Tôi hỏi: toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian?

Tôi hỏi means I ask or I asked, depending on context. It introduces the question that follows.

In this sentence, it works like:

• I asked: full-time or part-time?

So hỏi is the verb to ask, and tôi is I.

The colon shows that the exact question comes next. It works much like English punctuation in a sentence such as:

• I asked: full-time or part-time?

So the part after the colon is the content of what was asked.

Vietnamese verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do. Hỏi stays hỏi.

That means Tôi hỏi can mean:

• I ask
• I asked

The exact time is understood from context, or from extra words such as:

• đã for past
• đang for ongoing action
• sẽ for future

So without extra markers, the sentence is neutral and context decides.

Hay means or when giving a choice in a direct question.

A very common pattern is:

• A hay B? = A or B?

So:

• toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian? = full-time or part-time?

This is a very natural question pattern in Vietnamese.

Both can mean or, but they are not always used the same way.

• Hay is very common in direct choice questions.
• Hoặc is more common in statements, lists, instructions, or formal writing.

So in this sentence, hay is the natural choice:

• toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian?

Using hoặc here would sound less natural in everyday speech.

Literally, toàn thời gian means something like full/whole time.

Breakdown:

• toàn = whole, entire, full
• thời gian = time

So together, it means full-time.

Here, bán does not mean to sell.

In bán thời gian, bán means half, from Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. So the phrase literally means half time, which corresponds to English part-time.

So:

• bán in bán hàng = sell
• bán in bán thời gian = half

They are written the same, but they are different words historically.

Vietnamese often leaves out words that are obvious from context.

In English, you might say:

• Is it full-time or part-time?
• Do you want full-time or part-time?
• Are you looking for full-time or part-time work?

In Vietnamese, if the situation is clear, you can simply say:

• Toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian?

So the sentence is short, but still complete in conversation.

You can usually just say:

• Toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian?

That is the normal way to ask the question directly.

Adding Tôi hỏi: sounds more like:

• retelling what you said
• writing dialogue
• setting up a quoted question

So in everyday speech, the shorter version is usually more natural.

Yes. They can stand alone, as in this sentence, or they can modify nouns.

For example:

• công việc toàn thời gian = a full-time job
• nhân viên bán thời gian = a part-time employee

This is common in Vietnamese. These phrases are quite flexible.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• toàn ≈ twahn with a low falling tone
• thời ≈ something like thuh-ee said smoothly, also with a falling tone
• gian ≈ zan in Northern Vietnamese, often closer to yan in Southern Vietnamese
• hay ≈ high with a level tone
• bán ≈ bahn with a rising tone

Tone pattern:

• toàn: falling tone
• thời: falling tone
• gian: level tone
• hay: level tone
• bán: rising tone

English-style approximations only go so far, so listening to native audio is the best way to learn this well.

Yes, very natural. It would fit situations like:

• discussing job type
• asking about a position
• clarifying someone’s schedule
• talking about work preferences

For example, if someone is applying for a job, asking:

• toàn thời gian hay bán thời gian?

is a normal and efficient way to ask whether it is full-time or part-time.