# Mới … thôi / mới có: only (amount, age) in Vietnamese

> Before a number, mới means "only", with the feeling that it's few, early or young, and that more is to come: Bé nhà chị mới ba tuổi.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/moi-only-number/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**only (amount, age)**

Pattern: `mới (có) + [number or time] · [person] + mới + [verb or number] + thôi`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: moi … thoi, moi co

Before a number, *mới* means "only", with the feeling that it's few, early or young, and that more is to come: *Bé nhà chị mới ba tuổi.* My little one is only three. *Mới tám giờ mà.* It's only eight o'clock. *Có* can follow it, and *thôi* can round off the sentence: *Mới có năm người đăng ký thôi.* Only five people have signed up so far.

Before a verb and an amount, it says how little so far: *Em mới học tiếng Việt được hai tháng.* I've only been learning Vietnamese for two months.

You know *chỉ … thôi* for "only". *Chỉ* is plain: that's all there is. *Mới* adds "so far, yet": *Mới có hai người tới* means more are on the way; *Chỉ có hai người tới* means that's everyone who came.

The opposite feeling, "as many as", goes with *tới* or *những*: *Anh ấy uống tới năm ly.* He drank as many as five glasses.

## Examples

- Bé nhà chị mới ba tuổi. — My little one is only three.
- Saigon: Mới tám giờ mà, sao về sớm vậy? | Hà Nội: Mới tám giờ mà, sao về sớm thế? — It's only eight, why are you going home so early?
- Em mới học tiếng Việt được hai tháng thôi. — I've only been learning Vietnamese for two months.
- Mới có năm người đăng ký. — Only five people have signed up so far.

## Words in this pattern

- [mới](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/moi-only-then/#s_moi_only): only

## Compare

- [Only so few, as many as: có + number, tới … lận / những + number](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhung-number-as-many/): only (small) / as many as (large)
- [Only: chỉ … thôi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chi-thoi-only/): only

Previous in Time and when things happen: [On the occasion of: nhân (dịp) + occasion](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhan-occasion/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Only if, to … you must: phải … mới, muốn … thì phải](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-moi-only-if/)

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