Ngoài khuôn ra, chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay.

Ngoài ... ra is a very common Vietnamese pattern meaning besides, apart from, or in addition to.

So:

• Ngoài khuôn ra = apart from the mold
• whole pattern: Ngoài X ra, ... = Besides X, ...

It introduces something extra beyond the item named in X.

In this sentence, ra is part of the set expression Ngoài ... ra.

So the standard pattern is:

• Ngoài X ra, Y... = Besides X, Y...

If you say only ngoài khuôn, it may sound incomplete here, or it may be understood differently depending on context. On its own, ngoài often means outside in a more literal or spatial sense.

Compare:

• Ngoài khuôn ra, chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay.
  = Besides the mold, we also use a turntable.

• ngoài khuôn
  could suggest outside the mold rather than besides the mold

So in this sentence, ra helps make the intended grammar clear.

Here, còn means something like also, in addition, or still/furthermore, depending on context.

In this sentence, it helps express that bàn xoay is an additional thing being used:

• chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay
  = we also use a turntable

It works especially well together with Ngoài khuôn ra:

• Ngoài khuôn ra = Besides the mold
• chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay = we also use a turntable

So the sentence has a nice parallel structure:
Besides X, we also use Y.

Not exactly. Vietnamese has more than one word for we.

• chúng ta = we, including the listener
• chúng tôi = we, excluding the listener

So chúng ta means the speaker includes the person being spoken to. In English, both are just we, but Vietnamese makes the difference explicit.

In this sentence, chúng ta suggests: you and I / all of us here use a turntable too.

Vietnamese does not use articles the way English does. There is no direct equivalent of a/an/the that must appear before nouns.

So:

• khuôn can mean mold, the mold, or a mold
• bàn xoay can mean turntable, a turntable, or the turntable

The exact meaning depends on context.

In many cases, Vietnamese leaves this unspecified unless it needs to be clearer. If you wanted to specify quantity, you could add a classifier and number, for example:

• một cái khuôn = a mold
• một cái bàn xoay = a turntable

But in the original sentence, that extra detail is not necessary.

Literally:

• bàn = table
• xoay = to rotate / turn

So bàn xoay literally means rotating table.

Depending on context, it could be translated as:

• turntable
• spinning table
• sometimes something more specific like potter’s wheel, if the situation makes that clear

A learner should remember that the most natural English translation depends on the topic being discussed.

Yes. Dùng is a very common and natural word meaning to use.

Other possibilities exist, such as:

• sử dụng = to use (more formal or technical)
• xài = to use (more informal, common in southern speech)

So:

• chúng ta dùng bàn xoay = natural, everyday
• chúng ta sử dụng bàn xoay = more formal

In this sentence, dùng sounds normal and appropriate.

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main clause.

Structure:

• Ngoài khuôn ra, = introductory phrase: Besides the mold,
• chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay. = main clause: we also use a turntable.

This comma is very natural in writing because Ngoài X ra sets up the topic before the main statement.

Yes, but the original order is the most natural for this meaning.

Natural version:

• Ngoài khuôn ra, chúng ta còn dùng bàn xoay.

You could sometimes rearrange things, but it may sound less smooth or less standard. For example, putting ngoài khuôn ra later in the sentence is usually less elegant for this kind of contrast.

The original order is good because Vietnamese often puts the “besides X” phrase first, then states the additional action or item.

No. Ngoài has more than one common meaning.

It can mean:

• outside
  
  • ngoài nhà = outside the house
• besides / apart from
  
  • ngoài khuôn ra = apart from the mold

So the meaning depends on the structure and context.
In this sentence, because of the pattern Ngoài ... ra, it means besides/apart from, not physical location.

It is mostly adding information, but with a mild sense of contrast.

The idea is:

• not only do we use khuôn
• we also use bàn xoay

So it is an addition structure:

• Besides X, we also use Y

It does not strongly oppose the two items; it simply says that one more method or tool is used in addition to the first one.

Sometimes yes, but besides/apart from the mold is usually better here.

Other than in English can sometimes sound like except for, which may suggest exclusion. But this Vietnamese sentence is clearly about addition, not exclusion.

So these are better:

• Besides the mold, we also use a turntable.
• Apart from the mold, we also use a turntable.
• In addition to the mold, we also use a turntable.

These capture the sense of adding another tool or method.