Tôi thích màu xanh.

I like the color green.

Breakdown of Tôi thích màu xanh.

• tôi: I
• thích: to like
• màu: the color
• xanh: green

Questions & Answers about Tôi thích màu xanh.

What does each word in Tôi thích màu xanh literally mean?

Word by word:

• tôi – I / me (a neutral, fairly polite way to say “I”)
• thích – to like / to be fond of
• màu – color
• xanh – literally blue/green (a “cool” color; Vietnamese groups blue and green under one basic word)

So a very literal gloss is: I like color blue/green.

Why do you say màu xanh instead of just xanh? Could you say Tôi thích xanh?

• màu means color, so màu xanh means the color blue/green.
• In this sentence, you’re talking about a color itself, so màu is natural and common.

You can say Tôi thích xanh, but:

• It sounds more like “I like things that are blue/green” or “I like blue/green (as a quality),” often implying blue/green objects, clothes, etc.
• Tôi thích màu xanh is the safest, most textbook way to say I like the color blue (or green).

Does xanh mean blue or green?

xanh by itself is ambiguous; it’s the basic word that covers both blue and green.

To be specific, Vietnamese usually adds another word:

• xanh dương / xanh da trời – blue (sky-blue)
• xanh lá / xanh lá cây – green (leaf-green)

So:

• Tôi thích màu xanh dương. – I like the color blue.
• Tôi thích màu xanh lá cây. – I like the color green.

In many casual contexts, màu xanh will be understood from context (e.g. sea, sky → blue; plants → green).

Is the word order in Tôi thích màu xanh similar to English?

Yes. Vietnamese is also basically Subject – Verb – Object (SVO):

• Tôi (subject) – I
• thích (verb) – like
• màu xanh (object) – the color blue/green

So the pattern matches English I like X.

Can I leave out tôi and just say Thích màu xanh?

Yes, sometimes.

• In casual conversation, especially when the subject is obvious from context, Vietnamese often drops the subject pronoun.
• Thích màu xanh. could be understood as (I) like blue or (you) like blue, depending on context.

However:

• As a learner, it’s safer and clearer to keep the subject: Tôi thích màu xanh.
• Dropping tôi is common in quick, informal replies or when answering a question like Bạn thích màu gì? (What color do you like?) – you might answer Màu xanh. or Thích màu xanh.

Does thích change form for past, future, or different subjects, like English verbs do?

No. thích never conjugates:

• tôi thích – I like
• bạn thích – you like
• anh ấy thích – he likes
• họ thích – they like

Same verb form for all subjects.

For time (past, present, future), Vietnamese normally uses time words or particles, not verb changes:

• Hôm qua tôi thích màu xanh. – Yesterday I liked blue.
• Mai tôi vẫn thích màu xanh. – Tomorrow I will still like blue.

The verb thích itself stays the same.

How do I say I don’t like blue in Vietnamese?

You negate thích with không placed before the verb:

• Tôi không thích màu xanh. – I don’t like blue/green.

Structure:
Subject + không + verb + object
Tôi + không + thích + màu xanh.

How can I say I really like blue or I like blue a lot?

You can add intensifiers:

1. rất (very) before the verb:

   • Tôi rất thích màu xanh. – I really like blue.

2. lắm (very much / a lot), usually at the end:

   • Tôi thích màu xanh lắm. – I like blue a lot / I really like blue.

You can combine them for emphasis in speech:

• Tôi rất thích màu xanh lắm. – very strong, emotional emphasis (more colloquial).

Is tôi always the right word for “I”? What about anh, em, chị, etc.?

tôi is:

• Neutral and polite
• Safe with strangers, in formal situations, in writing, or when you’re not sure which pronoun to use

But in real-life conversation, Vietnamese often uses kinship-like pronouns that depend on age, gender, and relationship:

• em – I (when you’re younger / lower status relative to the listener)
• anh – I (adult male, talking to someone a bit younger or in a certain relationship)
• chị – I (adult female, similar idea to anh)

For a learner, Tôi thích màu xanh. is perfectly correct and safe. Later, you can adjust tôi to em/anh/chị depending on who you’re talking to.

What do the little marks (diacritics) in tôi, thích, and màu mean? Are they tones?

Vietnamese uses diacritics for two things:

1. Vowel quality (different vowel sounds)
2. Tones

In this sentence:

• tôi – the mark on ô (the little ^) shows a different vowel quality, not a tone. The tone here is mid-level (no tone mark).
• thích – í has the sắc tone (rising tone).
• màu – à has the huyền tone (falling tone).
• xanh – no tone mark, so it has the mid-level tone.

So:

• Some marks (like the hook on ơ, the ^ on ô) change the vowel.
• Some marks (acute, grave, hook above, tilde, dot below) indicate tone.
• Sometimes one vowel will carry both a vowel mark and a tone mark; you learn them together as you go.

How would I say My favorite color is blue instead of I like blue?

Two common ways:

1. Using màu yêu thích (favorite color):

   • Màu yêu thích của tôi là màu xanh.
     – My favorite color is blue/green.

2. More casual:

   • Tôi thích màu xanh nhất.
     – I like blue best / Blue is the color I like most.

Both are natural; the second is very common in speech.