentation itself. (formal)
Kém hơn: a worse performance, not a second “than”
In Tôi hát kém hơn Lan, kém is the predicate “perform poorly,” while hơn marks the comparison: literally, the speaker sings poorly to a greater degree. This is natural, but it differs from measured Tôi kém Lan hai điểm, where kém itself relates the two scores.
Dạo này tôi nhớ tên người khác kém hơn trước.
These days I remember people's names less well than I used to.
Máy ảnh này chụp trong điều kiện thiếu sáng kém hơn mẫu năm ngoái.
This camera performs worse in low light than last year's model.
For a neutral, non-evaluative “less,” Vietnamese often uses a more precise expression instead: ít hơn for quantity, chậm hơn for speed, thấp hơn for a numerical level, or không … bằng for a property. Calling something kém can sound judgmental when you mean only “less.”
Năm nay lượng mưa ít hơn năm ngoái, không phải chất lượng dự báo kém hơn.
This year there is less rainfall than last year; it is not that the forecast quality is worse.
How comparison and quantification fit together
These compact contrasts show what each construction contributes. Vietnamese keeps the predicate unchanged and uses separate words or paired frames to organize the scale and its participants.
| Pattern | Interpretation | What has scope |
|---|---|---|
| cao hơn tôi | taller than me | a comparative standard |
| đẹp nhất lớp | prettiest in the class | the maximum within a set |
| bằng nhau | equal to one another | reciprocal equality |
| càng học càng hiểu | the more one studies, the more one understands | two covarying degrees |
| ai cũng biết | everyone knows | universal scope over people |
| mỗi người một việc | one task for each person | a person-by-person distribution |
The quantifiers do not inflect either. Mọi người đều biết and ai cũng biết both distribute knowing across all relevant people, while từng người highlights them one by one and cả nhóm treats the group as a whole. A sentence such as Mỗi người đều kém người đứng trước một điểm means that every person is one point behind the person immediately ahead: mỗi introduces the individual units, and đều confirms that the predicate holds across them.
Mỗi thí sinh đều kém người đứng trước đúng một điểm, nên cả bảng xếp hạng rất sát nhau.
Each contestant is exactly one point behind the person above, so the entire ranking is very close.
A short dialogue: choosing the intended shortfall
A: Hai đội bằng nhau về số trận thắng, đúng không? B: Đúng, nhưng đội mình kém họ ba điểm vì hòa nhiều hơn. A: Thế còn hàng công? B: Không kém đâu; mỗi tiền đạo đều đã ghi bàn, và ai cũng biết trận cuối mới quan trọng nhất.
A: The two teams are equal in wins, right? B: Yes, but our team is three points behind because it drew more games. A: What about the attack? B: It isn't inferior; every striker has scored, and everyone knows the last match is the most important.
Here kém họ ba điểm reports an exact deficit. The reply không kém đâu rejects an evaluative inference about the attack; it does not claim that the points are equal. Mỗi … đều distributes scoring across the strikers, while ai cũng gives “everyone” scope over knowing.
Common Mistakes
Adding là before a comparative predicate
❌ Đội mình là kém họ hai điểm.
Incorrect: là is not used before this ordinary comparative predicate.
✅ Đội mình kém họ hai điểm.
Our team is two points behind them.
Vietnamese predicates do not need the English copula is. Kém họ hai điểm is already a complete predicate.
Translating English “than” twice
❌ Tôi kém hơn so với Lan hai điểm.
Awkward for a simple measured shortfall: hơn and so với overload the frame.
✅ Tôi kém Lan hai điểm.
I am two points behind Lan.
For a direct measured deficit, put the standard after kém. Use so với to frame a complex baseline, not as a mechanical translation of every English than.
Using kém for every English “less”
❌ Hôm nay tôi uống kém cà phê hơn hôm qua.
Incorrect: kém does not express a smaller quantity of coffee here.
✅ Hôm nay tôi uống ít cà phê hơn hôm qua.
Today I drink less coffee than yesterday.
Choose the scale-specific predicate ít for quantity. Kém presents a shortfall or inferior performance.
Confusing universal and distributive expressions
❌ Ai mỗi kém người trước một điểm.
Incorrect: ai and mỗi cannot be combined this way to mean ‘each person.’
✅ Mỗi người đều kém người trước một điểm.
Each person is one point behind the person before them.
Use mỗi + noun to select individuals and often đều to distribute the predicate. Ai cũng means “everyone,” mọi người denotes all people in the relevant group, từng người emphasizes one by one, and cả nhóm refers to the whole group.
Key Takeaways
- Use A + kém + B + measure for an exact deficit and A + kém + B + về + domain for inferiority in a named respect.
- Kém hơn can compare how poorly something performs; it is not required in every measured kém frame.
- Prefer precise alternatives such as ít hơn, thấp hơn, or không … bằng when “less” is quantitative or when a softer comparison is intended.
- No comparative copula or adjective inflection is needed: word order establishes the scale, standard, and scope.
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Start learning Vietnamese →Related Topics
- Comparatives with HơnA1 — Build Vietnamese ‘more/-er than’ comparisons by placing hơn after a gradable predicate rather than changing the adjective.
- 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.
- 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.