Mà (Conj 1)

Situations

S1: Nam worked very hard, but in the end, he did not succeed.

Nam làm việc chăm chỉ mà không có kết quả gì cả.
(Nam tried hard but without any success in the end.)

Logically, if someone worked hard, he would be successful. However, this did not come true in Nam's case. Mà is used to express a reality contrary to the logic of the situation.

S2: Nam thought Titanic was a very good movie, but Lan disagreed. She said:

Phim Titanic mà hay à?
((You thought) that film was good, did you?)

In this case, mà is used in a question form that does not demand a response. It is used to deny one idea and perhaps affirm another, contrasting idea.

Definition

Mà, as a conjunction, is used to express a reality contrary to the logical situation or to deny what has been suggested or supposed.

  • Mà, as used in S1, can be replaced with nhưng, song, or combinations such as nhưng mà, vậy mà, mà lại. However, mà refers to an event contrary to what is usually expected, while nhưng expresses a contrary relationship between cause and effect.

  • Mà, as used in S2, can only be replaced with mà lại, which is used to make a denial. Cf. lại3 (p. 140/183).

Combinations

  • nhưng mà: Usually used in spoken Vietnamese to emphasize a contrary relationship or contrast.
[1] Tôi đã đọc quyển sách ấy rồi nhưng mà không hiểu gì cả.
    (I read that book, but I didn't understand anything from it.)
[2] Cô ấy rất thông minh nhưng mà hơi tự kiêu.
    (She is very intelligent, but she is a little arrogant.)
  • mà lại:
[3] Tôi mà lại nói dối à?
    (I lied? No way!) (Denial)
  • vậy mà / thế mà:
[4] Tôi đã khuyên nó, vậy mà nó không nghe!
    (I gave him some advice, but he didn't take it.)