Vietnamese định + verb phrase presents an action as someone’s formed intention or plan. It is stronger than a passing desire with muốn, but it does not guarantee that the action will happen. Tôi định chuyển nhà means that moving is in my plan; the plan can still change or be interrupted.
English plan to, intend to, be going to, and even was about to can all correspond to định in different contexts. The stable principle is that định looks inside an agent’s projected course of action. It is not a future tense marker, a promise, or a statement of probability.
The basic construction
Place định before the planned action. No infinitive marker appears between them.
Tôi định xin nghỉ hai ngày để về thăm bố mẹ.
I plan to take two days off to visit my parents.
Bọn mình định tổ chức sinh nhật cho Lan ở nhà.
We're planning to hold Lan's birthday party at home.
Sau khi tốt nghiệp, em định làm việc ở Đà Nẵng.
After graduating, I intend to work in Đà Nẵng.
The time may be future, but future time comes from context such as sau khi tốt nghiệp, not from inflection on định. A plan can also be viewed from the past:
Hôm qua tôi định gọi cho anh, nhưng họp xong thì muộn quá.
Yesterday I intended to call you, but by the time the meeting ended it was too late.
The unrealized plan is natural because định asserts intention, not completion.
Đang định: a plan at the point of action
Đang định + verb often means “be just about to” or “be in the process of intending/planning.” With an interruption, it locates the subject immediately before the planned action.
Tôi đang định ra ngoài thì trời đổ mưa.
I was just about to go out when it started pouring.
Em cũng đang định hỏi cô về đúng chuyện đó ạ.
I was just about to ask you about exactly that too, ma'am.
The formula định ... thì ... is especially common for interrupted intentions. Without đang, it can refer to a less immediate plan; with đang, the threshold is close.
Không định, định không, and chưa định
Negation changes scope depending on placement:
| Pattern | Interpretation | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|
| không định + V | no intention to do V | không định bán — do not intend to sell |
| định không + V | intend not to do V | định không bán — plan not to sell |
| chưa định + V | no present plan yet / not intending yet | chưa định bán — not planning to sell yet |
Tôi không định bán căn hộ này.
I don't intend to sell this apartment.
Tôi định không bán nữa mà cho em gái thuê.
I intend not to sell it after all, but to rent it to my younger sister.
Năm nay chúng tôi chưa định mở thêm chi nhánh.
We have no plans yet to open another branch this year.
In everyday conversation, không định and định không can lead to similar real-world outcomes, but their logic differs. The first denies the presence of a selling plan; the second presents non-selling as the plan. Speakers favor không định for a neutral denial and use định không when contrasting two planned alternatives.
Đã định, từng định, and the fate of a plan
Đã định places the intention before a reference point and often suggests that something later changed. Từng định means that the plan existed at some time in the past, without saying it was carried out. Vẫn định says the plan remains in force despite contrary pressure.
Tôi đã định từ chối, nhưng cách họ giải thích khiến tôi đổi ý.
I had intended to refuse, but their explanation changed my mind.
Chị từng định học kiến trúc trước khi chuyển sang thiết kế đồ họa.
She once planned to study architecture before switching to graphic design.
Dù giá vé tăng, bọn mình vẫn định đi vào tháng Sáu.
Even though ticket prices have risen, we still plan to go in June.
Aspect markers frame the existence or persistence of the intention; they do not mean that the embedded action was completed. Đã định đi is not the same as đã đi.
Plans among other modal meanings
Vietnamese spreads modality across verbs, adverbs, and clause frames. A single English modal can therefore hide crucial distinctions:
| Vietnamese form | What it contributes |
|---|---|
| phải đi | necessity or obligation to go |
| cần làm | need to do it |
| có thể đến | ability or possibility of coming |
| được phép vào | authorization to enter |
| nên nghỉ | advice to rest |
| muốn đi | desire to go |
| định đi | formed intention to go |
| chắc là đúng | strong probability that it is correct |
Chắc, hẳn, dường như, and có lẽ assess probability or evidence; they do not create a plan. Chắc is confident probability, hẳn a strong inference, dường như “apparently/seemingly” (neutral/formal), and có lẽ a tentative “perhaps.”
Có lẽ Nam định nghỉ việc, nhưng anh ấy chưa nói chính thức.
Perhaps Nam intends to quit, but he hasn't said so officially.
The outer có lẽ weakens the speaker’s commitment to the claim; the inner định describes Nam’s possible intention.
Neutral định and colloquial tính
Định is broadly neutral across regions and works in conversation as well as ordinary writing. Dự định is more explicit and can be (formal), especially as a noun in kế hoạch và dự định “plans and intentions.” Tính + verb can also express planning (informal) and is particularly salient in Southern speech, but its conversational and regional profile deserves separate treatment on the tính page.
Do not assume that định means an officially scheduled arrangement. It can describe a private, tentative plan; adverbs and context show how firm it is.
Tôi mới định hỏi thử thôi, chưa quyết gì cả.
I was only planning to ask around; I haven't decided anything.
A dialogue: desire, plan, and permission
Hà: Cậu có muốn tham gia khóa học không?
Quân: Muốn chứ. Tớ định đăng ký tối nay.
Hà: Công ty có cho phép mình học trong giờ làm không?
Quân: Có thể được, nhưng chắc tớ phải hỏi quản lý trước.
Muốn marks Quân’s desire, định his formed plan, cho phép permission, có thể possibility, chắc probability, and phải obligation. None is an interchangeable translation of English will or can.
Politeness and questions about another person's plans
Anh/chị định ...? is a normal question about plans, but it can sound intrusive when the decision is private. Softening with a condition or context can be more appropriate.
Nếu chị không ngại chia sẻ, chị định ở lại Hà Nội bao lâu ạ?
If you're comfortable sharing, how long do you plan to stay in Hà Nội?
Politeness comes from the pronoun, ạ, and the conditional frame—not from định itself.
Common Mistakes
1. Using định for a non-agentive prediction.
❌ Trời định mưa chiều nay.
Incorrect in ordinary speech: the weather does not form an intention.
✅ Có lẽ chiều nay trời sẽ mưa.
It will probably rain this afternoon.
Use probability and future framing for a forecast.
2. Confusing desire with a formed plan.
❌ Tôi định sống gần biển một ngày nào đó, nhưng chưa nghĩ cách nào cả.
Poor choice if this is only a dream with no plan.
✅ Tôi muốn sống gần biển một ngày nào đó, nhưng chưa nghĩ cách nào cả.
I want to live near the sea someday, but I haven't thought of how.
3. Reversing negative scope.
❌ Tôi định không gọi cho cô ấy.
Wrong for ‘I have no intention of calling her’; this foregrounds not calling as the plan.
✅ Tôi không định gọi cho cô ấy.
I don't intend to call her.
4. Reading đã định as completed action.
❌ Tôi đã định gửi thư, nên cô ấy đã nhận được.
Faulty inference: having intended to send the letter does not mean it was sent.
✅ Tôi đã gửi thư, nên cô ấy đã nhận được.
I sent the letter, so she received it.
5. Translating polite English ‘Are you going to...?’ too bluntly.
❌ Chị định sinh con khi nào?
Potentially intrusive without an appropriate relationship or context.
✅ Nếu chị không ngại chia sẻ, chị có dự định sinh con không ạ?
If you don't mind sharing, are you planning to have children?
The repair acknowledges privacy and adjusts the interpersonal frame.
Key Takeaways
Use định for an agent’s formed intention, whether future or viewed from the past. Đang định commonly means “be just about to,” đã định reports an earlier intention without completion, and the placement of không distinguishes “not intend to do” from “intend not to do.”
Now practice Vietnamese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Vietnamese →Related Topics
- Muốn for Desire and IntentionB1 — Express wants and inclinations with muốn while distinguishing desire from settled plans, permission, and prediction.
- Tính and Colloquial PlanningB1 — Recognize and use conversational tính for weighing or forming plans, with careful attention to register, region, and negative scope.
- Postposed Subjects in Presentational ClausesB2 — Introduce a new participant after có or a presentational predicate while distinguishing genuine presentation from ordinary Vietnamese SVO order.
- Ai for WhoA2 — Ask who did, received, owned, or accompanied something while leaving ai in its ordinary noun-phrase position.