ai ... nấy

Each to Their Own

Level 4

The pattern ai ... nấy links the indefinite pronoun ai (who/whoever) with the dependent pronoun nấy (that person). It creates a distributive meaning: each person does their own thing, separate from others.

How It Works

This pattern typically frames nouns or verbs in three main syntactic structures:

  • [Topic/Object] + ai + nấy + [Verb]: Emphasizes individual possession or duty. (e.g., Việc ai nấy làm - Each person does their own work).
  • Ai + [Verb 1] + nấy + [Verb 2]: Emphasizes individual consequences. (e.g., Ai làm nấy chịu - Whoever does it must bear the consequences).
  • Mạnh ai nấy + [Verb]: A highly frequent fixed structure meaning everyone acts independently without coordination. It carries a strong negative connotation of selfishness, chaos, or a lack of teamwork. (e.g., Mạnh ai nấy chạy - Everyone runs for themselves).

Learners will frequently encounter this pattern in set phrases, proverbs, and idioms.

Important Grammatical Note: The word nấy is a dependent pronoun (or correlative pronoun) in modern Vietnamese. It cannot be used on its own as a normal pronoun like họ or người ấy. In this split correlative pattern, it must always be paired with an interrogative/indefinite word within the exact same sentence to act as a resumptive pronoun. While it pairs with ai here, it also pairs identically with other interrogatives like gì (gì... nấy), nào (nào... nấy), and đâu (đâu... nấy).

Spoken Variation: In spoken Vietnamese, it is extremely common to insert the noun người right before nấy to make the subject of the second clause more explicit (e.g., Việc ai người nấy làm).

Split vs. Adjacent: Be careful not to confuse the split pattern (ai ... nấy = each to their own) with the adjacent compound pronoun ai nấy (written together). When written together as a single subject, it acts collectively to mean 'everyone', serving as a slightly more emphatic or literary synonym for the much more common mọi người or tất cả. Note that when used this way, it is almost always followed by the distributive marker đều (e.g., Ai nấy đều vui = Everyone is happy).

Examples (4)

  1. Việc ai nấy làm, đừng can thiệp vào chuyện của người khác.

    Each person does their own work, don't interfere in other people's business.

    Word by Word: Work who that-person do, don't interfere into matter of person other.

    A classic proverb demonstrating the [Noun] + ai + nấy + [Verb] structure, emphasizing boundaries.

  2. Ai làm nấy chịu, cậu không thể đổ lỗi cho tôi được.

    Whoever does it must bear the consequences; you cannot blame me.

    Word by Word: Who do that-person bear, you not able blame for me get.

    Demonstrates the Ai + [Verb 1] + nấy + [Verb 2] structure, highlighting individual responsibility.

  3. Đến giờ ăn trưa, cơm ai nấy ăn.

    When it's lunch time, everyone eats their own meal.

    Word by Word: Arrive hour eat noon, rice who that-person eat.

    Shows how the pattern is used in everyday situations to indicate separate, individual actions.

  4. Trong hoàn cảnh nguy hiểm, mạnh ai nấy chạy.

    In a dangerous situation, it's every man for himself (whoever is strong enough, runs).

    Word by Word: Inside situation dangerous, strong who that-person run.

    A very common idiomatic phrase using this distributive pattern to show a lack of collective action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'nấy' as a standalone pronoun across sentence boundaries.

    Tôi biết anh Minh. Tôi rất thích nấy.
    Tôi biết anh Minh. Tôi rất thích anh ấy.

    The word nấy is a dependent pronoun and cannot be used as a free-standing pronoun like 'he' or 'that person' in a new sentence. It must be syntactically paired with ai within the exact same sentence.

  • Confusing the distributive 'ai ... nấy' with the collective 'ai cũng'.

    Different MeaningTrong công ty, việc ai cũng làm.
    Trong công ty, việc ai nấy làm.

    The sentence is correct, but it means something else: ai cũng means everyone does the same thing collectively ('work that everyone does'). To say that each person does their own separate thing, use the distributive pattern ai ... nấy.

How It Connects

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

ai ... nấyLevel 4Each to Their Own

Learn This First

The 'ai... nấy' pattern is a correlative structure where 'ai' acts as a placeholder for a person and 'nấy' acts as a corresponding pronoun meaning 'that same person' or 'their own'. To understand this, you must first be comfortable with 'ai' as a question word and its use in indefinite statements like 'ai cũng'.

Words in This Pattern

ai nấyainấy