Learn Vietnamese Classifiers and Core Grammar Words: 60 Flashcards from Counting to Tense Markers

Vietnamese has no plurals, no articles and no verb conjugation — but you can't say "two cats" without a classifier: hai con mèo. Deck AM1700 – Vietnamese Classifiers & Grammar packs 60 cards into two clear halves: cards 1–20 are classifiers, cards 21–60 are the pronouns, question words, tense markers and connectors every sentence hangs on. Here is how to study each half.

Cards worth seeing first

The full list: cái, người, con, cuốn, chiếc, căn, cây, bông, quả, lá, đôi, bộ, tấm, câu, bài, chai; tôi, mình, bạn, anh, chị, anh ấy, chị ấy, chúng tôi, chúng ta, họ; này, đó, kia; cái gì, ai, ở đâu, khi nào, tại sao, như thế nào, bao nhiêu; có, không, vâng, dạ, đã, sẽ, có thể, muốn, phải, nên, là, ở, đến, từ, cho, với, và, hay, hoặc, nhưng, vì, nếu.

Half 1: learn classifiers inside a phrase

A classifier on its own is nearly useless. Turn each card into the slot pattern number + classifier + noun + này/đó/kia: một con chó (a dog), hai cuốn sách này (these two books), ba chiếc xe (three vehicles). Typing a full phrase on the back fixes the word order at the same time.

Three cards need a fix before you drill them:

• Card 13 gives con for long objects — true for con đường (road), con sông (river), con dao (knife), but sticks take cây (cây gậy). Add those examples so it doesn't collide with card 3.
• Cards 15, 17 and 19 (câu chuyện, từ, lớp) are ordinary nouns, not classifiers. Films take bộ (bộ phim), lessons take bài (bài học).
• Cards 4 and 9 are regional: northerners say quyển sách and quả cam, southerners cuốn sách and trái cam. Pick the variety you'll actually hear.

Half 2: group the small words

Cards 40, 49 and 50 all answer có (yes / to have / there is), and có also starts có thể. Merge them into one card with three example sentences, plus the question frame có … không? (Bạn có muốn đi không? — do you want to go?), which the deck never shows.

Then sort the rest into four mini-sets:

1. Pronouns — and mark card 27 chúng tôi as exclusive (we, not you) against chúng ta.
2. Question words — note they stay in place: Bạn đi đâu?
3. Time and modality — đã, sẽ, có thể, muốn, phải, nên; add đang (in progress) and chưa (not yet), both missing.
4. Connectors — và, hay/hoặc, nhưng, vì, nếu.

One last trap: là is only for noun equals ("Tôi là sinh viên"); adjectives take no verb (Tôi mệt — I'm tired).

Once these 60 are solid, continue with the Top 100 Vietnamese words guide and the 1000-word Vietnamese deck.

Search for deck AM1700 in the library on Flip It.