# Ngay: right / immediately in Vietnamese (A2)

> After a verb, ngay means "right away, at once": Em làm ngay. I'll do it right away. In Saigon the everyday word here is liền: Em làm liền. Đi liền!

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ngay-right-away/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**right / immediately**

Pattern: `ngay + [place or time] · [verb] + liền / ngay`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Saigon: ngay; liền (after the verb) | Hà Nội: ngay

After a verb, *ngay* means "right away, at once": *Em làm ngay.* I'll do it right away. In Saigon the everyday word here is *liền*: *Em làm liền.* *Đi liền!* Let's go now! Both are understood everywhere, and *ngay* is the usual word in writing and in Hà Nội.

With an object, *liền* or *ngay* goes at the end: *Chị gọi lại cho em liền nha.* I'll call you right back.

Before a place or a time, *ngay* means "right, exactly": *ngay đây* (right here), *ngay trước chợ* (right in front of the market), *ngay bây giờ* (right now), *ngay hôm đó* (that very day). Here the word is *ngay*, not *liền*.

*Luôn* after a verb is close, meaning "there and then, while you're at it": *Làm luôn đi!* Do it now!

With *cả … cũng*, *ngay* means "even": *Ngay cả tôi cũng biết.* Even I know. That use has its own page.

## Examples

- Saigon: Dạ, em làm liền. | Hà Nội: Dạ, em làm ngay. — Sure, I'll do it right away.
- Saigon: Chị gọi lại cho em liền nha. | Hà Nội: Chị gọi lại cho em ngay nhé. — I'll call you right back, OK?
- Saigon: Tiệm thuốc ở ngay trước chợ. | Hà Nội: Hiệu thuốc ở ngay trước chợ. — The pharmacy is right in front of the market.
- Anh cần cái này ngay bây giờ. — I need this right now.

## Words in this pattern

- [liền](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/lien-right-away/#lx_lien): right away
- [ngay](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/ngay-immediately/#s_ngay_immediately): immediately

## Compare

- [Even X: (ngay) cả … cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ngay-ca-even/): even
- [Right away, while you're at it: verb + luôn](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/luon-right-away/): right away; as well; totally

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Right away, while you're at it: verb + luôn](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/luon-right-away/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Run out of, no longer: hết + noun or adjective](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/het-run-out/)

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