Chính (Par)

Situations

S1: Nam points at a photo of a man and says to Hà:

Đây chính là bố tôi.
(This is my father, himself.)

Chính here is used to emphasize là bố tôi.

S2: When entering Nam's house, Hà saw a very beautiful picture. He asked: "Who painted this picture?"

[1a] Chính tôi vẽ bức tranh đó.
(I painted it myself.)
[1b] Bức tranh đó do chính tôi vẽ.
(The picture was painted by me, myself.)

Chính here is used to define more clearly and emphasize the idea that Nam painted it, not anybody else.

Definition

Chính, as a particle, is used to define clearly the noun which follows it.

  • Chính, ngay and đúng: Chính, ngay, đúng, placed before expressions of time or place, can be interchangeably used, even if their meanings are slightly different. Cf:
[1a] Trận đánh đó xảy ra chính nơi đây.
(The battle took place right here.)

(To emphasize "here".)

[1b] Trận đánh đó xảy ra ngay nơi đây.
(The battle took place right here.)

(Nowhere else.)

[1c] Trận đánh đó xảy ra đúng nơi đây.
(The battle took place here, right in this place.)

(Unmistakably, exactly.)

In [1a], the speaker wants to define nơi đây (this place), to emphasize the importance of nơi đây (this place), rather than to assert the exact location of nơi đây. If the speaker is an historian who looks for vestiges of a battle, he would say [1b]. Cf:

[2a] Chính giáo sư Lâm đã mời tôi.
(Prof. Lâm himself invited me.)

(Prof. Lâm being an important person, no one else invited me.)

[2b] Ngay giáo sư Lâm mời tôi.
[2c] Ngay (cả) giáo sư Lâm cũng mời tôi.
(Even Prof. Lâm invited me.)

(Many people, including Prof. Lâm, invited me.)

[2d] Đúng giáo sư Lâm mời tôi.
(It is true that Prof. Lâm invited me.)

(That is the truth.)

Cf. ngay1 (p. 273).