Learn Hardcore Vietnamese: Tôi thường uống trà vào buổi chiều.

Tôi is the neutral first-person pronoun (I). Vietnamese allows subject pronouns to be dropped when context is clear—especially in casual speech—so you could simply say Thường uống trà vào buổi chiều if someone already knows you’re talking about yourself. However, including Tôi makes the sentence fully explicit and is standard in writing or more formal contexts.

What role does thường play in this sentence? Could I use hay instead?

thường is an adverb of frequency meaning often or usually, and it appears directly before the main verb (uống). You can often swap in hay to indicate a habitual action (e.g. Tôi hay uống trà vào buổi chiều), but hay is more colloquial and sometimes implies an even stronger habit or preference. In written or formal speech, thường is generally preferred.

Why is there vào before buổi chiều? Can I omit it?

vào is a preposition introducing a time phrase—much like in in English—so vào buổi chiều = in the afternoon. In casual conversation you might hear Tôi thường uống trà buổi chiều without vào, and it’ll still be understood. Adding vào is more standard and unambiguous, especially in writing.

What exactly is buổi chiều, and how is it different from just chiều?

buổi is a classifier for parts of the day. chiều alone can mean afternoon, but pairing it with buổi (buổi chiều) emphasizes the time-period. In phrases like chiều nay (this afternoon) or chiều hôm qua (yesterday afternoon), people often drop buổi, but when speaking about habitual actions, buổi chiều is more common.

Why doesn’t trà have a measure word here?

In uống trà, trà is treated as an uncountable noun—just like tea in English. When you want to specify amount, you’d add a number plus a classifier, for example một tách trà (a cup of tea) or hai ly trà (two glasses of tea). Without specifying quantity, you simply say uống trà.

Can I move the time phrase vào buổi chiều elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. Vietnamese is flexible with time-adverb placement. You can begin with it—Vào buổi chiều tôi thường uống trà—or place it after the subject, after the verb, etc. For example, Tôi thường vào buổi chiều uống trà is grammatically possible but a bit less common than the two previous orders.

How would I express the negative—“I don’t often drink tea in the afternoon”?

A natural way is Tôi ít khi uống trà vào buổi chiều (I seldom drink tea in the afternoon). While Tôi không thường uống trà vào buổi chiều is grammatically okay, Vietnamese speakers prefer ít khi or hiếm khi to convey rarely.

If I want to talk about the future—“I will often drink tea in the afternoon”—how do I say that?

You insert sẽ before the verb: Tôi sẽ thường uống trà vào buổi chiều. Note, though, combining sẽ (future marker) with thường (habitual) is uncommon because habits are generally understood in the present context. Often you’d just say Tôi sẽ uống trà vào buổi chiều, and regularity is implied by the situation.

What are the tones for each word in Tôi thường uống trà vào buổi chiều?

Here’s the breakdown:

Tôi: ngang (level)
thường: huyền (falling)
uống: hỏi (dipping)
trà: sắc (rising)
vào: huyền (falling)
buổi: hỏi (dipping)
chiều: huyền (falling)

Practicing these tones is key, since changing a tone can change the word’s meaning entirely.