# Xong: finish doing in Vietnamese (A1)

> Xong after a verb means you've finished doing it: Tôi ăn xong rồi. I've finished eating.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xong-finished/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**finish doing**

Pattern: `[verb] + xong (+ [object]) · [verb] + [object] + xong · … xong chưa?`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

*Xong* after a verb means you've finished doing it: *Tôi ăn xong rồi.* I've finished eating. It goes after the verb, not before it like English "finish", and it usually comes with *rồi*.

With an object, both orders work: *ăn cơm xong* and *ăn xong cơm*. With a long object, *xong* straight after the verb is easier to follow: *làm xong bài tập tiếng Việt*, finish the Vietnamese homework.

To ask whether someone's done, end with *chưa*: *Làm xong chưa?* Are you done? Answer *Xong rồi* (done) or *Chưa xong* (not yet). *Xong* also works on its own: *Xong!* Done!

A verb with *xong* can lead into the next step, like English "after …": *Ăn cơm xong, mình đi cà phê.* After we eat, let's go for coffee. Here *xong* usually comes after the object. In everyday speech, *xong* (or *xong rồi*) at the start of the next part also means "and then": *Em ăn cơm, xong đi học.* I eat, and then I go to school.

Compare *rồi*: *Tôi ăn rồi* just says it has happened; *Tôi ăn xong rồi* says you've got to the end. *Hết* is different again: *ăn hết* means you ate it all, with nothing left.

## A common mistake

✗ Tôi xong ăn rồi.

✓ Tôi ăn xong rồi.

*Xong* comes after the verb: *ăn xong*, "eat, finished". It doesn't go before the verb like English "finish".

## Examples

- Em ăn xong chưa? — Have you finished eating?
- Dạ, em ăn xong rồi. — Yes, I've finished.
- Chị làm xong bài tập tiếng Việt rồi. — I've finished my Vietnamese homework.
- Saigon: Ăn cơm xong mình đi cà phê nha. | Hà Nội: Ăn cơm xong mình đi cà phê nhé. — After we eat, let's go for coffee.

## Words in this pattern

- [xong](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/xong-finish/#s_xong_finish): finish

## Compare

- [All of it, all gone: verb + hết](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/het-all/): (do) all of / used up
- [Already: … rồi, and Rồi as the yes to 'yet?'](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/roi-already/): already
- [Before and after doing: trước khi / sau khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/truoc-khi-sau-khi/): before / after (+ action)
- [Finishing off the rest: verb + cho hết, cho xong / nốt](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/not-finish-off/): do the rest, finish off

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Every day, every week: hàng / hằng + time](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hang-every/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [From … to: từ … đến](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/tu-den-from-to/)

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