Thế (Pro)

Situations

S1: Tân pours too much water into the pot. His wife says:

Anh làm thế không được đâu.
(That's not the way you should do it.)

Thế refers to his action of pouring too much water.

S2: After a breakup, Tân says:

Thế là hết!
(That is finished!)

Thế refers to the breakup.

Definition

Thế, as a pronoun, is used to refer to an idea or situation mentioned before.

Related Expressions

• thế and vậy: Thế can be replaced by vậy in every case. Thế is used more often in the Northern dialect or in written language. Cf. vậy1 (p. 403).

• Thế used at the beginning of questions: Used to connect a question with a situation or previous utterance.

[1] Anh ấy không đi. Thế còn anh?
     (He isn't going. So, how about you?)
[2] Thế ông ấy có nói gì không?
     (So, did he say anything?)