# Làm cho: make / cause in Vietnamese (A2)

> To say that something makes someone feel a certain way, or causes something to happen, use làm or làm cho, then the person, then the result: Bài hát này…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lam-cho-cause/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**make / cause**

Pattern: `[cause] + làm (cho) + [person] + [verb or adjective]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lam cho

To say that something makes someone feel a certain way, or causes something to happen, use *làm* or *làm cho*, then the person, then the result: *Bài hát này làm em nhớ nhà.* This song makes me homesick. *Chuyện đó làm cho cả nhà lo lắm.* That got the whole family really worried.

The cause comes first: a thing, an event, or a person who didn't mean it. The result is usually a feeling (*buồn*, *vui*, *mệt*, *lo*) or something that happens without anyone choosing it: *Kẹt xe làm em tới trễ.* The traffic made me late (in Hà Nội, *Tắc đường làm em đến muộn*). *Anh làm em giật mình!* You made me jump!

*Làm* alone is the everyday form; *cho* makes it a little fuller, which helps in a longer sentence.

When a person makes someone do something on purpose, use *bắt*, or *kêu* for telling them to: *Má bắt em học bài.* *Làm* is for causes, *bắt* is for decisions.

In the news, *khiến* often does the job of *làm cho*: *Mưa lớn khiến nhiều con đường bị ngập.*

## A common mistake

✗ Má làm em học bài.

✓ Má bắt em học bài.

When a person makes you do something on purpose, the verb is *bắt*. *Làm* (*cho*) is for things that cause a feeling or a result.

## Examples

- Bài hát này làm em nhớ nhà. — This song makes me homesick.
- Anh làm em giật mình! — You made me jump!
- Saigon: Kẹt xe làm em tới trễ. | Hà Nội: Tắc đường làm em đến muộn. — The traffic made me late.
- Chuyện đó làm cho cả nhà lo lắm. — That got the whole family really worried.

## Compare

- [Telling, making, asking someone to: kêu / bảo, bắt, nhờ + person + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/causative-bao-bat/): tell / make / ask someone to
- [Causing in the news: khiến, gây, dẫn đến](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khien-cause/): make, cause, lead to

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Made or written by: do + doer + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/do-passive-agent/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [OK, fine: được as 'good enough'](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/duoc-ok/)

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