Thì (Par)

Situations

S1: A story about a couple's jobs:

Người chồng thì đi câu cá, người vợ thì ở nhà vá lưới.
(The husband went fishing, while the wife stayed home and mended nets.)

Thì topicalizes each person and marks the contrast between their jobs.

S2: Comparing children's hobbies:

Nam thì thích ăn thịt. Lan thì thích ăn cá.
(Nam likes meat; Lan, however, likes fish.)

Thì stresses the difference in their likes.

S3: A teacher comments on a student:

Toán thì xuất sắc...
(In math he is excellent...)

Thì implies contrast; the listener might infer he is not as excellent in other subjects.

S4: Hà expresses disagreement with Nam:

Tôi thì tôi hiểu khác anh.
(As for me, I understand it differently than you.)

Thì stresses the difference between "you" and "me".

S5: Nam talks about rain:

Trời mưa thì tôi sẽ không đi.
(If it rains, then I won't go.)

Thì expresses a condition-result relationship.

S6: Nam asks for a call:

Bao giờ anh đến thì gọi tôi nhé!
(When you arrive, give me a call!)

Thì marks the time frame within which an event will occur.

S7: Relative timing:

Anh đi được một lúc thì ông ấy đến.
(Just after you went out, he came.)

Thì expresses the relationship of sequence in time.

Definition

Thì, as a particle, is used to topicalize what lies before it. It emphasizes difference or contradiction between properties/actions. It is also used to mark a time frame or condition for a following event.

  • thì and là:
[1] Tan sở là tôi rảnh. (I am always free after work - regular/identical relation.)
[2] Tan sở thì tôi rảnh. (Since I've finished, I'm free - conditional/specific relation.)

Cf. là2 (p. 171).

Combinations

  • Thì often follows: thật ra, đúng ra, nghĩ cho cùng, kế ra, xem ra, may ra, ít ra, theo tôi, dù sao, etc.
- Theo tôi thì anh ấy đã làm đúng. (As for me, I think he was right.)
  • Conditional structures: nếu... thì..., hễ... thì..., giá... thì..., có... thì..., khi... thì..., mà... thì....
- Giá tôi có tiền thì tôi sẽ đi du lịch. (If I had money, I'd travel.)
  • ... thì có!: Used to oppose someone's idea.
- Anh ta mà thông minh gì, chăm chỉ thì có! (He's not smart, just hard-working!)
  • ... thì có (A) nhưng (B): Recognizes (A) but focuses on (B).
- Phim này hay thì có hay nhưng âm thanh dở quá. (The film is good bits aside, but the sound is terrible.)
  • ... thì phải: Indicates possibility without certainty (like "perhaps").
- Hôm nay anh ấy về nước thì phải. (He likely went back home today.)
  • thì ra (là): Expresses newly understood or realized information.
- Anh ấy đứng dậy chào tôi. Thì ra anh ấy vẫn còn nhớ tôi. (He stood up; as it turns out, he still remembers me.)
  • Thì used multiple times for parallel structure:
- Các cô gái Hà Nội đầu thì đội khăn, tay thì cầm quạt, chân thì mang guốc.