# Lỡ / nhỡ: in case / what if in Vietnamese (B1)

> Lỡ means "in case" or "what if", and it's always about something going wrong. Put it before the bad thing that might happen: Anh mang dù theo đi, lỡ trời…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lo-in-case/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**in case / what if**

Pattern: `[sentence] + lỡ / nhỡ + [bad event]`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: lo, nho

Saigon: lỡ | Hà Nội: nhỡ

*Lỡ* means "in case" or "what if", and it's always about something going wrong. Put it before the bad thing that might happen: *Anh mang dù theo đi, lỡ trời mưa.* Take an umbrella, in case it rains. *Em đi sớm, lỡ kẹt xe.* I'm leaving early in case there's traffic. In Hà Nội the word is *nhỡ*: *nhỡ trời mưa*.

At the start of a question, with *thì sao* (then what) at the end, it voices a worry: *Lỡ không ai tới thì sao?* What if nobody comes? You'll also hear *lỡ như* and *lỡ mà*, which mean the same.

*Nếu* (if) is neutral. *Lỡ* is only for what you'd rather avoid, and it's casual. The neutral "in case", for writing too, is *phòng khi*: *Mang theo ít tiền phòng khi cần.* Take a bit of money in case you need it.

Before something that has already happened, *lỡ* means "by accident": *Em lỡ làm bể ly rồi.* I've accidentally broken a glass (in Hà Nội, *làm vỡ cốc*). A possible event after *lỡ* means "in case"; a done one, often with *rồi*, was an accident.

## Examples

- Saigon: Anh mang dù theo đi, lỡ trời mưa. | Hà Nội: Anh mang ô theo đi, nhỡ trời mưa. — Take an umbrella with you, in case it rains.
- Saigon: Em đi sớm, lỡ kẹt xe. | Hà Nội: Em đi sớm, nhỡ tắc đường. — I'm leaving early in case there's traffic.
- Saigon: Lỡ không ai tới thì sao? | Hà Nội: Nhỡ không ai đến thì sao? — What if nobody comes?
- Saigon: Chị cho em số điện thoại, lỡ có chuyện gì. | Hà Nội: Chị cho em số điện thoại, nhỡ có chuyện gì. — Give me your phone number, in case anything happens.

## Compare

- [In the event that, except where: trong trường hợp, trừ trường hợp](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/trong-truong-hop/): in case / except where
- [If … then: nếu … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/neu-thi-if/): if
- [Did it by mistake: lỡ / trót + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lo-by-mistake/): accidentally, already (and can't undo)

Previous in Linking ideas: [If it had …, would have: nếu (như) … thì … đã](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/neu-unreal-past/)
Next in Linking ideas: [Including: kể cả](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ke-ca-including/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_lo_in_case
In the app, the grammar points from your own class material are kept with their status, and any word you meet while reading can go into your lexicon with its audio, ready to study.