# Question words stay where the answer goes in Vietnamese

> In English, the question word jumps to the front: "What does Lan like?" Vietnamese keeps the order of the answer and puts the question word exactly where…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/question-word-in-place/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**no moving the question word**

Pattern: `[statement with the question word in the answer's slot]? · but (Tại) sao / Khi nào + [statement]?`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

In English, the question word jumps to the front: "What does Lan like?" Vietnamese keeps the order of the answer and puts the question word exactly where the answer will go. *Chị Lan thích cà phê* (Lan likes coffee) becomes *Chị Lan thích gì?* *Chị Lan làm ở ngân hàng* (Lan works at a bank) becomes *Chị Lan làm ở đâu?*

So to answer, take the question and swap the question word for your answer, changing the pronoun to fit: *Anh muốn ăn gì?* → *Em muốn ăn phở.*

*Ai* (who) at the start of a question isn't an exception. When it asks who did something, the doer comes first in the answer too: *Ai gọi em?* Who called you? *Chị Lan gọi em.*

A few question words usually do go first. One is *tại sao* (why), or just *sao* in everyday speech: *Sao em học tiếng Việt?* Another is *khi nào* (when), for something still to come: *Khi nào anh về?* When are you going back? Put *khi nào* at the end and it usually asks about the past: *Anh về khi nào?* When did you get back? With a word for plans, such as *định* or *sẽ*, the end works for the future too: *Anh định về khi nào?* In Hà Nội you'll hear *bao giờ* more often, in the same two places. *Mấy giờ* (what time) can go first or last, with no change in time: *Mấy giờ anh đi?* or *Anh đi lúc mấy giờ?*

In a negative or a yes/no question, the same words mean "anything" or "anywhere": *Em không ăn gì.* I don't eat anything. *Anh có đi đâu không?* Are you going anywhere?

## A common mistake

✗ Gì anh muốn ăn?

✓ Anh muốn ăn gì?

The question word stays where the answer goes. English moves "what" to the front; Vietnamese doesn't.

## Examples

- Anh muốn ăn gì? — What do you want to eat?
- Chị làm ở đâu? — Where do you work?
- Ai nấu món này? — Who cooked this?
- Saigon: Sao em học tiếng Việt vậy? | Hà Nội: Sao em học tiếng Việt thế? — Why are you learning Vietnamese?
- Saigon: Khi nào anh về Mỹ? | Hà Nội: Bao giờ anh về Mỹ? — When are you going back to the US?

## Includes

- [What? gì after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/gi-what/): what?
- [Who? ai as subject or object](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ai-who/): who?
- [Where? ở đâu at the end](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/o-dau-where/): where (location)?

Previous in Asking questions: [Polite yes dạ / vâng, casual yes ừ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/da-vang-yes/)
Next in Asking questions: [Saying and asking a name: tên (là) …](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ten-la-name/)

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