# Nhà + field: -ist / -er (profession) in Vietnamese (A2)

> Put nhà before a field of work or study and you get the person who does it professionally: nhà báo (journalist, from báo, newspaper), nhà văn (writer)…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nha-profession/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**-ist / -er (profession)**

Pattern: `nhà + [field]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nha

Put *nhà* before a field of work or study and you get the person who does it professionally: *nhà báo* (journalist, from *báo*, newspaper), *nhà văn* (writer), *nhà thơ* (poet), *nhà khoa học* (scientist), *nhà thiết kế* (designer), *nhà đầu tư* (investor). It's like English "-ist" or "-er", and it carries some respect: it's used for creative, expert or educated work.

Other jobs are built differently. Staff take *viên* at the end: *nhân viên* (employee), *giáo viên* (teacher). Skilled trades take *thợ* in front: *thợ may* (tailor), *thợ sửa xe* (mechanic). So *nhà* isn't used for a shop assistant or a cook.

*Nhà* still means "house, building", and many *nhà* words are places, not people: *nhà hàng* (restaurant), *nhà sách* (bookshop), *nhà thuốc* (pharmacy). The second word nearly always tells you which: a field of work or study makes a person; something sold or done there makes a place.

In conversation, people often say what someone does with *làm*: *Chị Lan làm báo.* Lan works as a journalist.

## Examples

- Saigon: Ba em là nhà báo. | Hà Nội: Bố em là nhà báo. — My dad is a journalist.
- Sau này em muốn làm nhà thiết kế. — I want to be a designer one day.
- Nguyễn Du là một nhà thơ nổi tiếng. — Nguyễn Du is a famous poet.
- Bạn em là nhà khoa học, làm ở Úc. — My friend is a scientist and works in Australia.
- Gần đây có nhà thuốc không anh? — Is there a pharmacy near here?

## Compare

- [Members and staff: word + viên (nhân viên, hội viên)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vien-member/): member / staff

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