đấy₁ is used when the speaker points out something that the listener is expected to notice, recognize, or remember. Speakers use đấy₁ to draw attention and say: “that one / that thing you should be aware of.”
The focus is on highlighting or indicating, not explaining.
[1] – Người ngồi kia đấy₁. That person sitting there.
→ The speaker directs the listener’s attention.
[2] – Tôi nói chuyện này rồi đấy₁. I already talked about this, you know.
→ đấy₁ reminds the listener of shared information.
[3] – Trời mưa to đấy₁, đừng ra ngoài. It’s raining hard, you know — don’t go out.
→ The speaker highlights a fact to support advice or warning.
đấy₁ vs đây
– đây: close to the speaker – đấy₁: farther away or mentally “not right here”
[4a] – Cái này đây. This one here.
[4b] – Cái kia đấy₁. That one there.
đấy₁ vs kia
– đấy₁: medium distance / shared attention – kia: clearly distant or separate
[5a] – Nhà đó đấy₁. That house there.
[5b] – Nhà kia xa hơn. That house over there is farther.
• đấy₁ is common in spoken Vietnamese.
• It often appears at the end of a sentence.
• Tone depends on context: neutral, reminding, or slightly emphatic.
• Frequently used when the speaker assumes the listener can already identify the referent.
• Clause + đấy₁
– Tôi đã nói rồi đấy₁. I already said it, you know.
• Noun + đấy₁
– Chỗ này đấy₁. That spot there.
đấy₁ works like a conversational finger point — it nudges the listener’s attention without adding new information.