Ứng viên có kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt.

A natural word-by-word breakdown is:

• ứng viên = candidate / applicant
• có = have / has
• kỹ năng = skill / skills
• giao tiếp = communication; to communicate, depending on context
• tốt = good / well

So the sentence is structured very directly as:

• Ứng viên = the candidate
• có = has
• kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt = good communication skills

Vietnamese often does not mark singular/plural or articles the way English does, so kỹ năng can be understood as skill or skills depending on context.

In Vietnamese, descriptive words often come after the noun or noun phrase they modify.

So:

• kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt = good communication skills
• literally, this is closer to skills communication good

That may feel backward to an English speaker, but it is normal in Vietnamese.

Compare:

• người tốt = good person
• công việc tốt = good job
• kỹ năng tốt = good skills

So in this sentence, tốt comes after the whole phrase kỹ năng giao tiếp.

Here, giao tiếp functions as part of a noun phrase: kỹ năng giao tiếp = communication skills.

Vietnamese words are often flexible and can behave like different parts of speech depending on context. On its own, giao tiếp can refer to:

• communication
• interacting with others
• to communicate

But in kỹ năng giao tiếp, it specifies the type of skill: communication skill(s).

Vietnamese usually does not require articles like a, an, or the.

So:

• ứng viên can mean a candidate, the candidate, or candidates, depending on context.

In a real situation, the surrounding conversation tells you whether the speaker means:

• a candidate in general
• a specific candidate
• candidates as a class

If needed, Vietnamese can add words to make reference more specific, but it often leaves this unstated.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Common translations include:

• candidate
• applicant
• sometimes nominee, in other contexts

In a job-related sentence like this one, applicant or candidate are both very natural translations.

Có means to have in this sentence.

So:

• Ứng viên có kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt = The candidate has good communication skills

This is one of the most common uses of có.

However, có is a very flexible word in Vietnamese and can also appear in other meanings or grammatical patterns, such as:

• possession: Tôi có xe. = I have a car.
• existence / there is: Có một vấn đề. = There is a problem.
• yes / present in some contexts

Here, though, the meaning is simply has.

It can be understood as either skill or skills.

Vietnamese nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural. That means:

• kỹ năng could mean skill
• or skills

In this sentence, English naturally prefers good communication skills, so plural is the best translation.

But Vietnamese itself does not need a separate plural ending like -s.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Ứng viên có kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt = The candidate has good communication skills.
• Ứng viên giao tiếp tốt = The candidate communicates well / is good at communicating.

The original sentence focuses on the person’s skill or ability as a quality.
The shorter version focuses more directly on the person’s performance or behavior.

Both are natural, but they are not exactly identical.

A rough pronunciation guide for English speakers is:

• Ứng viên ≈ ung vee-en
• có ≈ koh
• kỹ năng ≈ kee nung
• giao tiếp ≈ zow tee-ep in northern Vietnamese, often closer to yow tee-ep in southern Vietnamese
• tốt ≈ toht

A few important notes:

• Vietnamese is tonal, so rough English spellings only help a little.
• ứng has the ng sound at the end, like in sing.
• viên is two vowels in one syllable-like unit, not exactly like English veen.
• kỹ has a tricky vowel not identical to English ee.
• tiếp ends with a final p sound that is unreleased.

If you want, I can also give a more tone-focused pronunciation explanation.

Yes, tones matter a lot in Vietnamese because changing the tone changes the word.

In this sentence:

• Ứng has the ngã tone
• viên has a level tone
• có has the sắc tone
• kỹ has the ngã tone
• năng has a level tone
• giao has a level tone
• tiếp has the sắc tone
• tốt has the sắc tone

Even if your grammar is perfect, incorrect tones can make you hard to understand, so they are worth practicing early.

Yes, it is a complete sentence.

Vietnamese does not usually mark tense the same way English does. Instead, time is often understood from:

• context
• time words
• the situation

So Ứng viên có kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt can naturally mean:

• The candidate has good communication skills.
• The candidate had good communication skills.
• The candidate will have good communication skills.

But in most ordinary contexts, people understand it as a present-time statement unless something else indicates a different time frame.

Yes.

Depending on the structure, tốt can often be translated as:

• good
• well

Examples:

• kỹ năng giao tiếp tốt = good communication skills
• giao tiếp tốt = communicate well / be good at communicating

So in the original sentence, tốt is best translated as good because it describes kỹ năng giao tiếp.

Yes.

You could see:

• một ứng viên = a candidate / one candidate
• các ứng viên = candidates / the candidates
• ứng viên này = this candidate
• ứng viên đó = that candidate

But when the speaker does not need to specify number or definiteness, just ứng viên is completely normal.

That is why the original sentence sounds natural even without extra words.