# Bao giờ / khi nào: when? in Vietnamese (A1)

> Khi nào and bao giờ both mean "when". Where you put them tells the listener whether you mean the future or the past.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bao-gio-when/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**when?**

Pattern: `Bao giờ / Khi nào + [person] + [verb]? (future) · [person] + [verb] + bao giờ / khi nào? (usually past)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: bao gio, khi nao

Saigon: khi nào; bao giờ | Hà Nội: bao giờ; khi nào

Variants:

- lúc nào
- hồi nào (past, Southern speech)
- chừng nào (future, Southern speech)
- Bao giờ thì …? (emphatic, can sound impatient)

*Khi nào* and *bao giờ* both mean "when". Where you put them tells the listener whether you mean the future or the past.

At the start, they ask about something still to come: *Khi nào em đi Đà Lạt?* When are you going to Đà Lạt? At the end, they usually ask about something that has already happened: *Anh về khi nào?* When did you get back? The verb itself never changes, so the position does the work that "are going" and "did" do in English. With a word that points ahead, like *định* (plan to) or *sẽ* (will), the end can ask about the future too: *Anh định về khi nào?* When are you planning to go back?

In Saigon *khi nào* is the everyday word, and in Hà Nội *bao giờ* is more common. Both are understood everywhere and follow the same rule. In casual Saigon speech you'll also hear *hồi nào* for the past and *chừng nào* for the future. *Lúc nào*, "at what moment", works the same way.

The answer is a time word, usually in the same place: *Tuần sau em đi.* Next week. *Anh về hôm qua.* Yesterday.

Not every *khi nào* or *bao giờ* asks a question: *Khi nào rảnh thì gọi anh nha.* Call me when you're free. And *chưa bao giờ* means never: *Em chưa bao giờ đi Đà Lạt.* I've never been to Đà Lạt.

For a clock time, ask *mấy giờ*. For how long something lasts, ask *bao lâu*.

## A common mistake

✗ Khi nào anh tới Việt Nam?

✓ Anh tới Việt Nam khi nào?

Asked of someone who is already here, the first one means "When will you come to Vietnam?" For the past, *khi nào* goes at the end.

## Examples

- Saigon: Khi nào em đi Đà Lạt? | Hà Nội: Bao giờ em đi Đà Lạt? — When are you going to Đà Lạt?
- Dạ, tuần sau em đi. — Next week.
- Saigon: Anh về khi nào? | Hà Nội: Anh về bao giờ? — When did you get back?
- Anh về hôm qua. — I got back yesterday.

## Words in this pattern

- [bao giờ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bao-gio/#s_bao_gio_when): when
- [khi nào](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/khi-nao/#s_khi_nao): when

## Compare

- [How long? bao lâu after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bao-lau-how-long/): how long (duration)?
- [At what time? mấy giờ, first or last](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/may-gio-what-time/): what time …?
- [Question words stay where the answer goes: Anh đi đâu?, Ai đi?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/question-word-in-place/): no moving the question word
- [Back when: hồi + time (hồi nhỏ, hồi đó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hoi-back-when/): back when, at the time of

Previous in Asking questions: [What? gì after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/gi-what/)
Next in Asking questions: [Where to? đi đâu, no ở](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/di-dau-where-to/)

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