Double-checking what you just heard: hả / à

Add hả or à to the end of a statement to check something you've just heard or noticed: Em nghỉ việc hả? You quit your job? It often carries a little surprise, like "So you …?" or "…, really?" in English.

In Saigon hả is the everyday choice and à is common too. In Hà Nội people mostly say à. Both are casual. On its own, Hả? means "Huh?" and can sound blunt, so with someone older add their address word after it: Ba mươi ngàn hả cô? Don't confuse à with ạ, the polite ending for older people; ạ doesn't ask anything. And at the start of a sentence, À means "oh" or "by the way": À, ra vậy. Oh, I see.

This is also how you ask about something negative. Có … không can't hold a second không, so "You're not going tomorrow?" is Mai anh không đi hả?

To answer, agree with ừ (to a friend or someone younger), dạ (to someone older) or đúng rồi. Disagree with không or, in Saigon, đâu có. With a negative check, ừ or dạ agrees with the statement: Mai anh không đi hả? – Ừ. means "Right, I'm not going."

Phải không checks a guess calmly. Hả and à react to news you've only just heard, and expect you to confirm it. Chứ is different again: it assumes the answer is yes, as in "You're coming, of course?"