# Naming the person softens a command in Vietnamese (A2)

> A verb on its own is a command: Ngồi xuống! Sit down! It's blunt, the way you'd talk to a small child or shout in a hurry.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/command-with-address/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**commands with an address word**

Pattern: `[person] (ơi), + [verb] … · [verb] + [object]! (blunt)`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday · Medium: spoken

Situations: [Shops and services](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/?use=service)

A verb on its own is a command: *Ngồi xuống!* Sit down! It's blunt, the way you'd talk to a small child or shout in a hurry. In everyday speech, Vietnamese softens a request by naming the person first, with the same word you always call them: *Chị chờ em chút nha.* Wait for me a moment, OK?

To get someone's attention first, add *ơi* after their word, then a pause: *Em ơi, tính tiền!* Excuse me, the bill please. This is how you call a waiter, a shopkeeper or a friend across the room. A name works too: *Lan ơi, lại đây!* Lan, come here!

Most requests also end with a softener: *đi* to urge (*Anh ngồi đi*), or *nha* to ask nicely (in Hà Nội, *nhé*). With the person's word and a softener, a request sounds warm rather than bossy. Parents talk to children the same way: *Con ăn cơm đi.*

A bare verb is fine on signs, in instructions and in an emergency. With people, start with their word.

## A common mistake

✗ Đưa tôi cái này.

✓ Chị ơi, đưa em cái này nha.

On its own, a verb sounds like an order. Name the person first, use your own word for "me", and add *nha*, and it becomes a friendly request.

## Examples

- Saigon: Chị chờ em chút nha. | Hà Nội: Chị đợi em một lát nhé. — Wait for me a moment, OK?
- Em ơi, tính tiền! — Excuse me, can we have the bill? (to a young waiter)
- Con ăn cơm đi. — Eat your dinner, sweetheart.
- Ngồi xuống! — Sit down!

## Compare

- [Go on, do it / let's: verb + đi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/di-urge/): do it! / let's

Previous in Can, must, should, want: [Must, have to: phải + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/phai-must/)
Next in Can, must, should, want: [Need (to): cần](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/can-need/)

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