Learn Hardcore Vietnamese: Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.

Together, đi làm is a very common set phrase meaning “to go to work” (physically go to your job, or in general: to be employed and go work your shifts).

You can think of it as:

đi làm = go + work → go to work

It doesn’t feel redundant to Vietnamese speakers; it’s a normal, natural verb phrase, similar to English “go to sleep”, “go shopping”, etc.

Could I just say “Tôi không làm vào cuối tuần” instead of “Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần”?

You can say:

Tôi không làm vào cuối tuần.
I don’t work on weekends.

…but it sounds slightly more general and can mean “I don’t do (any work) on weekends” rather than “I don’t go to my job on weekends.”

Nuance:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
→ I don’t go to my workplace / my job on weekends.
Tôi không làm vào cuối tuần.
→ I don’t work / do work on weekends (could be job work, homework, chores, etc., depending on context).

For “I don’t go to my job on weekends”, đi làm is more specific and natural.

What does “vào” do in this sentence? Is it like the English word “on” in “on weekends”?

Yes, vào here works like a preposition introducing a time phrase, similar to “on” or “in” in English, depending on context.

vào cuối tuần ≈ “on weekends” / “on the weekend”

In time expressions, vào + time is very common:

vào sáng mai – tomorrow morning
vào thứ Hai – on Monday
vào ban đêm – at night

So Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần literally is “I not go work at/on the end-of-week.”

Can I omit “vào” and just say “Tôi không đi làm cuối tuần”?

Yes. Native speakers very often drop vào in casual speech:

Tôi không đi làm cuối tuần.
Cuối tuần tôi không đi làm.

They still mean “I don’t go to work on weekends.”

Nuance:

With vào → Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
Slightly more careful / complete, common in more neutral or written style.
Without vào → Tôi không đi làm cuối tuần.
Very natural in everyday speech.

Both are correct and natural.

How do I know this sentence is about a habit (“I don’t work on weekends in general”) and not just one specific weekend?

Vietnamese verbs usually don’t show tense (no -ed, no -s). Habitual or general meaning often comes from:

the time phrase (cuối tuần = weekends)
context (talking about schedules, routines)

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần. is naturally understood as habitual:
“I don’t (normally) go to work on weekends.”

If you want to emphasize “never”, you can add bao giờ or bao giờ cũng:

Tôi không bao giờ đi làm vào cuối tuần.
I never go to work on weekends.

If you want a specific time, you add more detail:

Cuối tuần này tôi không đi làm.
I’m not going to work this weekend.
Cuối tuần trước tôi không đi làm.
I didn’t go to work last weekend.

How would I say “I didn’t go to work this weekend” in Vietnamese?

Common ways:

Cuối tuần này tôi không đi làm.
This weekend I didn’t go to work. / I’m not going to work this weekend (depending on context).
Or: Tôi không đi làm cuối tuần này.

Vietnamese still doesn’t change the verb form; you show past vs future mainly with time expressions (cuối tuần này, hôm qua, ngày mai, etc.) and context.

Why is “vào cuối tuần” at the end of the sentence? Can I move it?

Default word order is:

Subject – (negation) – Verb – (objects) – Time / Place

So:

Tôi (I)
không (not)
đi làm (go to work)
vào cuối tuần (on weekends)

You can move the time phrase for emphasis or style:

Vào cuối tuần, tôi không đi làm.
Cuối tuần tôi không đi làm.

All are correct. Putting (vào) cuối tuần at the beginning emphasizes the time a bit more, like “On weekends, I don’t go to work.”

Does “cuối tuần” mean “weekend” or “weekends”? There’s no plural ending.

Vietnamese generally doesn’t mark plural on nouns unless it needs to be emphasized.

cuối tuần literally = “end of week”

Depending on context, cuối tuần can mean:

a specific weekend → this weekend / that weekend
weekends in general → on weekends

In Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần, it’s naturally understood as weekends (in general), because the sentence is describing a routine.

Is “Tôi” always the right way to say “I”? Are there other options?

Tôi is a safe, neutral “I”:

polite but not overly formal
works in writing, in most public situations, and when you don’t know the person well

But Vietnamese pronouns depend on relationship, age, and gender. Common alternatives:

em – “I” when speaking to someone older / higher status
anh – “I” (male), to someone younger or a woman around your age
chị – “I” (female), to someone younger or a man around your age
con – “I” to your parents / older relatives
mình / tớ – very casual, between close friends

So the sentence could also be:

Em không đi làm vào cuối tuần. (to an older person)
Anh không đi làm vào cuối tuần. (adult man, to younger people)

The grammar stays the same; only the pronoun changes.

How does negation work here? Why is “không” placed before “đi làm”?

Basic Vietnamese negation pattern:

Subject + không + Verb (+ Object / Complement)

So:

Tôi không đi làm.
I don’t go to work.

không must come right before the verb (or verb phrase) it negates:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
I don’t go to work on weekends.

Compare:

Tôi đi làm. – I go to work.
Tôi không đi làm. – I don’t go to work.

For simple present / habitual negatives, không is the main negator you should use.

Can I turn this into a yes/no question like “Do you go to work on weekends?”?

Yes. Two common ways:

…không? question pattern:
- Bạn đi làm vào cuối tuần không?
  Do you go to work on weekends?
Pattern: Subject + Verb + (object/time) + không?
Có … không? frame:
- Bạn có đi làm vào cuối tuần không?
  Do you go to work on weekends?

Both are very natural. Your original negative statement:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
I don’t go to work on weekends.

…could be an answer to:

Bạn (có) đi làm vào cuối tuần không?

Is “Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần” polite/natural to say to my boss or colleagues?

Yes, it’s polite and natural, especially in a written or neutral context.

To be a bit softer or more explanatory, you might add extra context:

Bình thường tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
Normally I don’t go to work on weekends.
Em thường không đi làm vào cuối tuần ạ.
(younger speaker to older, with polite ạ)

But grammatically and politeness-wise, Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần is fine and acceptable.

Can I drop the subject and just say “Không đi làm vào cuối tuần.”?

Yes, if the subject is clear from context. Vietnamese often drops pronouns in conversation when it’s obvious who you’re talking about.

Example:

A: Cuối tuần bạn có đi làm không?
Do you go to work on weekends?
B: Không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
(I) don’t go to work on weekends.

In writing (especially formal writing), it’s safer to keep the subject:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.

What’s the difference between “đi làm” and “làm việc”?

Both are related to “work,” but they’re used differently:

đi làm
→ literally “go work” = go to work / go to one’s job
Focus: going to your place of employment / working at your job.
làm việc
→ literally “do work / work”
Focus: the activity of working, doing tasks.

Compare:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần.
I don’t go to work on weekends. (no scheduled job shifts)
Tôi không làm việc vào cuối tuần.
I don’t work (= I don’t do work) on weekends. (more about not doing any work, possibly including freelance/extra work)

Both are possible; đi làm sounds more like “go to my job”.

How would I say “I don’t go to work on the weekend, but I sometimes work from home”?

One natural translation:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần, nhưng thỉnh thoảng tôi làm việc ở nhà.

Breakdown:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần – I don’t go to work on weekends
nhưng – but
thỉnh thoảng – sometimes
tôi làm việc ở nhà – I work at home / from home

You could also drop the second tôi in casual speech:

Tôi không đi làm vào cuối tuần, nhưng thỉnh thoảng làm việc ở nhà.