# Này / đó / kia: this / that (noun) in Vietnamese (A1)

> To say "this" or "that" about a thing, put the word after the noun: quán này (this place), nhà đó (that house), cái áo kia (that shirt over there).

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/noun-nay-this/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**this / that (noun)**

Pattern: `(classifier) + [noun] + này / đó / kia`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nay, do, kia

Saigon: này; đó; kia | Hà Nội: này; ấy / đó; kia

To say "this" or "that" about a thing, put the word after the noun: *quán này* (this place), *nhà đó* (that house), *cái áo kia* (that shirt over there). It's the reverse of English: literally "place this".

*Này* is for what's near you. *Đó* is "that": further away, or something already mentioned (*quán đó*, the place we talked about). *Kia* is "that over there", further off but in sight. In Hà Nội you'll also hear *ấy* for "that": *hôm ấy* (that day).

Most objects take a classifier in front: *cái ghế này*, *con mèo đó*, *cuốn sách kia*. With everyday nouns like *nhà*, *phòng* or *xe*, it's often left out: *xe này*. If a describing word is added, *này* comes last: *cái áo trắng này*.

Time words work the same way: *tuần này* (this week), *tháng này* (this month), *năm đó* (that year). Two to learn separately: "today" is *hôm nay*, and with *kia* a time word means two days or years off: *hôm kia* (the day before yesterday), *năm kia* (the year before last).

Two things to keep apart. *Đây* starts a sentence (*Đây là …*), while *này* follows a noun. And in Saigon you'll hear *nè* at the end of a sentence when someone hands something over, *Cái này nè*, but inside the phrase it's always *này*.

## A common mistake

✗ Tôi thích này quán.

✓ Tôi thích quán này.

*Này* goes after the noun: *quán này*, literally "place this".

## Examples

- Quán này ngon lắm. — This place is really good.
- Cái áo kia bao nhiêu tiền? — How much is that shirt over there?
- Tuần này em bận quá. — I'm so busy this week.
- Hôm đó trời mưa to. — It rained hard that day.

## Words in this pattern

- [đó](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/do-that/#lx_do_there): that, there
- [kia](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/kia-that/#s_kia_that): that
- [này](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/nay-this/#lx_nay_this): this

## Compare

- [This is, that is: Đây là, Đó là, Kia là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/day-la-this-is/): this / that is
- [The full noun phrase: number + classifier + noun + adjective + này (hai cái áo đẹp này)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/np-full-order/): noun phrase order

Previous in Things, counting and numbers: [This is, that is: Đây là, Đó là, Kia là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/day-la-this-is/)
Next in Things, counting and numbers: [Which classifier: cái for things, con for animals, người for people, and the common others](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/clf-cai-chiec/)

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