# City, river, province before the name in Vietnamese

> For a named place, the word for the kind of place comes first and the name after it: thành phố Huế (the city of Huế), tỉnh Lâm Đồng (Lâm Đồng province)…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/status-noun-name/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**type word + name**

Pattern: `thành phố / tỉnh / sông / đường + [name]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

For a named place, the word for the kind of place comes first and the name after it: *thành phố Huế* (the city of Huế), *tỉnh Lâm Đồng* (Lâm Đồng province), *sông Sài Gòn* (the Saigon River), *đường Lê Lợi* (Lê Lợi Street). English puts these words on either side; Vietnamese always puts them in front.

It works for almost any place with a name: *chợ Bến Thành* (Bến Thành Market), *sân bay Tân Sơn Nhất* (Tân Sơn Nhất airport), *đảo Phú Quốc* (Phú Quốc island), *chùa Ngọc Hoàng* (the Jade Emperor Pagoda).

In speech the type word is dropped when everyone knows the place: *Em ở Đà Lạt.* Keep it when the name alone could mean something else: *sông Sài Gòn* is the river, *Sài Gòn* the city. In an address it's usually there: *Nhà em ở đường Nguyễn Trãi.*

The city's official name is *Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh*, written *TP.HCM*, and that's what you'll see on forms and in the news. In everyday speech most people still say *Sài Gòn*.

## A common mistake

✗ Nhà em ở Nguyễn Trãi đường.

✓ Nhà em ở đường Nguyễn Trãi.

The word for the kind of place comes first: *đường Nguyễn Trãi*, *sông Sài Gòn*, never after the name as in English.

## Examples

- Nhà em ở đường Nguyễn Trãi. — I live on Nguyễn Trãi Street.
- Saigon: Mình đi dạo bên sông Sài Gòn nha. | Hà Nội: Mình đi dạo bên sông Sài Gòn nhé. — Let's go for a walk by the Saigon River.
- Saigon: Chợ Bến Thành mở cửa tới mấy giờ? | Hà Nội: Chợ Bến Thành mở cửa đến mấy giờ? — Until what time is Bến Thành Market open?
- Đảo Phú Quốc đẹp lắm. — Phú Quốc island is beautiful.

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