Đây (Par)

Situations

S1: Tân went out drinking beer with his friends and spent all his salary. He worries and asks himself:

Bây giờ biết nói làm sao với bà xã đây?
(What can I tell her (my wife) now?)

In this situation, đây, as a particle, is used to express the speaker's anxiety or worry about something he does not know how / what to do.

S2: Tân is frying fish while reading the newspaper. His wife shouts:

Ôi, cá cháy khét hết rồi đây này!
(Oh, no! The fish is burning!)

In this situation, đây is often combined with này (or nè) to emphasize or to indicate clearly the reality of the thing which has just been mentioned. In other situations, it is often used when the speaker wants to remind or to give a warning.

S3: Tân's wife often complains because Tân earns little money. Tân often says to his wife:

Em đừng lo. Rồi đây chúng ta sẽ hết nghèo.
(Don't worry, honey. One day (in the very near future), we won't be poor any longer.)

Đây in this situation is used to emphasize the reality or certainty of the thing (according to the speaker) and is expressed by the proposition that follows đây.

Definition

Đây, as a particle, placed in or at the end of a sentence, is used to emphasize the idea of anxiety or worry about something (S1) or to emphasize the reality or certainty of what has just been mentioned (S2, S3). The particle đây is often used in spoken language.

  • The particle đây has the same root as the demonstrative pronoun đây, but the meaning and use are different. Cf:
[1a] Vé của anh đây!
     (Here's your ticket!)

(Pronoun.)

[1b] Anh Nam đây là bạn cũ của tôi.
     (Mr. Nam here is my old friend.)

(Particle.)

[1c] Thôi, em đi về đây.
     (Well, I'm going home now.)

(Particle.)

Combinations

  • Đây as used in S3 is only used in combination with certain phrases: rồi đây, lát nữa đây, mai đây, sau đây... (in the very near future, a few minutes later, as follows...).