tôi muốn ăn
[toj˧˧ muən˧˦ ʔan˧˧]word by word
The English phrase "I want food" can be expressed in Vietnamese as tôi muốn ăn.
tôi muốn ăn is used to express a desire to eat something. To sound more natural when you are hungry but have not decided on a specific dish, you can say tôi muốn ăn gì đó, which means "I want to eat something".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of tôi (I), muốn (want) and ăn (to eat).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
A child speaking to parents or elders would replace tôi with con to be polite and natural, resulting in con muốn ăn.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Vietnamese, the verb muốn (want) is followed directly by another verb like ăn (to eat) without needing the word "to".
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to translate "food" literally as thức ăn, but in Vietnamese, it is much more natural to use the verb ăn (to eat) rather than the noun thức ăn (food) in this context.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- Tôi thèm đồ ăn.I crave food.
- Tôi muốn ăn cơm.I want to eat rice.
- Tôi muốn ăn món này.I want to eat this dish.
- Bây giờ tôi muốn ăn gì đó.I want to eat something now.
Example conversation
Lan and Hùng are walking together in a mall.
- LanHùng ơi, tôi muốn ăn rồi.Hùng, I want to eat now.
- HùngBạn muốn ăn món gì?What do you want to eat?
- LanTôi muốn ăn bánh mì.I want to eat a banh mi.
- HùngĐược, chúng ta đi thôi.Okay, let's go.
