# Trong khi / khi … đang: while in Vietnamese (A2)

> Trong khi means "while": two things going on at the same time. Trong khi mẹ nấu cơm, ba dọn bàn. While Mum cooks, Dad sets the table.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/trong-khi-while/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**while**

Pattern: `Trong khi + [sentence], … · [main] + khi + [person] + đang + [verb]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: trong khi, khi … dang

*Trong khi* means "while": two things going on at the same time. *Trong khi mẹ nấu cơm, ba dọn bàn.* While Mum cooks, Dad sets the table. Like *khi*, the *trong khi* part usually comes first, and it can also follow: *Tôi đọc sách trong khi chờ xe buýt.* In conversation, *trong lúc* is just as common.

For one action that cuts into another, put *đang* (in the middle of) before the longer one: *Khi tôi đang ăn cơm thì có người gõ cửa.* While I was eating, someone knocked at the door. The *đang* action was going on; the other one interrupted it. *Khi*, *trong khi* or, in speech, *lúc* can start it, and *thì* often opens the second part.

*Trong* alone goes before a noun, "during": *trong bữa ăn* (during the meal), *trong giờ học* (during class). Before a whole sentence it needs *khi* or *lúc*.

English "while" can also set two facts against each other: "I like tea, while my wife likes coffee." In conversation, Vietnamese uses *còn* for that: *Tôi thích trà, còn vợ tôi thích cà phê.* In writing, *trong khi* and *trong khi đó* do it too.

## A common mistake

✗ Trong tôi nấu cơm, con tôi học bài.

✓ Trong khi tôi nấu cơm, con tôi học bài.

*Trong* alone goes before a noun: *trong bữa ăn*. Before a sentence, it needs *khi*: *trong khi*.

## Examples

- Saigon: Trong khi mẹ nấu cơm, ba dọn bàn. | Hà Nội: Trong khi mẹ nấu cơm, bố dọn bàn. — While Mum cooks, Dad sets the table.
- Tôi đọc sách trong lúc chờ xe buýt. — I read while I wait for the bus.
- Khi tôi đang ăn cơm thì có người gõ cửa. — While I was eating, someone knocked at the door.
- Saigon: Lúc em đang tắm thì cúp điện. | Hà Nội: Lúc em đang tắm thì mất điện. — The power went out while I was in the shower.

## Words in this pattern

- [trong khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/trong-khi/#s_trong_khi): while

## Compare

- [When: khi … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khi-when/): when (+ sentence)
- [Meanwhile, whereas: trong khi đó](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/trong-khi-do/): meanwhile / whereas
- [And / whereas, switching to someone else: còn (… thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/con-whereas/): whereas / as for

Previous in Time and when things happen: [When: khi … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khi-when/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [As soon as: ngay khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ngay-khi-as-soon-as/)

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