Liền (Adv 1)

Situations

S1: Nam received his girlfriend's letter. He was so eager that he read it immediately.

Nhận được thư, Nam đọc liền.
(Upon receiving the letter, Nam read it immediately.)

Liền in this situation expresses the quickness of the action đọc (read) just after the moment of receiving the letter.

S2: Hà is angry with Nam, so she does not want to see him.

Thấy Nam bước vào phòng, Hà liền bỏ ra ngoài.
(Hà left the room just as she saw Nam entering.)

In this situation, liền also expresses the immediateness of the action bỏ ra ngoài (left the room), which is considered the result of the previous action (thấy Nam bước vào).

Definition

Liền, as an adverb, is used before or after the verb to indicate the quickness or the immediateness of an action (S1); this action may be a result of another action that previously happened (S2).

  • liền and ngay: Liền, when following the verb, can be replaced with ngay. Cf. ngay1 (p. 269).

Combinations

  • liền... ngay: Liền, when placed before the verb, can be combined with ngay to emphasize that the action occurred immediately, not later.
Nghe anh gọi, tôi liền đến ngay.
(Having received your call, I came immediately.)