Nhân viên cân bưu kiện.

It follows the very common Vietnamese pattern:

subject + verb + object

So here you have:

• nhân viên = the employee / staff member
• cân = weigh
• bưu kiện = parcel / package

So the structure is:

Nhân viên → the person doing the action
cân → the action
bưu kiện → the thing being weighed

In that sense, the word order is pleasantly similar to English: The employee weighs the parcel.

Vietnamese often leaves articles unspoken unless they are needed for clarity.

So Nhân viên cân bưu kiện can mean things like:

• The employee weighs the parcel
• An employee weighs a parcel
• Employees weigh parcels

Which one is intended depends on context.

If you want to be more specific, Vietnamese can add words for that, for example:

• một nhân viên = an employee
• nhân viên đó = that employee
• bưu kiện này = this parcel

But in a short standalone sentence, leaving those out is completely normal.

By itself, nhân viên does not tell you clearly whether it is singular or plural.

Depending on context, it could be understood as:

• an employee
• the employee
• employees

Vietnamese often does not mark number unless it matters.

If you want to make it clearly plural, you could say:

• các nhân viên = the employees / employees

If you want one specific employee:

• một nhân viên = one employee / an employee

So in this sentence, number is simply left open.

You know from position and context.

In this sentence, cân comes after the subject nhân viên and before the object bưu kiện, so it is functioning as a verb:

• Nhân viên cân bưu kiện = The employee weighs the parcel.

But cân can also be a noun meaning scale / weighing scale, depending on context. For example:

• Cái cân ở đâu? = Where is the scale?

So Vietnamese often relies on sentence structure to show a word’s role.

Yes — and this is a very common question for English speakers.

Vietnamese verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.
So cân stays cân.

Without extra markers, Nhân viên cân bưu kiện is tense-neutral and could be understood from context as:

• The employee weighs the parcel
• The employee is weighing the parcel
• The employee weighed the parcel

If you want to make time or aspect clearer, Vietnamese often adds words such as:

• đang = currently, in the process of
  
  • Nhân viên đang cân bưu kiện. = The employee is weighing the parcel.
• đã = already, past
  
  • Nhân viên đã cân bưu kiện. = The employee weighed / has weighed the parcel.
• sẽ = will
  
  • Nhân viên sẽ cân bưu kiện. = The employee will weigh the parcel.

It is best understood as one lexical item made up of two written syllables.

This is very common in Vietnamese spelling: spaces usually separate syllables, not necessarily English-style “words.”

So:

• bưu kiện = parcel / package

Even though it is written with a space, learners usually treat it as a single vocabulary item.

The same is true for many Vietnamese compounds, including:

• nhân viên = employee
• bưu điện = post office

So yes, bưu kiện is written in two syllables, but you should learn it as one unit of meaning.

Not in this sentence.

Since bưu kiện is being used as a general direct object, no classifier is required:

• Nhân viên cân bưu kiện.

Classifiers are more likely when you specify number or identify a particular item. For example:

• một bưu kiện = a parcel / one parcel

In many everyday contexts, Vietnamese can use the noun directly without adding a classifier, especially in short, neutral sentences like this one.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

nhân viên cân bưu kiện
≈ nyun vyeen gun boo kee-en

But that is only approximate, because Vietnamese pronunciation depends heavily on tones and vowel quality.

A few important points:

• nh sounds somewhat like the ny in canyon
• viên is roughly like vee-en, but smoother as one unit
• cân has a central vowel that does not match English exactly
• kiện has a nặng tone, which is short and heavy/glottalized in many accents

If you are learning tones, note that most syllables here are level in spelling, except kiện, which carries a marked tone.

Yes, it is grammatical and natural, especially as a:

• simple description
• caption
• short example sentence
• workplace instruction context

That said, in real conversation Vietnamese often adds more context, for example:

• Nhân viên đang cân bưu kiện. = The employee is weighing the parcel.
• Nhân viên này cân bưu kiện. = This employee weighs the parcel.
• Nhân viên cân bưu kiện cho khách. = The employee weighs the parcel for the customer.

So the original sentence is fine, but it is also a very bare, textbook-style sentence.

Because bưu kiện is the direct object of the verb cân.

In Vietnamese, many verbs take their object directly, just as in English:

• cân bưu kiện = weigh the parcel
• ăn cơm = eat rice / eat a meal
• đọc sách = read a book

So no extra word like to, for, or on is needed here. The verb connects directly to what is being weighed.