# Lỡ / trót in Vietnamese (B1)

> Lỡ before a verb says you did something by accident, or without thinking, and now it can't be undone: Em lỡ làm bể ly rồi.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lo-by-mistake/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**accidentally, already (and can't undo)**

Pattern: `[person] + lỡ / trót + [verb] (+ rồi) · lỡ tay · lỡ miệng`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lo, trot

Saigon: lỡ | Hà Nội: trót; lỡ; nhỡ (tay)

*Lỡ* before a verb says you did something by accident, or without thinking, and now it can't be undone: *Em lỡ làm bể ly rồi.* I've accidentally broken a glass (in Hà Nội, *làm vỡ cốc*). It usually comes with an apology, and often with *rồi* or *mất*: *Chị lỡ xóa mất tấm hình đó rồi.* I accidentally deleted that photo.

Two set phrases are worth learning whole: *lỡ tay* (my hand slipped) and *lỡ miệng* (it just slipped out): *Xin lỗi, anh lỡ miệng.*

*Lỡ* also covers things you did on purpose and now have to live with: *Lỡ hứa với tụi nhỏ rồi, phải đi thôi.* I've promised the kids, so we have to go. In Hà Nội, and in writing, *trót* does this job: *trót hứa*, already promised.

The same word means "in case": *lỡ trời mưa*. What follows tells them apart. Before something that might still happen, it's "in case"; before something already done, it's "by accident". With a noun after it, *lỡ* means "miss": *lỡ chuyến bay*, miss a flight.

Compare *suýt*: with *suýt*, the bad thing nearly happened. With *lỡ*, it did.

## A common mistake

✗ Em tình cờ làm bể ly rồi.

✓ Em lỡ làm bể ly rồi.

*Tình cờ* means "by chance", for a coincidence such as *tình cờ gặp bạn cũ* (bumping into an old friend). For an accident you're sorry about, use *lỡ*.

## Examples

- Saigon: Em lỡ làm bể ly của chị rồi. | Hà Nội: Em lỡ làm vỡ cốc của chị rồi. — I've accidentally broken your glass.
- Xin lỗi, anh lỡ miệng. — Sorry, it just slipped out.
- Saigon: Chị lỡ xóa mất tấm hình đó rồi. | Hà Nội: Chị lỡ xóa mất bức ảnh ấy rồi. — I accidentally deleted that photo.
- Saigon: Lỡ hứa với tụi nhỏ rồi, phải đi thôi. | Hà Nội: Trót hứa với bọn trẻ rồi, phải đi thôi. — I've promised the kids, so we have to go.

## Compare

- [In case (something goes wrong): lỡ / nhỡ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lo-in-case/): in case / what if
- [Nearly happened: suýt (nữa thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/suyt-nearly/): nearly, almost (but didn't)

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Again (annoyingly), unexpectedly: lại before the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-before-verb/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Figuring out, realising: verb + ra (nhận ra, nghĩ ra, tìm ra)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ra-discover/)

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