bấy

That Much (Literary)

Level 6

Bấy is a demonstrative meaning 'that much' or 'that time'. While restricted on its own, it survives in everyday fixed phrases like từ bấy đến nay and forms essential modern compounds like bấy nhiêu and bấy giờ.

How It Works

In modern Vietnamese, bấy is highly restricted morphologically. It cannot attach to standard nouns. Instead, it almost exclusively attaches to a closed class of morphemes denoting time or quantity to form fixed compounds:

  • nhiêu (amount) → bấy nhiêu (that much/many)
  • giờ (time) → bấy giờ (then / at that time)
  • lâu (duration) → bấy lâu (for that long)
  • nay (present) → bấy nay (from that time until now)

These can also combine into the highly frequent three-syllable phrase bấy lâu nay (for all this time until now). While bấy itself cannot attach to standard nouns, its compound bấy nhiêu can act as a quantifier directly before them (e.g., bấy nhiêu người - that many people, bấy nhiêu tiền - that much money).

While standalone bấy is restricted, it is still actively used in everyday speech in fixed phrases like từ bấy đến nay and từ bấy đến giờ (since then). Otherwise, its compound forms are fully active and highly frequent.

One of its most important modern functions is in the correlative proportional structure bao nhiêu ... bấy nhiêu, meaning 'however much... that much'. This also has a fundamental temporal counterpart, bao giờ ... bấy giờ (whenever... then / at whatever time... at that time). In literature, poetry, or proverbs, standalone bấy is frequently used as a shorthand for bấy nhiêu in these correlative structures (e.g., Bao nhiêu cay đắng, bấy niềm tin - However much bitterness, that much faith).

Note: Do not confuse this grammatical marker with the unrelated, homophonous adjective bấy, which means 'crushed, pulpy, or tender' (e.g., nát bấy - completely crushed, cua bấy - soft-shell crab, chín bấy - overripe fruit).

Examples (4)

  1. Anh cần bao nhiêu thì tôi đưa cho anh bấy nhiêu.

    However much you need, I will give you that much.

    Word by Word: Brother need how much then I give for brother that much.

    This correlative proportional structure is the most common modern usage of bấy.

  2. Bấy lâu nay tôi vẫn luôn chờ đợi cơ hội này.

    All this long while, I have always been waiting for this opportunity.

    Word by Word: That long now I still always wait opportunity this.

    Bấy lâu nay refers to a continuous duration from a point in the past up until the present.

  3. Lúc bấy giờ, mọi người đều hoảng hốt.

    At that time, everyone was panicked.

    Word by Word: Moment that time, everyone all panic.

    Bấy giờ points back to a specific time in the past, translating to 'then' or 'at that time'.

  4. Chỉ với bấy nhiêu tiền thì không đủ để mua nhà.

    With only that much money, it is not enough to buy a house.

    Word by Word: Only with that much money then not enough to buy house.

    Bấy nhiêu acts as a determiner of quantity, meaning 'that specific amount'.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing the tones between 'bây giờ' (now) and 'bấy giờ' (then).

    Lúc bây giờ, tôi còn rất trẻ.
    Lúc bấy giờ, tôi còn rất trẻ.

    Mixing up the flat tone (bây) and the rising tone (bấy) completely reverses the timeline of the sentence. 'Bây giờ' means 'now' (proximal), while 'bấy giờ' means 'then' (distal).

  • Attempting to use 'bấy' after a noun like a standard demonstrative.

    Tôi không thích chuyện bấy.
    Tôi không thích chuyện đó.

    Because learners are taught that demonstratives follow nouns (like 'cái này' or 'chuyện đó'), they sometimes try to use 'bấy' as a post-nominal pronoun. 'Bấy' can only precede its specific head words (like nhiêu, giờ, lâu).

How It Connects

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

bấyLevel 6That Much (Literary)

Learn This First

The pattern 'bấy' is a literary demonstrative used to refer back to a specific degree, amount, or stretch of time already mentioned or implied. It is most frequently seen in the correlative structure 'bao nhiêu... bấy nhiêu' or in fixed formal expressions like 'bấy lâu nay'. Learners should first be familiar with standard demonstratives like 'đó' and the concept of formal vs. informal registers.

Words in This Pattern

bấy