Breakdown of Bạn tớ tạo hình đất sét.
bạn
the friend
tớ
I (informal, peer)
đất sét
the clay
tạo hình
to shape; form
Questions & Answers about Bạn tớ tạo hình đất sét.
Why does bạn tớ mean my friend? I thought bạn could mean you.
That is a very common confusion.
Bạn can be:
- a noun meaning friend
- a pronoun meaning you
In bạn tớ, it is a noun meaning friend. The word tớ after it shows possession, so the whole phrase means my friend.
So:
- bạn tớ = my friend
- not you me
Context and word order tell you which meaning is intended.
Why is there no separate word for my?
Vietnamese often shows possession with the pattern:
noun + pronoun
So instead of using a separate possessive word like English my, Vietnamese commonly says:
- bạn tớ = my friend
- nhà tôi = my house
- mẹ mình = my mother
So tớ is doing the job that my does in English, even though it is literally a pronoun meaning I / me in the right context.
What exactly does tớ mean? Is it formal or informal?