# Vì … nên / nên / cho nên: because …, so in Vietnamese

> When the reason comes first, Vietnamese often marks both halves: vì before the reason and nên (so) before the result. Vì trời mưa nên tôi ở nhà.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vi-nen-so/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**because …, so**

Pattern: `(Vì) + [reason] + (cho) nên + [result]`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: vi … nen, nen, cho nen

When the reason comes first, Vietnamese often marks both halves: *vì* before the reason and *nên* (so) before the result. *Vì trời mưa nên tôi ở nhà.* Because it was raining, I stayed home. English uses "because" or "so", not both; Vietnamese uses both, and it sounds natural, not repetitive.

*Vì* can go, and in speech *nên* alone is very common: *Hôm nay em mệt nên em về sớm.* I'm tired today, so I'm going home early. Dropping *nên* instead (*Vì trời mưa, tôi ở nhà*) also works, but sounds more written. In Saigon you'll also hear *tại vì … nên*: *Tại vì mắc quá nên em không mua* (in Hà Nội, *đắt quá*).

*Cho nên* means the same as *nên*, with a little more weight, often after a pause: *Em chưa ăn sáng, cho nên em đói lắm.*

The order is fixed: reason, then *nên*, then result, and *nên* goes before the person in the result: *Vì trời mưa nên tôi ở nhà*, not *… tôi nên ở nhà*, which means "I should stay home". To give the result first, use *vì* alone: *Tôi ở nhà vì trời mưa.*

Don't confuse this with *nên* meaning "should", which goes before a verb in a single sentence: *Em nên nghỉ.* You should rest.

## Examples

- Vì trời mưa nên tôi ở nhà. — Because it was raining, I stayed home.
- Hôm nay em mệt nên em về sớm. — I'm tired today, so I'm going home early.
- Saigon: Tại vì mắc quá nên em không mua. | Hà Nội: Tại vì đắt quá nên em không mua. — It was too expensive, so I didn't buy it.
- Em chưa ăn sáng, cho nên em đói lắm. — I haven't had breakfast, so I'm really hungry.

## Words in this pattern

- [cho nên](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/cho-nen/#s_cho_nen): so
- [nên](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/nen-so/#s_nen_so): so

## Compare

- [Because: vì / tại vì / bởi vì](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vi-because/): because (of)
- [That's why, therefore: vì vậy / vì thế](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vi-vay-therefore/): therefore
- [Should: nên + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nen-should/): should
- [It's because of X that …: vì / nhờ / tại … mà](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vi-ma-emphasis/): it is because of … that
- [The reason … is that: sở dĩ … là vì](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/so-di-la-vi/): the reason (that) … is that

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