# Nhất là: the …est is in Vietnamese (A2)

> You know nhất after an adjective: Minh cao nhất. Minh is the tallest. To put the answer at the end, where it gets the weight, turn it round: the…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhat-la-superlative-topic/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**the …est is …**

Pattern: `([place / time]), [adjective] + nhất + là + [noun]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nhat la

You know *nhất* after an adjective: *Minh cao nhất.* Minh is the tallest. To put the answer at the end, where it gets the weight, turn it round: the adjective and *nhất* first, then *là* and the answer. *Học tiếng Việt, khó nhất là phát âm.* The hardest part of learning Vietnamese is pronunciation.

It's a natural way to answer a "which is the most" question: *Món nào ngon nhất?* *Ngon nhất là cá kho tộ.* The best one is the clay-pot fish. A place or group often comes first to set the scene: *Trong nhà em, cao nhất là ba.* In my family, the tallest is Dad (in Hà Nội, *bố*). It works with feeling words too: *Em thích nhất là đi biển.* What I like most is going to the beach.

No word for "thing" or "one" is needed before *nhất*, though careful speech sometimes adds one: *Điều khó nhất là …*

Don't confuse it with *nhất là* after a comma, which means "especially": *Em thích đọc sách, nhất là truyện.* I like reading, especially novels. There, no adjective comes right before *nhất*.

## Examples

- Học tiếng Việt, khó nhất là phát âm. — The hardest part of learning Vietnamese is pronunciation.
- Saigon: Món nào ngon nhất vậy em? | Hà Nội: Món nào ngon nhất thế em? — Which dish is the best?
- Dạ, ngon nhất là cá kho tộ. — The best one is the clay-pot fish.
- Em thích nhất là đi biển. — What I like most is going to the beach.
- Saigon: Trong nhà em, cao nhất là ba. | Hà Nội: Trong nhà em, cao nhất là bố. — In my family, the tallest is Dad.

## Compare

- [The most: adjective + nhất](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhat-most/): the …est
- [Especially: nhất là / đặc biệt là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhat-la-especially/): especially

Previous in How much, and comparing: [So …! (surprise): adjective + vậy / thế](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/the-vay-so-adj/)
Next in How much, and comparing: [Even …er: còn + adjective + hơn](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/con-hon-even/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_nhat_la_superlative_topic
In the app, the grammar points from your own class material are kept with their status, and any word you meet while reading can go into your lexicon with its audio, ready to study.