Đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng.

In this sentence, đồng hồ nước means water meter.

Literally:

• đồng hồ can mean clock, watch, or meter
• nước means water

So in everyday usage, đồng hồ nước is the device that measures water usage, not a clock related to water. Vietnamese often uses đồng hồ for measuring devices, not only timepieces.

Không hề is stronger than plain không.

• không = not
• không hề = not at all, absolutely not, in no way

So Đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng sounds more emphatic than Đồng hồ nước không bị hư hỏng.

It suggests something like:

• the water meter was completely undamaged
• there was absolutely no damage

This kind of wording is common in reports, inspections, or formal statements.

Bị shows that the subject is the thing affected by an action or condition, usually something negative or undesirable.

Here:

• bị hư hỏng = to be damaged / to suffer damage

So bị helps frame the water meter as the thing that could have been damaged.

A rough English equivalent is often passive:

• was damaged
• got damaged

Because the sentence is negative, the full meaning is:

• it was not damaged
• it did not suffer any damage

It is passive-like, yes, but Vietnamese does not work exactly like English passive voice.

With bị, Vietnamese often focuses on:

• the affected thing
• the negative result

So this sentence is similar to English The water meter was not damaged.

However, Vietnamese does not always need a passive marker where English would. The sentence could also be made simpler without bị, depending on style.

Yes, hư and hỏng are very close in meaning. Both can refer to something being broken, faulty, or damaged.

When combined as hư hỏng, they form a common compound meaning:

• damaged
• broken
• in bad condition
• defective

Using both together often sounds:

• a bit more formal
• a bit more complete
• more natural in official or descriptive language

Very roughly:

• hư can suggest damaged, faulty, or spoiled
• hỏng can suggest broken or not working

In many contexts, they overlap a lot.

Yes. Those are both possible, but they sound slightly different.

• Đồng hồ nước không bị hỏng
  Natural and common. Slightly simpler.

• Đồng hồ nước không hư hỏng
  Also possible, but it feels a bit more direct and less explicitly passive-like.

• Đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng
  The original sentence is the most emphatic and somewhat more formal.

So the original version is especially good if you want to stress that there was absolutely no damage.

No, it is not strictly required.

Vietnamese often allows both:

• a version with bị
• a version without bị

Compare:

• Đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng
  More formal, more report-like, clearly presenting the meter as the affected object

• Đồng hồ nước không hề hư hỏng
  Still understandable, slightly more direct

Using bị is very natural when talking about damage, loss, injury, or other unwanted situations.

By itself, the sentence has no explicit tense marking.

Vietnamese often leaves tense to context. So this sentence could mean:

• The water meter is not damaged
• The water meter was not damaged
• The water meter has not been damaged

The surrounding context tells you which one is intended.

If a speaker wanted to make time clearer, they could add time words such as:

• hôm qua = yesterday
• hiện tại = currently
• sau vụ va chạm = after the collision

Vietnamese does not use articles like English a or the.

A bare noun like đồng hồ nước can be perfectly natural.

Depending on context, it may mean:

• a water meter
• the water meter
• water meters in a general sense

If you want to make it more specific, Vietnamese can use words such as:

• cái đồng hồ nước này = this water meter
• đồng hồ nước đó = that water meter

But in a neutral sentence like this one, no article is needed.

Yes, but it is not necessary.

You could say:

• Cái đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng

That sounds more specific, as if you are talking about a particular meter already known in the conversation.

Without cái, the sentence is still completely natural, especially in written or formal contexts.

So:

• Đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng = neutral, report-like
• Cái đồng hồ nước không hề bị hư hỏng = more conversational or more specific

It sounds neutral to somewhat formal.

Because it uses:

• không hề for emphasis
• bị hư hỏng for a careful, report-like description

it would fit well in:

• inspection reports
• repair notes
• insurance statements
• official explanations

In casual speech, people might say something simpler, such as:

• Đồng hồ nước không bị hỏng đâu
• Đồng hồ nước vẫn tốt
• Đồng hồ nước không sao cả

Those versions sound more everyday and conversational.

A useful tone breakdown is:

• đồng = low falling tone
• hồ = low falling tone
• nước = rising tone, with a short clipped ending
• không = level tone
• hề = low falling tone
• bị = heavy, low glottalized tone
• hư = level tone
• hỏng = dipping tone

A learner-friendly rhythm would be something like:

• đồng hồ nước
• không hề
• bị hư hỏng

It helps to practice it in chunks rather than word by word.