Mất (Par)

Situations

S1: Hà took her uncle to the hospital. His health was very poor. Hà said:

Có lẽ bác ấy chết mất.
(I'm afraid he might die.)

Hà worries about her uncle's health and is afraid he might die.

S2: Hoa's boyfriend came to see her, but after he left, she was sad and said:

Mẹ ơi, anh ấy về mất rồi!
(Mom! He already went home!)

Hoa expresses sadness for something that happened contrary to her wishes.

Definition

Mất, as a particle, expresses the speaker's anxiety about an unlucky thing that might happen, or regret for what has happened contrary to their wishes.

  • mất and lo / sợ / e ngại: Anxiety is also expressed by verbs like lo (worry), sợ (fear), e ngại (rằng) (be afraid).
Tôi e rằng kế hoạch này sẽ thất bại mất.
(I am afraid this plan will be unsuccessful.)

NOTE: Distinguish between mất as a particle and mất as a verb (lose, die, disappear).

[1] Tôi mất tiền.
    (I lost my money.) (It is gone.)
[2] Ông ấy mất rồi.
    (He passed away.) (He died.)
[3] Khi cảnh sát đến thì tên trộm đã chạy mất.
    (When the police came, the thief had run away.)

In [3], mất expresses a completed action with a result/state continuing to the present.