# A + gì mà + A in Vietnamese (B1)

> When someone uses a word you disagree with, you can throw it back: the word, then gì mà, then the word again. Mắc gì mà mắc! Expensive?

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/gi-ma-reject/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**X? not at all! / enough X-ing!**

Pattern: `[adjective or verb] + gì mà + [the same word]! · [adjective] + gì (đâu)!`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday · Medium: spoken

Typed without accents: gi ma

When someone uses a word you disagree with, you can throw it back: the word, then *gì mà*, then the word again. *Mắc gì mà mắc!* Expensive? It isn't expensive at all! (in Hà Nội, *Đắt gì mà đắt!*). The reason often follows: *Mệt gì mà mệt, mới đi có chút xíu.* Tired? We've barely walked.

It works with verbs too, usually to stop someone doing something: *Ngủ gì mà ngủ, dậy đi học!* Enough sleeping, get up for school!

The shorter form, the word and *gì đâu*, is softer. It's the modest way to answer a compliment: *Em giỏi tiếng Việt quá!* *Dạ, giỏi gì đâu chị.* Oh, not really. With people you respect, keep to this one; the full form can sound impatient.

*Không mắc chút nào* simply states a fact, and *Đâu có mắc!* denies what someone said. *Mắc gì mà mắc!* goes further: it throws back their very word.

*… làm gì* (what's the point of …) also talks someone out of something. *Lo gì mà lo!* and *Lo làm gì!* both mean "don't worry", but *gì mà* waves the worry away briskly, while *làm gì* gently asks what good it does.

When a different word follows *mà*, it's a complaint that asks why: *Làm gì mà lâu vậy?* What's taking you so long?

## Examples

- Saigon: Mắc gì mà mắc! Có năm chục ngàn thôi. | Hà Nội: Đắt gì mà đắt! Có năm mươi nghìn thôi. — Expensive? It's only fifty thousand!
- Saigon: Mệt gì mà mệt, mới đi có chút xíu. | Hà Nội: Mệt gì mà mệt, mới đi có một tí. — Tired? We've barely walked.
- Em giỏi tiếng Việt quá! — Your Vietnamese is so good!
- Dạ, giỏi gì đâu chị. — Oh, not really.
- Ngủ gì mà ngủ, dậy đi học! — Enough sleeping, get up for school!

## Compare

- [Not one bit: không … chút nào / tí nào](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ti-nao-at-all/): not at all
- [But I didn't! có … đâu, đâu có](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-dau-denial/): denying what was said
- [No way, there's no such thing: Làm gì có …!](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lam-gi-co/): there's no …!
- [What's the point?: … (mà) làm gì](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lam-gi-whats-the-point/): there is no point in

Previous in Saying no and not: [Not one bit: không … chút nào / tí nào](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ti-nao-at-all/)
Next in Saying no and not: [Can't help (feeling): không khỏi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-khoi/)

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