# Được biết: it is understood that in Vietnamese (B2)

> Được biết opens a sentence in a news report to add background without saying exactly who supplied it: Được biết, nạn nhân là công nhân một công ty may…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duoc-biet/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**it is understood that**

Pattern: `Được biết, [statement]`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: formal · Medium: written

Typed without accents: duoc biet

*Được biết* opens a sentence in a news report to add background without saying exactly who supplied it: *Được biết, nạn nhân là công nhân một công ty may gần đó* (it is understood that the victim worked at a nearby garment factory). A comma and a full statement follow. English uses "it is understood that", "reportedly", or often nothing at all.

Reporters use it for facts gathered from the authorities, the people involved or earlier reports, usually near the end of an article: *Được biết, đây là lần thứ hai …* (this is reportedly the second time …). The information is presented as known, not as rumour.

*Được biết* names no source. *Cho biết* (said) is used when there is one: *Ông Nam cho biết …*. And *được cho là* (is believed to) presents something as an unconfirmed belief.

Don't mix it up with *được biết đến* (be known), which describes a person or a place: *Đà Lạt được biết đến là thành phố ngàn hoa* (Đà Lạt is known as the city of a thousand flowers). There *được biết đến* is the main verb; *Được biết,* with its comma, stands outside the sentence.

You won't hear it in conversation. To pass on something you've heard, say *nghe nói*: *Nghe nói quán đó đóng cửa rồi* (I heard that place has closed).

## Examples

- Được biết, nạn nhân là công nhân của một công ty may gần đó. — The victim is understood to have worked at a nearby garment factory.
- Được biết, đây là lần thứ ba trong năm khu vực này bị ngập sâu. — This is reportedly the third time this year the area has been badly flooded.
- Được biết, công trình khởi công từ năm 2022 nhưng nhiều lần chậm tiến độ. — The project reportedly broke ground in 2022 but has fallen behind schedule several times.
- Phú Quốc được biết đến là điểm du lịch biển hàng đầu cả nước. — Phú Quốc is known as the country's leading beach destination.

## Compare

- [Reporting what someone said: cho biết, khẳng định, nhấn mạnh](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cho-biet-reporting/): said / stated

Previous in News, official and academic writing: [It is necessary to (no subject): cần + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/can-impersonal/)
Next in News, official and academic writing: [It seems (written): dường như](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duong-nhu/)

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