Bát và đĩa ở trên bàn.

Both are possible, but they focus on the information differently.

• Bát và đĩa ở trên bàn starts with bát và đĩa and says where they are. It is like The bowl and plate are on the table.
• Ở trên bàn có bát và đĩa starts with the location and introduces what is there. It is more like On the table, there is a bowl and a plate.

So the sentence you have is a normal subject + location pattern.

Ở often marks location and can mean something like to be at / in / on depending on context.

In ở trên bàn:

• ở = located at
• trên bàn = on the table

So together, ở trên bàn means is/are on the table.

In simple location sentences, ở does a job similar to be plus a location phrase in English.

Yes, trên means on / above, but ở helps show that this is a location statement.

• trên bàn = on the table
• ở trên bàn = located on the table

In everyday Vietnamese, people sometimes say just trên bàn when the meaning is clear, but ở trên bàn is fully natural and explicit.

English needs are: The bowl and plate are on the table.

Vietnamese does not always use a separate verb equivalent to English to be in this kind of sentence. Instead, location is often expressed with ở.

So:

• English: The bowl and plate are on the table
• Vietnamese: Bát và đĩa ở trên bàn

There is no missing word; this is the normal Vietnamese structure.

Vietnamese usually does not require articles like a, an, or the.

So bát can mean:

• a bowl
• the bowl
• bowls in the right context

And đĩa can mean:

• a plate
• the plate
• plates

Context tells you which meaning is intended. That is very common in Vietnamese.

Vietnamese nouns are often not marked for singular or plural unless the speaker wants to make it clear.

So Bát và đĩa here most naturally means:

• the bowl and the plate or
• bowls and plates

But in this specific sentence, many learners will understand it as the bowl and the plate because it sounds like two items being located.

If the speaker wants to make plurality clearer, they can add words such as:

• những
• numbers
• classifiers

Not necessarily.

Vietnamese classifiers are common, but they are not used in every sentence. In a simple statement like this, bát và đĩa is fine.

You might also hear:

• Cái bát và cái đĩa ở trên bàn.

That is also correct. Adding cái can sound a little more concrete or specific, but it is not required here.

Và means and.

So:

• bát và đĩa = bowl and plate

It is the normal way to join two nouns. In some casual contexts, Vietnamese can list items without và, but in a basic learner sentence like this, và is the standard and clearest choice.

Yes. Bàn can mean table or desk, depending on context.

So trên bàn could mean:

• on the table
• on the desk

If the meaning shown to you is table, then that is the intended meaning here.

A careful approximate pronunciation is:

• bát — like baht with a high rising tone
• và — like va with a low falling tone
• đĩa — roughly dee-uh with a dipping/rising tone
• ở — like a short vowel somewhat similar to uh with a broken-rising quality
• trên — roughly chane or train without the final r, with a level tone
• bàn — like bahn with a low falling tone

A rough full pronunciation might be:

baht va dee-uh uh chane bahn

But that is only approximate. Vietnamese tones are very important, so listening to native audio is much better than relying on English spelling.

Sometimes yes, especially in short, informal, or headline-like speech. But Bát và đĩa ở trên bàn is clearer and more standard for learners.

Compare:

• Bát và đĩa ở trên bàn. = The bowl and plate are on the table.
• Bát và đĩa trên bàn. = can be understood, but feels more reduced

So as a learner, using ở trên is a safe choice.