đến

To Arrive / to

Level 1

Đến is a fundamental word in Vietnamese that means to arrive, to come, or to/until. It strongly emphasizes the destination or the endpoint of an action.

How It Works

Here are the main ways to use đến:

1. As a main verb (To arrive / To come)
It means 'to arrive' at a place, or for a time/event to 'come'.
Example: Tôi đến trường. (I arrive at school.) or Tết đến rồi! (Tet has arrived!)

2. As a preposition of direction or time (To / Until)
It shows the destination of a motion or the endpoint of a time range.
Example: Đi bộ đến công viên. (Walk to the park.) or Từ thứ Hai đến thứ Sáu. (From Monday to Friday.)

3. With thinking and speaking verbs (About / Of)
It frequently follows verbs like nghĩ (to think), nói (to speak), or nhớ (to miss/remember) to mean 'about'.
Example: Tôi đang nghĩ đến bạn. (I am thinking about you.)

4. Emphasizing quantity (Up to / As much as)
Placed before a number, duration, or amount, it emphasizes that the quantity is surprisingly large or reaches a maximum limit.
Example: Anh ấy ăn đến 5 bát cơm. (He ate up to 5 bowls of rice.)

Important Nuances:

  • Đến vs. Đi: đi focuses on the journey or leaving, while đến focuses on the arrival or destination.
  • Đến vs. Tới: They are virtually identical in meaning. Đến is slightly more common in the North, while tới is heavily favored in the South.
  • Dropping 'đến': For routine trips, native speakers often drop đến entirely (e.g., đi chợ instead of đi đến chợ).

Examples (6)

  1. Tôi đến trường lúc 8 giờ.

    I arrive at school at 8 o'clock.

    Word by Word: I arrive school moment 8 hour.

    Used as the main verb of the sentence to mean 'arrive' at a physical place.

  2. Mùa xuân đã đến.

    Spring has arrived.

    Word by Word: Season spring already arrive.

    Đến is also heavily used as a main verb to indicate that a time, season, or event has arrived.

  3. Chúng tôi đi bộ đến công viên.

    We walk to the park.

    Word by Word: We go foot to park.

    Used as a directional preposition following another verb of motion to show the destination.

  4. Tôi làm việc từ thứ Hai đến thứ Sáu.

    I work from Monday to Friday.

    Word by Word: I do work from Monday to Friday.

    Used as a temporal preposition to mark the endpoint of a time range.

  5. Tôi đang nghĩ đến bạn.

    I am thinking about you.

    Word by Word: I in progress think to friend.

    When following verbs of cognition or communication (like nghĩ, nói, nhớ), đến translates to 'about' or 'of'.

  6. Anh ấy ăn đến năm bát cơm.

    He ate up to five bowls of rice.

    Word by Word: Older brother that eat up to five bowl cooked rice.

    Placed before a number or quantity, đến means 'up to' or 'as much as', emphasizing that the amount is surprisingly large.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'đi' instead of 'đến' for 'come to [a place]'.

    Mai bạn đi nhà tôi nhé.
    Mai bạn đến nhà tôi nhé.

    Because the focus is on the destination (arriving at the house), you must use đến. đi focuses on the act of leaving or traveling.

  • Putting 'đến' directly in front of a subject-verb clause to mean 'until'.

    Tôi sẽ đợi đến bạn làm xong.
    Tôi sẽ đợi đến khi bạn làm xong.

    Đến must attach to a noun or time phrase. To say 'until [someone does something]', you must insert khi or lúc (time/moment) to create cho đến khi or đến khi.

How It Connects

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đếnLevel 1To Arrive / to

Learn This First

To use 'đến' effectively, you need to understand basic Vietnamese word order and how verbs of motion function. It is also helpful to understand its relationship with 'từ' (from) when describing travel between locations.

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