# Counting by container in Vietnamese (A1)

> Things you don't count one by one, like water, rice or coffee, are counted by what holds them or by a measure: một chai nước (a bottle of water), hai ly…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/measure-container/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**a bottle of, a bowl of**

Pattern: `[number] + [container or measure] + [noun]`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Situations: [Shops and services](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/?use=service)

Saigon: tô; ly; chén; dĩa | Hà Nội: bát; cốc; đĩa

Things you don't count one by one, like water, rice or coffee, are counted by what holds them or by a measure: *một chai nước* (a bottle of water), *hai ly cà phê* (two glasses of coffee), *một ký thịt* (a kilo of meat). The container goes where a classifier would: number, container, then the thing. There's no word for "of".

The everyday containers have different names in Saigon and Hà Nội: *ly* (a glass; in Hà Nội *cốc*), *chén* (a small rice bowl; *bát*), *tô* (a big bowl, as for *phở*; also *bát*) and *dĩa* (a plate; *đĩa*, while *dĩa* in Hà Nội is a fork). The kilo is *ký*, in Hà Nội *cân*. *Chai* (bottle), *lon* (can), *hộp* (box) and *gói* (packet) are the same everywhere.

Once it's clear what's in it, the container can stand alone: *Cho em thêm một ly.* One more glass, please. When ordering a dish everyone knows, the container is often dropped: *Cho em hai phở bò.* Two beef phở, please.

To ask how many, use *mấy*: *Anh uống mấy ly?* How many glasses are you having?

## Examples

- Cho em một chai nước. — A bottle of water, please.
- Saigon: Cho anh hai ly cà phê sữa đá. | Hà Nội: Cho anh hai cốc cà phê nâu đá. — Two iced milk coffees, please.
- Saigon: Em ăn một tô phở là no rồi. | Hà Nội: Em ăn một bát phở là no rồi. — One bowl of phở fills me up.
- Saigon: Chị bán cho em một ký xoài. | Hà Nội: Chị bán cho em một cân xoài. — Can I have a kilo of mangoes?

## Compare

- [Counting things: number + classifier + noun (hai con chó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/num-clf-noun/): counting with a classifier
- [Which classifier: cái for things, con for animals, người for people, and the common others](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/clf-cai-chiec/): picking the classifier

Previous in Things, counting and numbers: [Classifier for one particular thing, bare noun for things in general: con chó này, chó](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/clf-specific-general/)
Next in Things, counting and numbers: [Counting things: number + classifier + noun (hai con chó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/num-clf-noun/)

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