# Nào là … nào là in Vietnamese (B1)

> Nào là goes before each item in a list, to say there were a lot of them: Trên bàn nào là bánh, nào là trái cây.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nao-la-listing/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**listing many things, often too many**

Pattern: `nào là + [A], nào là + [B] (, nào là + [C])`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nao la … nao la

*Nào là* goes before each item in a list, to say there were a lot of them: *Trên bàn nào là bánh, nào là trái cây.* The table was covered in cakes and fruit (in Hà Nội, *hoa quả*). What matters isn't each item but how many there were, a bit like English "there was this, there was that".

Put *nào là* before every item, usually two or three times. The list can follow a verb such as *mua* (buy) or *hỏi* (ask), or simply a place. The items can be things or actions. People often round it off with *đủ thứ* (all sorts) or with how they feel about it: *Hôm nay nào là họp, nào là báo cáo, mệt quá!* Today it was meetings, reports, the lot. I'm worn out!

So the pile can be a pleasure, like a table full of food or presents, or a burden, like chores or questions. It's at home in stories, whether told or written.

For a short, plain list, *và* (and) is enough. *Ví dụ như* (for example) picks one or two items to explain what you mean; *nào là* piles them up. And *nè* after each item points things out to someone who can see them: *Có phở nè, bún bò nè.* *Nào là* describes; it doesn't point.

## Examples

- Saigon: Trên bàn nào là bánh, nào là trái cây. | Hà Nội: Trên bàn nào là bánh, nào là hoa quả. — The table was covered in cakes and fruit.
- Mẹ mua nào là thịt, nào là cá, đủ thứ. — Mum bought meat, fish, all sorts.
- Hôm nay nào là họp, nào là báo cáo, mệt quá! — Today it was meetings, reports, the lot. I'm worn out!
- Saigon: Ảnh hỏi nào là làm nghề gì, nào là có vợ chưa. | Hà Nội: Anh ấy hỏi nào là làm nghề gì, nào là có vợ chưa. — He asked what I do, whether I'm married, the lot.

## Compare

- [Look! Here! … nè, kìa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nay-final-look/): look! / here it is
- [Giving examples: chẳng hạn (như), ví dụ, cụ thể là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vi-du-chang-han/): for example / specifically

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Next in Linking ideas: [Without doing: … mà không + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ma-khong-without/)

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