# Hồi: back when, at the time of in Vietnamese (A2)

> Hồi points back to a time in the past, like "back when". Put it before an age, a time or a whole sentence, usually at the start: Hồi nhỏ em ở Cần Thơ.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hoi-back-when/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**back when, at the time of**

Pattern: `Hồi + [age, time or sentence], … · hồi đó / hồi trước / hồi xưa`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: hoi

Saigon: hồi nhỏ; hồi đó | Hà Nội: hồi bé; hồi ấy

Variants:

- hồi trước
- hồi xưa (long ago)

*Hồi* points back to a time in the past, like "back when". Put it before an age, a time or a whole sentence, usually at the start: *Hồi nhỏ em ở Cần Thơ.* When I was little, I lived in Cần Thơ (in Hà Nội, *hồi bé*). *Hồi còn đi học, em hay đi xe đạp.* Back when I was at school, I used to ride a bike.

*Hồi đó* means "back then" (in Hà Nội, *hồi ấy*), *hồi trước* "before, in the past", and *hồi xưa* "long ago, in the old days". Before a time word, *hồi* simply places it in the past: *hồi tháng trước* (last month), *hồi năm ngoái* (last year). In Saigon, *hồi sáng* is "earlier this morning" and *hồi nãy* is "a moment ago".

Because *hồi* already says "in the past", you don't need *đã*.

*Khi* and *lúc* also mean "when", for any time, past or future. *Hồi* is only for the past, and in Saigon it's the everyday word for it. To ask "when?" about the past, put *hồi nào* at the end: *Anh về hồi nào?* When did you get back?

## Examples

- Saigon: Hồi nhỏ em ở Cần Thơ. | Hà Nội: Hồi bé em ở Cần Thơ. — When I was little, I lived in Cần Thơ.
- Saigon: Hồi đó nhà em nghèo lắm. | Hà Nội: Hồi ấy nhà em nghèo lắm. — Back then my family was very poor.
- Hồi còn đi học, em hay đi xe đạp. — Back when I was at school, I used to ride a bike.
- Saigon: Hồi sáng chị gọi mà em không bắt máy. | Hà Nội: Sáng nay chị gọi mà em không nghe máy. — I called you this morning, but you didn't pick up.

## Words in this pattern

- [hồi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/hoi-time/#s_hoi_time): time

## Compare

- [When? bao giờ / khi nào: first for the future, last for the past](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bao-gio-when/): when?
- [When: khi … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khi-when/): when (+ sentence)
- [Being used to: quen + verb, quen với](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/quen-used-to/): be used to

Previous in Time and when things happen: [All of it, all gone: verb + hết](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/het-all/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Before and after doing: trước khi / sau khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/truoc-khi-sau-khi/)

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