Tôi thích rau thơm.

• Tôi = I
• thích = like
• rau thơm = herbs or aromatic herbs/leafy herbs

So the structure is very straightforward:

subject + verb + object
Tôi + thích + rau thơm

This is one reason the sentence feels quite easy for English speakers.

Because Vietnamese often uses a basic Subject–Verb–Object order, just like English.

So:

• Tôi = subject
• thích = verb
• rau thơm = object

That means Tôi thích rau thơm matches English word order very closely: I like herbs.

Rau thơm is a common Vietnamese expression for fragrant edible herbs, especially the fresh herbs often eaten with Vietnamese food.

A useful breakdown is:

• rau = vegetables/greens
• thơm = fragrant, aromatic

Together, rau thơm does not just mean any vegetable that smells nice. It is a normal set phrase for culinary herbs such as mint, basil, cilantro, and similar fresh greens.

So it is better to understand rau thơm as a vocabulary item, not just as a word-for-word combination.

In Vietnamese, descriptive words often come after the noun.

So instead of English-style fragrant herbs, Vietnamese says:

• rau thơm = literally vegetables/herbs fragrant

This noun + description pattern is very common in Vietnamese. For example, adjectives often follow the noun they describe.

Vietnamese does not use articles like a or the in the same way English does, and nouns do not usually change form for plural.

So rau thơm can mean:

• herbs
• some herbs
• the herbs

The exact meaning depends on context.

If you want to be more specific, Vietnamese can add extra words, but the basic noun itself stays the same.

A simple learner-friendly guide is:

• Tôi ≈ toy
• thích ≈ somewhat like teek, but shorter and with the Vietnamese th
• rau ≈ somewhat like zow in many southern accents, and closer to row/zau depending on region
• thơm ≈ roughly thuhm with a Vietnamese vowel that does not match English exactly

A few important points:

• Vietnamese pronunciation changes by region, especially in the north and south.
• The vowels in tôi and thơm are not exactly the same as English vowels.
• It is best to learn the tones together with the words, not separately.

The tones are:

• Tôi: no tone mark, so it has the ngang tone, a level tone
• thích: has the sắc tone, a rising tone
• rau: no tone mark, so ngang
• thơm: no tone mark, so ngang

So only thích carries a marked rising tone here.

For beginners, it can help to notice that Vietnamese tone marks are part of the spelling, not optional decoration.

Thích usually means to like.

Depending on context, it can sometimes feel stronger than English like, especially in casual speech, but it is generally safer to translate it as like rather than love.

If you want a stronger emotional meaning like romantic love, Vietnamese normally uses other words, such as yêu.

So in this sentence, thích is the normal, natural verb for liking a food or ingredient.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

It sounds like a simple general statement:
I like herbs / I like aromatic herbs

In everyday speech, Vietnamese often drops subjects when they are already understood, so someone might also just say:

• Thích rau thơm.

But with tôi, the sentence is complete, clear, and very good for learners.

Yes, sometimes.

Vietnamese often omits pronouns when the context makes the subject obvious. So in conversation, if it is already clear that you are talking about yourself, you might hear:

• Thích rau thơm.

However, for a full basic sentence, especially when learning, Tôi thích rau thơm is better because it is explicit and easy to understand.

No, not here.

Classifiers are usually used when talking about a specific counted noun, especially with numbers or demonstratives. But rau thơm here is a general object, so no classifier is needed.

For example, in a sentence like I like herbs, Vietnamese simply says:

• Tôi thích rau thơm.

No extra classifier is necessary.

You add không before the verb:

• Tôi không thích rau thơm. = I don’t like herbs.

This is a very common Vietnamese negation pattern:

subject + không + verb + object

So:

• Tôi thích rau thơm. = I like herbs.
• Tôi không thích rau thơm. = I don’t like herbs.

Usually rau thơm refers to herbs as a group, not one specific herb.

If you want to name a specific herb, Vietnamese often uses a more precise term, for example:

• húng quế = Thai basil
• bạc hà = mint
• ngò rí / rau mùi = cilantro/coriander

So Tôi thích rau thơm sounds general, while naming one herb would make the sentence more specific.