Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| trung tâm thương mại | |
| trung tâm mua sắm | |
| thương xá | [tʰɨəŋ˧˧ saː˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tʰɨəŋ˧˧ saː˨˩˦] (Huế, narrow) |
The term trung tâm mua sắm is a common translation for mall and means shopping center. You can also use khu mua sắm, which literally means shopping area, to refer to a mall.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase trung tâm thương mại literally translates to commercial center, while trung tâm mua sắm translates to shopping center.
Which one should you use?
Trung tâm thương mại is often used in more formal or official contexts, such as in business news or urban planning. In contrast, trung tâm mua sắm is more common in everyday conversation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Thương xá is a formal or slightly old-fashioned term used to refer to a commercial building or shopping complex.
How does it change in a sentence?
When saying you are going to the mall, you typically use the verb đi followed directly by the noun phrase without a preposition like 'to'.
Did you know?
- The word tâm in trung tâm is the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the character for 'heart', making the term 'commercial center' literally translate to 'commercial heart'.
- Vietnamese uses different words for 'buying' depending on the context, such as tậu, which is a loanword from the Tai language family.
Examples in context
- Sami đang đi đến trung tâm mua sắm.Sami is going to the mall.This sentence uses trung tâm mua sắm to describe someone going to the mall.Tatoeba #10269114 by Alex_do, translation #7137994 by OsoHombre
- Trung tâm thương mại này rất lớn.This mall is very large.
- Chúng ta hãy hẹn nhau ở trung tâm thương mại.Let's meet at the mall.
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding where to meet for the weekend.
- MaiTuấn ơi, chiều nay đi đâu chơi không?Tuấn, do you want to go out this afternoon?
- TuấnHay là mình đi trung tâm thương mại đi.How about we go to the mall?
- MaiĐược đó, ở đó có nhiều đồ đẹp lắm.That sounds good, there are many beautiful things there.
- TuấnVậy Mai đợi anh ở cổng nhé.Then Mai, wait for me at the entrance.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mall” translations and entries thương xá, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mua, mại, sắm, thương, trung, tâm, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
