# Noun + gì: what kind of …? in Vietnamese (A1)

> Put gì straight after a noun and it asks what kind, or what name: Anh thích ăn món gì? What kind of food do you like? Em học tiếng gì?

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/n-gi-what-kind/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**what kind of …?**

Pattern: `[noun] + gì?`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: gi

Put *gì* straight after a noun and it asks what kind, or what name: *Anh thích ăn món gì?* What kind of food do you like? *Em học tiếng gì?* What language are you learning? *Trái này là trái gì?* What fruit is this? (In Hà Nội a fruit is *quả*: *Quả này là quả gì?*)

The answer swaps in the kind or the name: *Em học tiếng Việt.*

It's also how you ask what something is called, or what someone does: *Quán này tên gì?* What's this place called? *Chị làm nghề gì?* What do you do for a living?

Without a question, after *không*, *gì* means "anything": *Em không ăn gì.* I didn't eat anything. *Không có gì.* It's nothing, or You're welcome.

*Gì* and *nào* both come after the noun, and English uses "what" or "which" for either. *Gì* asks what sort, out of anything at all: *Em thích màu gì?* What color do you like? *Nào* asks you to pick from a set, often one you can see: *Em lấy màu nào?* Which color will you take?

## A common mistake

✗ Em học gì tiếng?

✓ Em học tiếng gì?

English puts "what" before the noun. In Vietnamese *gì* comes after it: *tiếng gì*, what language.

## Examples

- Anh thích ăn món gì? — What kind of food do you like?
- Chị làm nghề gì? — What do you do for a living?
- Saigon: Trái này là trái gì? | Hà Nội: Quả này là quả gì? — What fruit is this?
- Saigon: Quán này tên gì vậy? | Hà Nội: Quán này tên gì thế? — What's this place called?

## Compare

- [Which? nào after the noun](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nao-which/): which …?

Previous in Asking questions: [Saying and asking a name: tên (là) …](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ten-la-name/)
Next in Asking questions: [What? gì after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/gi-what/)

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