trông bạn đẹp đấy
To say "you look good" in Vietnamese, use trông bạn đẹp đấy.
This phrase is a compliment used to tell someone that their physical appearance is attractive.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of trông (to look/appear), bạn (you/friend), đẹp (beautiful/good-looking) and đấy (a particle used for emphasis).
Which one should you use?
You can use trông bạn đẹp quá to change the emphasis from a simple observation to an exclamation meaning "you look so good" or "you look very good".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The term bạn (friend) is used for a general "you", but in informal or intimate relationships, you might replace bạn with kinship terms like em (younger sibling/partner) to make the compliment sound more natural and affectionate, such as in the phrase trông em đẹp đấy.
How does it change in a sentence?
Replacing the particle đấy with quá changes the emphasis from a simple observation to an exclamation of "so" or "very".
Did you know?
- The word bạn has two different origins in Sino-Vietnamese: one related to 'companion' and another related to 'rebellion', showing how historical roots can hide very different meanings under one sound.
- In many Vietnamese contexts, instead of saying 'you look good', people might actually compliment a specific piece of clothing or hair, as focusing too heavily on the body can sometimes feel overly direct.
- The word trông is a linguistic chameleon that can mean 'to appear' in this phrase, but it can also mean 'to look after' or 'to watch over' someone in a different context.
Examples in context
- Quý cô/Quý ông trông tuyệt vời.Madam/Sir, you look amazing.
- Bạn trông xinh đẹp/lịch sự/ấn tượng.You look pretty/elegant/impressive.
- Thật bảnh/Chuẩn/Chất.You look cool/stylish/dope.
- Bạn trông rất đẹp hôm nay.You look very beautiful today.
- Bạn thật bảnh trong trang phục này.You look really cool in this outfit.
- Hôm nay trông bạn đẹp đấy.You look good today.
Example conversation
Hương and Hùng meet for a dinner date.
- HươngChào Hùng, trông bạn đẹp đấy!Hi Hùng, you look good!
- HùngCảm ơn Hương, bạn cũng vậy.Thanks Hương, you do too.
- HươngChúng ta đi ăn thôi.Let's go eat.
- HùngĐi thôi nào.Let's go.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bạn, trông, CC BY-SA 4.0.
