# Làm sao … được: that can't happen in Vietnamese (B2)

> Làm sao … được? asks "how could …?" but expects no answer: it means "there's no way".

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lam-sao-duoc-rhetorical/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**that can't happen**

Pattern: `Làm sao (mà) + [verb] + được? · [verb] + làm sao / thế nào + được?`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lam sao … duoc

*Làm sao … được?* asks "how could …?" but expects no answer: it means "there's no way". *Làm sao* goes after the verb or before it, and *được* comes at the end: *Một mình tôi làm sao làm hết được?* (How could I possibly do it all by myself?) *Làm sao mà quên được!* (How could I ever forget!)

You use it to say something is impossible or to turn down an idea firmly: *Trễ vậy rồi, làm sao kịp được?* (It's this late already, there's no way we'll make it.) Said warmly, it can be a compliment: *Chị nấu ngon vầy, làm sao chê được!* (You cook this well, how could anyone complain!) *Mà* after *làm sao* adds feeling: *Làm sao mà tin được?* (How can anyone believe that?)

In Hà Nội, *thế nào … được* is also common: *Muộn thế này thì đi thế nào được?*

Don't confuse it with the real question *làm sao* (how): *Làm sao để đi tới chợ Bến Thành?* (How do I get to Bến Thành market?) The rhetorical one has *được* at the end and a tone of disbelief.

It's everyday speech, and you'll also read it in quoted dialogue and in fiction. In writing, the plain way to say it is *không thể* (cannot): *Không thể hoàn thành trong một ngày* (it can't be finished in a day).

## Examples

- Một mình tôi làm sao làm hết được? — How could I possibly do it all on my own?
- Saigon: Trễ vậy rồi, làm sao kịp được? | Hà Nội: Muộn thế rồi, làm sao kịp được? — It's this late already, there's no way we'll make it.
- Saigon: Chị nấu ngon vầy, làm sao chê được! | Hà Nội: Chị nấu ngon thế này, làm sao chê được! — You cook this well, how could anyone find fault!
- Chuyện đó làm sao tôi quên được? — How could I ever forget that?

## Compare

- [How (can)? làm sao](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lam-sao-how/): how / how could?

Previous in Asking questions: [Could it be that …? phải chăng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/phai-chang/)
Next in Asking questions: [Isn't it obvious? bộ … hả, chẳng phải … sao](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/rhetorical-negative/)

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