Khỉ ở trên cây.

at

Breakdown of Khỉ ở trên cây.

• trên: on (on top of)
• cây: the plant or tree
• khỉ: the monkey

Questions & Answers about Khỉ ở trên cây.

Why is there no word for a or the in Khỉ ở trên cây?

Vietnamese usually does not require articles the way English does. So:

• khỉ can mean monkey, a monkey, or the monkey
• cây can mean tree, a tree, or the tree

The exact meaning depends on context. If you need to be more specific, Vietnamese can add other words, but in a simple sentence like this, leaving articles out is completely normal.

What does ở mean here?

Ở often means to be at / to stay / to live at, depending on context.

In Khỉ ở trên cây, ở marks location, so it works a bit like English is located:

• khỉ = monkey
• ở = is at / is located
• trên cây = on the tree

So ở is doing an important job here: it tells you where the monkey is.

What does trên mean?