Lan giống mẹ.

In this sentence, giống means to resemble / to be like.

Vietnamese words do not always fit neatly into English grammar categories. Here, giống behaves like a stative verb or predicate word, so Vietnamese does not need a separate verb like to be.

So:

• Lan giống mẹ = Lan resembles her mother / Lan is like her mother

You should think of giống as the main predicate of the sentence.

Vietnamese often leaves out the verb to be when English would require it.

In Lan giống mẹ, the word giống already carries the idea of resembles / is like, so no extra is is needed.

Compare:

• English: Lan is like her mother
• Vietnamese: Lan giống mẹ

This is very normal in Vietnamese.

Vietnamese often omits possessive words like her, his, or my when the meaning is obvious from context.

So mẹ literally means mother / mom, but in this sentence it is naturally understood as her mother, because the subject is Lan.

So:

• Lan giống mẹ naturally means Lan resembles her mother

If needed, Vietnamese can be more explicit, for example:

• Lan giống mẹ của cô ấy = Lan resembles her mother

But that is usually unnecessary and can sound less natural if the context is already clear.

It can feel like either, depending on how you translate it.

• mẹ is the everyday Vietnamese word for mother / mom
• In many contexts, mom is a more natural English translation
• In more neutral or formal explanation, mother is also fine

So Lan giống mẹ could be understood as:

• Lan looks like her mom
• Lan resembles her mother

Both are acceptable.

Not necessarily.

giống can refer to resemblance in:

• appearance
• personality
• habits
• general character

So without context, Lan giống mẹ can mean:

• Lan looks like her mother
• Lan is like her mother in personality
• Lan takes after her mother generally

If you want to make it specifically about appearance, Vietnamese often says:

• Lan trông giống mẹ = Lan looks like her mother

The basic order is:

• Lan = subject
• giống = predicate
• mẹ = the person she resembles

So the pattern is roughly:

• Subject + giống + person/thing

Examples:

• Con giống bố = The child resembles the father
• Cô ấy giống chị gái = She resembles her older sister

This is more natural than trying to match English word-for-word.

Yes, giống với can be used, but in many everyday sentences, just giống is more natural and more concise.

So:

• Lan giống mẹ = very natural
• Lan giống với mẹ = also possible, but often less common in simple speech

Learners should get comfortable with the shorter pattern first:

• A giống B

No, that would not be natural.

You should not add là here.

Because giống already functions as the predicate, the correct sentence is:

• Lan giống mẹ

not:

• Lan là giống mẹ

A useful rule for learners is: when giống means to resemble / to be like, it normally stands directly after the subject.

A rough guide is:

• Lan — level tone
• giống — rising-broken tone
• mẹ — heavy low tone

Very approximate English-style help:

• Lan ≈ lahn
• giống ≈ something like zyawng or yawng, depending on accent
• mẹ ≈ meh with a low, clipped tone

Important notes:

• Vietnamese tones matter a lot
• giống and mẹ both have marked tones, so they should not be pronounced flat
• Exact pronunciation varies by region, especially North vs South

If you are learning standard Northern Vietnamese, pay special attention to the tones on giống and mẹ.

Here, Lan is a female given name.

In Vietnamese, many personal names also have dictionary meanings. Lan can refer to orchid, but in this sentence you should treat it simply as the person’s name.

So:

• Lan giống mẹ = Lan resembles her mother

There is no need to interpret Lan by its dictionary meaning here.

No, not by itself.

Vietnamese often does not mark tense unless it needs to. So Lan giống mẹ can mean something like a general fact:

• Lan resembles her mother
• Lan is like her mother

If you want to place it in time, Vietnamese can add time words or markers, for example:

• Lan bây giờ giống mẹ hơn = Lan now resembles her mother more
• Hồi nhỏ, Lan đã giống mẹ rồi = When she was little, Lan already resembled her mother

So the basic sentence is tenseless unless context adds time.

Yes, that is often a very natural English translation.

Depending on context, these can all work:

• Lan resembles her mother
• Lan is like her mother
• Lan takes after her mother

Takes after is especially natural when talking about family resemblance in looks or character.