# Nói chung … nói riêng in Vietnamese (B2)

> X nói chung và Y nói riêng means "X in general and Y in particular". X is the wide field, and Y is the part of it the writer wants to focus on: nông…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/noi-chung-noi-rieng/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**X in general and Y in particular**

Pattern: `[A] nói chung và [B] nói riêng · [A] nói chung, [B] nói riêng`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: formal · Medium: written

Typed without accents: noi chung … noi rieng

*X nói chung và Y nói riêng* means "X in general and Y in particular". X is the wide field, and Y is the part of it the writer wants to focus on: *nông nghiệp nói chung và ngành trồng lúa nói riêng*, agriculture in general and rice growing in particular. Each label comes straight after its own noun.

The order can be turned round, with the narrow part first: *Đà Nẵng nói riêng và miền Trung nói chung*, Đà Nẵng, and central Vietnam as a whole. In headings and long sentences, a comma often takes the place of *và*: *Người lao động nói chung, công nhân nói riêng …* The pair often follows *đối với* (for), *cho* or *trong*.

You'll meet it constantly in news reports, official speeches and university papers; thesis titles and introductions are full of it. It's a set piece of formal writing, and English usually translates it more loosely: "for agriculture, and for rice farmers above all".

In conversation it sounds like a press release. There, people pick out the part with *nhất là* or *đặc biệt là* (especially): *Nông dân khổ lắm, nhất là người trồng lúa.* Farmers have it hard, especially rice farmers. And don't confuse it with *nói chung* on its own at the start of a sentence, which means "all in all": *Nói chung, công việc cũng ổn.*

## Examples

- Biến đổi khí hậu đang ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng đến nông nghiệp nói chung và ngành trồng lúa nói riêng. — Climate change is seriously affecting agriculture in general and rice growing in particular.
- Lễ hội đã góp phần quảng bá hình ảnh Đà Nẵng nói riêng và miền Trung nói chung. — The festival has helped promote Đà Nẵng, and central Vietnam as a whole.
- Nghiên cứu này góp phần làm rõ thực trạng giáo dục đại học nói chung và đào tạo ngoại ngữ nói riêng. — This study helps clarify the state of higher education in general and foreign-language teaching in particular.
- Người lao động nói chung, công nhân khu công nghiệp nói riêng đang chịu nhiều áp lực về nhà ở. — Workers in general, and industrial-park workers in particular, are under heavy pressure over housing.

## Compare

- [Opening with your view: thật ra, rõ ràng là, nói chung](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/stance-openers/): actually / clearly / in general
- [Especially: nhất là / đặc biệt là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhat-la-especially/): especially

Previous in News, official and academic writing: [Holding a view: cho rằng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cho-rang/)
Next in News, official and academic writing: [In terms of, from the angle of: xét về, về mặt, từ góc độ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xet-ve/)

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