căn

Classifier for Rooms and Dwellings

Level 2

Căn is the standard classifier for individual living spaces like rooms, apartments, and houses.

How It Works

What it attaches to:
Use căn with nouns denoting dwellings and rooms, such as phòng (room), hộ (apartment), nhà (house), bếp (kitchen), and biệt thự (villa).

The Nuance:
While you can use other classifiers for houses, căn specifically frames the structure as a physical unit or real estate property. For example, căn nhà emphasizes the physical spatial unit, whereas ngôi nhà carries a warmer, emotional tone closer to 'home'.

Is it mandatory?
In everyday speech, classifiers are sometimes optional for certain words. Saying hai phòng (two rooms) is perfectly natural and grammatical, while hai căn phòng is simply the more explicit or formal version.

Unexpected usage:
Although primarily for dwellings, căn is also the standard and most common classifier for abstract illnesses and diseases, as in căn bệnh (an illness).

Examples (4)

  1. Họ vừa thuê một căn hộ ở trung tâm thành phố.

    They just rented an apartment in the city center.

    Word by Word: They just rent one [classifier] apartment at center city.

    Used with 'hộ' to mean an individual apartment unit.

  2. Căn phòng này rất rộng và sáng sủa.

    This room is very spacious and bright.

    Word by Word: [Classifier] room this very wide and bright.

    Used with 'phòng' to specify a particular room.

  3. Tôi muốn mua một căn nhà nhỏ.

    I want to buy a small house.

    Word by Word: I want buy one [classifier] house small.

    Used with 'nhà' to emphasize buying the physical property or spatial unit.

  4. Ông ấy mắc một căn bệnh lạ.

    He caught a strange illness.

    Word by Word: Grandfather that catch one [classifier] illness strange.

    An important exception: 'căn' is also the standard classifier for illnesses (bệnh).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'căn' for institutional or public buildings.

    Trường học của tôi là một căn trường lớn.
    Trường học của tôi là một ngôi trường lớn.

    Căn is strictly for living spaces and rooms. For institutional, spiritual, or standalone public buildings like schools (trường) or temples (chùa), you must use ngôi.

  • Using 'ngôi' for rooms or apartments.

    Tôi đang dọn dẹp ngôi phòng.
    Tôi đang dọn dẹp căn phòng.

    ngôi emphasizes a standalone exterior structure. A room (phòng) or apartment (hộ) is an interior compartment, so it requires căn.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

cănLevel 2Classifier for Rooms and Dwellings

Learn This First

To understand 'căn', you first need to be familiar with how Vietnamese uses classifiers to categorize nouns. Specifically, you should know the basic counting frame (Number + Classifier + Noun) and have experience with general classifiers like 'cái' to understand how 'căn' functions as a specialized classifier for rooms and dwellings.

Words in This Pattern

căn