Modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến.

Vietnamese often leaves out the verb to be when talking about location.

So instead of saying something like Modem is at/in the middle of..., Vietnamese simply says:

• Modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến.

Here, ở already handles the idea of being located somewhere, so you do not use là.

A useful contrast:

• Modem là một thiết bị. = A modem is a device.
  
  • Here là is used for identity/definition.
• Modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến. = The modem is between the device and the router.
  
  • Here ở is used for location.

Ở giữa means in the middle or between, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• ở giữa A và B = between A and B

So:

• ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến = between the device and the router

You can think of it as:

• ở = located at/in
• giữa = middle

Together, they form a very natural expression for location.

Examples:

• Nhà tôi ở giữa trường và chợ. = My house is between the school and the market.
• Con mèo ở giữa hai cái ghế. = The cat is between the two chairs.

Và means and.

In the pattern ở giữa A và B, it links the two things on either side of the middle point:

• thiết bị = device
• bộ định tuyến = router
• thiết bị và bộ định tuyến = the device and the router

So the full structure is:

• X ở giữa A và B
  = X is between A and B

This is a very common pattern in Vietnamese.

Yes, it is quite similar.

Vietnamese structure here is:

• Modem
  • ở giữa
    • thiết bị
      • và
        • bộ định tuyến

That maps neatly to:

• The modem
  • is between
    • the device
      • and
        • the router

So for an English speaker, this sentence is relatively straightforward.

The main difference is that Vietnamese does not insert a separate word for is in this kind of location sentence.

Bộ định tuyến is a standard Vietnamese term for router.

Breaking it down:

• bộ = set / unit / apparatus
• định tuyến = routing

So bộ định tuyến literally means something like routing device/unit.

In everyday speech, some people may also say router, especially in tech contexts, but bộ định tuyến is the more Vietnamese-native term.

Thiết bị means device or equipment, and it is fairly general.

It can refer to many kinds of devices, especially technical or electronic ones. Depending on context, it could mean:

• a device
• a piece of equipment
• hardware

So in this sentence, thiết bị is not highly specific by itself. It just means device.

If you wanted to be more specific, Vietnamese could use more detailed nouns, for example:

• điện thoại = phone
• máy tính = computer
• máy in = printer

Vietnamese often borrows technical words from English, especially in technology.

So modem is very commonly used as-is. This is normal and natural.

You will often see the same thing with other tech vocabulary too, although sometimes there is also a more Vietnamese equivalent. In real-life usage, borrowed forms are especially common in IT, networking, and electronics.

Also, in normal writing, it is often written as modem with a lowercase m unless it starts the sentence.

No, Vietnamese does not use articles like a, an, and the in the same way English does.

So:

• Modem could mean a modem or the modem
• thiết bị could mean a device or the device
• bộ định tuyến could mean a router or the router

The exact meaning depends on context.

In your sentence, English might translate it as:

• The modem is between the device and the router or
• A modem is between a device and a router

Usually, context tells you which one is intended.

Yes, you could, but it changes the feel slightly.

• modem = plain noun
• cái modem = modem with a classifier-like noun often used for objects

In everyday speech, cái is often used with physical objects, especially in casual Vietnamese. But it is not always necessary.

Compare:

• Modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến.
• Cái modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến.

Both are understandable. The version without cái is a bit more neutral and concise, which fits technical language well.

No, not in this sentence.

You should say:

• ở giữa for location

Not:

• là giữa

That is because là is not used to express where something is located.

Use:

• X ở đâu? = Where is X?
• X ở giữa A và B. = X is between A and B.

Use là for things like:

• X là Y. = X is Y.

Example:

• Đây là modem. = This is a modem.
• Modem ở giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến. = The modem is between the device and the router.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable.

It sounds like a clear, technical or descriptive sentence. In real conversation, a native speaker might sometimes make it more specific depending on context, for example:

• Cái modem nằm giữa thiết bị và bộ định tuyến.
• Modem nằm giữa thiết bị với bộ định tuyến.

Here, nằm can add the sense of something lying/being positioned somewhere, but ở giữa is already perfectly fine and natural.

So your original sentence is good, especially for learning the basic structure X ở giữa A và B.