Tôi rất mệt.

I

Breakdown of Tôi rất mệt.

• rất: very
• mệt: tired

Questions & Answers about Tôi rất mệt.

What does Tôi mean in this sentence?

Tôi is the first‐person singular pronoun “I” in Vietnamese. It’s a neutral, polite way to refer to yourself.

Why isn’t there a verb like “am” or là in Tôi rất mệt?

Vietnamese typically omits the copula (“to be”) when linking a subject directly to an adjective. In English you say “I am tired,” but in Vietnamese you simply say Tôi rất mệt without adding là or any other verb.

What role does rất play here?

rất is an adverb meaning “very.” It modifies the adjective mệt to intensify it: rất mệt = “very tired.”

What part of speech is mệt?

mệt is an adjective meaning “tired.” It describes the state or condition of the subject.

How do you pronounce Tôi rất mệt?

Approximate IPA transcription:
• Tôi /toj˧/ (mid‐level tone)
• rất /zɜt˧˥/ (high‐rising tone)
• mệt /mjɛt˨˩/ (low‐glottal tone)
Together: /toj˧ zɜt˧˥ mjɛt˨˩/.
In casual phonetic English you might hear “toy zut myet” with a rising tone on “zut” and a low, brief tone on “myet.”