# Lại: back / closed / together in Vietnamese (A2)

> You know lại after a verb as "again". After some verbs it means something else: the action goes back where it came from, closes something, or brings…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-back-shut/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**back / closed / together**

Pattern: `[verb] (+ [object]) + lại`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lai

You know *lại* after a verb as "again". After some verbs it means something else: the action goes back where it came from, closes something, or brings things together.

Back: *trả lại* (give back), *gọi lại* (call back), *quay lại* (come back): *Mai em trả lại sách cho chị nha.* I'll give you your book back tomorrow.

Shut or stopped: *đóng lại* (close), *khóa lại* (lock), *dừng lại* (stop): *Em đóng cửa lại giùm anh nha.* Could you close the door for me? (In Hà Nội, *giúp anh … nhé*.) *Dừng lại!* Stop!

Together: *cộng lại* (add up), *gom lại* (gather up): *Cộng lại hết bao nhiêu vậy chị?* How much is it altogether?

With an object, this *lại* usually goes after it, at the end: *đóng cửa lại*, *khóa xe lại*. *Trả lại* often keeps the two words together: *trả lại tiền* (give the money back).

Only the verb tells you which *lại* you have. *Đóng cửa lại* just means "close the door", even the first time, while *làm lại* means "do it again". Sometimes both fit: *gọi lại* is "call back" or "call again".

## Examples

- Saigon: Mai em trả lại sách cho chị nha. | Hà Nội: Mai em trả lại sách cho chị nhé. — I'll give you your book back tomorrow.
- Saigon: Em đóng cửa lại giùm anh nha. | Hà Nội: Em đóng cửa lại giúp anh nhé. — Could you close the door for me?
- Dừng lại! Đèn đỏ kìa. — Stop! The light's red.
- Saigon: Cộng lại hết bao nhiêu vậy chị? | Hà Nội: Cộng lại hết bao nhiêu thế chị? — How much is that altogether?

## Words in this pattern

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

## Compare

- [Again: verb + lại](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-again/): again, re-

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