# Lại / verb + đi + verb + lại: again, re- in Vietnamese

> Lại after a verb means "again", in the sense of doing something over: Anh nói lại được không? Could you say that again? Em phải viết lại bài này.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-again/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**again, re-**

Pattern: `[verb] (+ [object]) + lại · [verb] + lại + [object] · [verb] + đi + [verb] + lại (again and again)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lai, di … lai

Variants:

- [verb] đi [verb] lại (over and over)

*Lại* after a verb means "again", in the sense of doing something over: *Anh nói lại được không?* Could you say that again? *Em phải viết lại bài này.* I have to rewrite this essay. It works like "re-" in English: redo, rewrite, rebook.

With an object, *lại* usually goes straight after the verb, but you'll also hear it at the end: *đọc lại bài* and *đọc bài lại* both mean "read the text again".

*Gọi lại* is "call back": *Lát em gọi lại cho anh nha.* I'll call you back in a bit. To ask someone to repeat something, *Chị nói lại giùm em nha* is warm and very Southern (in Hà Nội, *giúp em … nhé*).

For "over and over", say the verb twice, with *đi* after the first and *lại* after the second: *Em nghe đi nghe lại bài hát này.* I play this song over and over.

After verbs like "close" or "give back", *lại* doesn't mean "again": *đóng cửa lại* (close the door), *trả lại* (give back). And before a verb, *lại* adds surprise or annoyance, often meaning "again" (*Em lại quên rồi.* I've forgotten again) but not always: *Sao em lại khóc?* Why are you crying? Both are later patterns.

## Examples

- Anh nói lại được không? — Could you say that again?
- Saigon: Chị nói lại giùm em nha. | Hà Nội: Chị nói lại giúp em nhé. — Could you say that again for me?
- Saigon: Lát em gọi lại cho anh nha. | Hà Nội: Lát em gọi lại cho anh nhé. — I'll call you back in a bit.
- Em phải viết lại bài này. — I have to rewrite this essay.
- Em nghe đi nghe lại bài hát này. — I play this song over and over.

## Words in this pattern

- [lại](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/lai-again/#lx_lai): again

## Compare

- [Back, together, shut: trả lại, đóng lại](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-back-shut/): back / closed / together
- [Again (annoyingly), unexpectedly: lại before the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-before-verb/): again / instead / contrary to expectation

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Adjectives need no là: Chị ấy đẹp](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/adj-no-la/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Also, too: cũng before the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cung-also/)

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