Tôi rất rối.

very

Breakdown of Tôi rất rối.

• tôi: me
• rối: confused

Questions & Answers about Tôi rất rối.

Why isn’t there a word for am, such as là, in Tôi rất rối?

Because Vietnamese usually does not use là before adjectives or state words.

In English, you say I am confused. In Vietnamese, you normally just say:

• Tôi mệt = I am tired
• Tôi vui = I am happy
• Tôi rối = I am confused / frazzled / in a mess

So rối itself works as the predicate. Many learners think là should mean to be in every situation, but that is not how Vietnamese works.

Use là mainly when one noun is being identified as another noun:

• Tôi là giáo viên = I am a teacher

So Tôi là rất rối would be unnatural.

What does rất do here, and why does it come before rối?

Rất means very.

In Vietnamese, degree words like rất usually come before the adjective/state word they modify:

• rất vui = very happy
• rất mệt = very tired
• rất rối = very confused / very tangled / very frazzled

So the structure is:

Tôi + rất + rối
I + very + confused

That word order is normal in Vietnamese.

What exactly does rối mean?