# Nhau / giống nhau: each other in Vietnamese (A2)

> Nhau means "each other", and it goes after the verb: Tụi mình quen nhau ba năm rồi. We've known each other for three years. (In Hà Nội, bọn mình.)

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhau-each-other/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**each other**

Pattern: `[A] và [B] + [verb] + nhau · [verb] + với / cho + nhau`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nhau, giong nhau

Variants:

- lẫn nhau (emphatic)

*Nhau* means "each other", and it goes after the verb: *Tụi mình quen nhau ba năm rồi.* We've known each other for three years. (In Hà Nội, *bọn mình*.) The subject is two or more people: *hai đứa*, *tụi mình*, *anh chị*.

Verbs that take a person straight after them take *nhau* the same way: *gặp nhau* (meet), *giúp nhau* (help each other), *thương nhau* (love each other). Verbs that need *với* or *cho* before a person keep it before *nhau*: *nói chuyện với nhau* (talk to each other), *gọi cho nhau* (call each other).

*Nhau* also gives you "alike" and "different": *giống nhau* (the same) and *khác nhau* (different): *Hai cái áo này giống nhau quá.* These two shirts look exactly the same. When one thing is compared with another, *nhau* drops out: *Cái này giống cái kia.*

*Cùng nhau* means "together": *Tụi mình cùng nhau cố gắng nha.* And *lẫn nhau* stresses "one another", mostly in writing and speeches: *giúp đỡ lẫn nhau*.

## A common mistake

✗ Hai cái áo này giống.

✓ Hai cái áo này giống nhau.

When both things come before the verb, *giống* needs *nhau*. Without it, *giống* is waiting for something to compare with: *giống cái kia*.

## Examples

- Saigon: Tụi mình quen nhau ba năm rồi. | Hà Nội: Bọn mình quen nhau ba năm rồi. — We've known each other for three years.
- Mai mình gặp nhau ở đâu? — Where shall we meet tomorrow?
- Hai chị em tôi hay gọi cho nhau. — My sister and I call each other a lot.
- Hai cái áo này giống nhau quá. — These two shirts look exactly the same.

## Words in this pattern

- [nhau](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/nhau-each-other/#s_nhau_each_other): each other

## Compare

- [Together: cùng (với)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cung-together/): together, with

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Doing X is …: a verb phrase as the subject, no 'to' or '-ing' (Học tiếng Việt khó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/verb-subject/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Even X: (ngay) cả … cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ngay-ca-even/)

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