Tôi tưới cây.

I water the plant.

Breakdown of Tôi tưới cây.

• tôi: I
• cây: the plant or tree
• tưới: to water plants

Questions & Answers about Tôi tưới cây.

What does tôi mean, and is it always the word for I?

Tôi means I, but it is not the only way to say I in Vietnamese.

Vietnamese pronouns depend a lot on age, relationship, and social situation. Tôi is a neutral, fairly polite choice, so it is very common in textbooks and safe in many situations.

In real life, people may use other words for I, such as:

• mình
• em
• anh
• chị
• con
• cháu

So tôi is correct here, but not the only possibility.

Is the word order the same as in English?

Yes. This sentence follows the very common Subject + Verb + Object pattern:

• Tôi = subject
• tưới = verb
• cây = object

So it works just like I water plants in English.

That makes this sentence quite straightforward for an English speaker.

What exactly does tưới mean?

Tưới is a verb meaning to water, to sprinkle, or to irrigate, depending on context.

In Tôi tưới cây, it means to water plants/a plant.

A useful distinction is: