# Left half done in Vietnamese (B1)

> After a verb, dở means it was started and not finished: xây dở (half built), đọc dở (half read), làm dở (half done). Căn nhà xây dở rồi bỏ đó mấy năm.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/do-half-done/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**half done, in the middle of**

Pattern: `[verb] + dở (+ [object]) · đang + [verb] + dở + thì + [event]`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

After a verb, *dở* means it was started and not finished: *xây dở* (half built), *đọc dở* (half read), *làm dở* (half done). *Căn nhà xây dở rồi bỏ đó mấy năm.* The house was left half built for years.

With *đang … thì*, it says what you were in the middle of when something cut in: *Em đang làm dở cái báo cáo thì cúp điện.* I was halfway through the report when the power went off. *Bỏ dở* means to give up partway: *Đừng bỏ dở giữa chừng nha.* *Dở dang* describes anything left unfinished: *công việc dở dang*, unfinished work.

Careful in Saigon, where *dở* on its own is the everyday word for "bad": *Phim này dở quá* (this film is awful), *Em hát dở lắm* (I'm a terrible singer). So in casual talk Saigon speakers often say *nửa chừng* (halfway) instead: *Phim dở quá, em coi nửa chừng rồi tắt.* You'll hear *đọc dở* and *ăn dở* more in Hà Nội.

*Xong* says you got to the end: *làm xong*, done. *Dở* says you stopped before it. To finish off what's left, Saigon says *làm cho xong* (in Hà Nội, *làm nốt*). *Đang* and *trong khi* say an action was going on; *dở* adds that it was left in the middle.

## Examples

- Saigon: Căn nhà xây dở rồi bỏ đó mấy năm. | Hà Nội: Ngôi nhà xây dở rồi bỏ đấy mấy năm. — The house was left half built for years.
- Saigon: Em đang làm dở cái báo cáo thì cúp điện. | Hà Nội: Em đang làm dở cái báo cáo thì mất điện. — I was halfway through the report when the power went off.
- Saigon: Đừng bỏ dở giữa chừng nha em. | Hà Nội: Đừng bỏ dở giữa chừng nhé em. — Don't give up halfway.
- Saigon: Phim dở quá, em coi nửa chừng rồi tắt. | Hà Nội: Phim dở quá, em xem nửa chừng rồi tắt. — The film was so bad I turned it off halfway.

## Compare

- [Finished doing: verb + xong](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xong-finished/): finish doing
- [While: trong khi, and khi … đang for an interrupted action](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/trong-khi-while/): while
- [Finishing off the rest: verb + cho hết, cho xong / nốt](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/not-finish-off/): do the rest, finish off

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Have left, still to go: còn + noun, còn … nữa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/con-left/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [On and on, at long last: mãi, mãi … mới](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/mai-on-and-on/)

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