Lá cây héo rồi.

Yes, word-for-word it is roughly:

• lá cây = plant/tree leaves, or the leaves of a plant/tree
• héo = wilted, withered
• rồi = already / now / has happened

Vietnamese often follows a simple pattern like:

• subject/topic + predicate + sentence particle

So here:

• Lá cây = the leaves
• héo rồi = have wilted / are wilted now

So the whole sentence means something like The leaves have wilted or The plant's leaves are wilted now.

Lá means leaf.
Cây means tree or plant, depending on context.

Together, lá cây literally means plant leaves / tree leaves or the leaves of a plant/tree.

In natural English, you usually would not translate it word-for-word as leaf tree. Instead, think of it as:

• the leaves
• the plant's leaves
• the leaves of the tree/plant

The exact choice depends on context.

In Vietnamese, the main noun often comes first, and another noun after it can specify what kind of thing it is or what it belongs to.

So:

• lá cây = leaves of a plant/tree

Here, lá is the main noun, and cây narrows it down.

If you said cây lá, that would not normally express the same idea. It does not work as the usual way to say leaves of a tree/plant.

It can be singular or plural, depending on context. Vietnamese nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural.

So lá cây could mean:

• the leaf of the plant
• the leaves of the plant
• plant leaves in general

In this sentence, English will often translate it as the leaves, because that sounds most natural with wilted.

If you want to make the number clearer, Vietnamese can add words such as:

• một chiếc lá = one leaf
• những lá cây = leaves
• các lá cây = the leaves / leaves

It can behave like both, and this is very common in Vietnamese.

Héo means to wilt or wilted. In a sentence like this, it works as a stative verb: it describes the state of the subject without needing a separate word for is/are.

So:

• Lá cây héo = The leaves are wilted / The leaves wilt

Vietnamese often does this with words describing states or qualities.

Because Vietnamese usually does not use a copula like English is/are before adjectives or stative verbs.

English says:

• The leaves are wilted

Vietnamese simply says:

• Lá cây héo

This is completely normal. The idea of are is understood from the structure.

Here, rồi shows that the change has already happened or that the situation is now the case.

So:

• Lá cây héo = The leaves are wilted / The leaves wilt
• Lá cây héo rồi = The leaves have wilted already / The leaves are wilted now

Sentence-final rồi often adds a sense of:

• completion
• change of state
• new situation

So it is not just a dictionary word meaning already every time; it also gives the feeling that something has now become true.

Yes.

• Lá cây héo. = The leaves are wilted / Leaves wilt.
• Lá cây héo rồi. = The leaves have wilted already / are wilted now.

Without rồi, the sentence is more neutral and just states the condition.
With rồi, it sounds more like a completed change or a newly noticed result.

Yes, you can.

• đã often marks that something happened in the past or has occurred
• rồi can mark completion or change of state

So:

• Lá cây héo rồi = The leaves have wilted already / are wilted now
• Lá cây đã héo rồi = The leaves have already wilted

Using both đã and rồi is possible, but in many everyday situations, rồi alone is enough.
Vietnamese often avoids adding extra markers unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

It can mean either tree or plant, depending on context.

That is why lá cây can be understood as:

• tree leaves
• plant leaves
• the leaves of the plant

If the broader conversation is about a houseplant, you would probably understand cây as plant.
If the conversation is about a tree outside, then tree is more natural.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Lá ≈ lah with a rising tone
• cây ≈ somewhat like guhy or kuh-y, with a level tone
• héo ≈ heh-oh with a rising tone on the first vowel group
• rồi ≈ in Northern Vietnamese, roughly zoy; in Southern Vietnamese, roughly yoy, with a falling-ish tone pattern

A few important pronunciation notes:

• lá has the sắc tone
• cây has the ngang tone
• héo has the sắc tone
• rồi has the huyền tone

Exact pronunciation varies by region, especially r in rồi.

They are related but not the same.

• héo = wilted, drooping, limp from lack of water or freshness
• khô = dry

A leaf can be:

• héo when it has wilted
• khô when it has become dry

Sometimes both can apply, but héo is the more natural word for leaves or flowers losing freshness and drooping.

Yes, but it is slightly different.

• Lá cây héo rồi = The leaves have wilted.
• Lá bị héo rồi = The leaves got wilted / have become wilted.

The word bị often suggests that something happened to the subject, sometimes with a slightly negative or affected feeling. It is not always necessary.

For a simple natural description, Lá cây héo rồi is often better.

They focus on different things:

• Lá cây héo rồi = The leaves have wilted.
• Cây héo rồi = The plant/tree has wilted.

So the first talks specifically about the leaves, while the second talks about the whole plant.

You could say just lá if the context is already clear.

For example:

• Lá héo rồi. = The leaves have wilted.

Adding cây makes it clearer that you mean plant leaves rather than some other kind of leaf-shaped thing. Vietnamese often includes or omits this kind of detail depending on context.