Ông ấy đã già.

(perfective marker)

Breakdown of Ông ấy đã già.

• ông ấy: he
• già: old (for people)

Questions & Answers about Ông ấy đã già.

What does ông ấy mean exactly? Is it just he?

Ông ấy literally means something like that man or that older man, but in many contexts it functions as he.

A few useful points:

• ông is a respectful word used for an older man.
• ấy helps point to a specific person already known in the conversation.
• Together, ông ấy often means he, especially when the speaker is referring respectfully to an older male.

So it is not a neutral, all-purpose he for every situation. It specifically suggests:

• male
• older than the speaker or socially senior
• some level of respect or distance

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Vietnamese often does not use a verb meaning to be before adjectives.

In English, you say:

• He is old.

In Vietnamese, adjectives can directly act like the predicate:

• Ông ấy già.

So già means old, and the sentence is complete without a separate word for is.

This is very normal in Vietnamese:

• Cô ấy đẹp. = She is beautiful.
• Trời lạnh. = The weather is cold.

What does đã mean here?