Nước thấm vào tường.

the water

Breakdown of Nước thấm vào tường.

• vào: to go into
• tường: the wall
• thấm: to soak through

Questions & Answers about Nước thấm vào tường.

What does each word in Nước thấm vào tường mean?

A simple word-by-word breakdown is:

• nước = water
• thấm = to seep, soak, penetrate
• vào = into
• tường = wall

So the structure is basically:

• Nước = subject
• thấm vào = verb phrase, seeps into
• tường = object/location target, the wall

English often uses is seeping into, but Vietnamese does not need a separate word for is here.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Vietnamese usually does not use articles like English a/an/the.

So tường can mean:

• a wall
• the wall
• sometimes just wall in a general sense

The exact meaning depends on context.

Likewise, nước can mean water in a general sense, or the water if the context already makes it clear.

If you want to be more specific, Vietnamese can add other words, but in a basic sentence like this, leaving them out is perfectly normal.

What does thấm vào mean exactly? Is it just go into?