# Suýt: nearly, almost (but didn't) in Vietnamese (B1)

> Suýt before a verb says something nearly happened but didn't, usually something bad you only just escaped: Em suýt té. I nearly fell.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/suyt-nearly/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**nearly, almost (but didn't)**

Pattern: `[person] + suýt + [verb] · Suýt nữa thì + [person] + [verb]`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: suyt

Saigon: suýt (nữa); xém (chút nữa); chút nữa (là) | Hà Nội: suýt (nữa); tí nữa (thì)

*Suýt* before a verb says something nearly happened but didn't, usually something bad you only just escaped: *Em suýt té.* I nearly fell. *Hôm qua anh suýt bị xe đụng.* Yesterday I nearly got hit by a car. The verb after it is what nearly happened, so there's no *không*: *Em suýt quên* means I nearly forgot, and didn't.

To tell it as a little story, put *suýt nữa* at the start and *là* before what nearly happened: *Suýt nữa là trễ chuyến bay.* In everyday Saigon speech you'll also hear *xém* (*Xém té rồi!*) and *chút nữa là* or *xíu nữa là*: *Chút nữa là mình trễ chuyến bay rồi.* We nearly missed our flight. In Hà Nội it's *tí nữa thì*: *Tí nữa thì quên.*

Compare *gần như* (almost), which describes something that's nearly complete or nearly true: *Quán gần như hết chỗ.* With *suýt*, the thing didn't happen at all.

## Examples

- Saigon: Em suýt té. | Hà Nội: Em suýt ngã. — I nearly fell.
- Saigon: Xém chút nữa là em quên sinh nhật chị. | Hà Nội: Tí nữa thì em quên sinh nhật chị. — I almost forgot your birthday.
- Saigon: Hôm qua anh suýt bị xe đụng. | Hà Nội: Hôm qua anh suýt bị xe đâm. — Yesterday I nearly got hit by a car.
- Saigon: Chút nữa là mình trễ chuyến bay rồi. | Hà Nội: Tí nữa thì mình lỡ chuyến bay rồi. — We nearly missed our flight.

## Compare

- [Almost, hardly: gần như, hầu như (không)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hau-nhu-almost/): almost / hardly any
- [Did it by mistake: lỡ / trót + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lo-by-mistake/): accidentally, already (and can't undo)

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