# Thì: topic / contrast with thì in Vietnamese (A2)

> Thì after a word or phrase at the start makes it the topic, like "as for …": Cà phê thì em uống, trà thì không. Coffee I drink, tea I don't.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/thi-topic/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**topic / contrast with thì**

Pattern: `[topic] + thì + [comment] · [verb phrase] + thì + [person] + [verb] · [object] + thì + [person] + [verb]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: thi

Variants:

- Thì … (as a matter of fact, sentence start)

*Thì* after a word or phrase at the start makes it the topic, like "as for …": *Cà phê thì em uống, trà thì không.* Coffee I drink, tea I don't. What comes after *thì* is what you say about it.

The topic is very often set against something else: *Món này thì ngon, món kia thì không.* This dish is good, that one isn't. You know *còn … thì* for switching to someone else; here *thì* does the job without *còn*.

The topic can be a person, a thing or an action: *Đi thì được, nhưng phải về sớm nha.* You can go, but come back early. Said twice, it's a shrug: *Đi thì đi!* Fine, let's go.

With a plain describing word and nothing to contrast, *thì* is usually left out: *Món này ngon.* Adding it hints that there's more to say: *Món này thì ngon, mà hơi mắc.* It's good, but a bit pricey. A topic can also be followed by a whole small sentence about it, with no *thì*: *Cô ấy tóc dài*, she has long hair.

You've also met *thì* after *nếu*, where it marks the start of the result. At the start of a reply, *Thì …* is like "well, …": *Thì em cũng muốn đi, mà bận quá.*

## A common mistake

✗ Em ăn cơm, thì đi ngủ.

✓ Em ăn cơm rồi đi ngủ.

*Thì* follows a topic or a condition, not one event in a story. For one thing after another, use *rồi*.

## Examples

- Món này thì ngon, món kia thì không. — This dish is good, that one isn't.
- Cà phê thì em uống, trà thì không. — Coffee I drink, tea I don't.
- Saigon: Đi thì được, nhưng phải về sớm nha. | Hà Nội: Đi thì được, nhưng phải về sớm nhé. — You can go, but come back early.
- Thì em cũng muốn đi, mà bận quá. — Well, I'd like to go too, but I'm too busy.

## Words in this pattern

- [thì](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/thi-then/#s_thi_as_for): as for

## Compare

- [And / whereas, switching to someone else: còn (… thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/con-whereas/): whereas / as for
- [Topic, then a small sentence about it: Cô ấy tóc dài](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/double-subject/): X, her hair is long
- [If … then: nếu … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/neu-thi-if/): if
- [Granted it is X, but …: X + thì + X, nhưng …](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/thi-thi-concessive/): X it may be, but

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [About (a topic): về](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ve-about/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Back, together, shut: trả lại, đóng lại](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/lai-back-shut/)

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