cần

To Need

Level 1

The word cần means "to need" or "need to". It is used when something is necessary to achieve a goal or fulfill a personal requirement.

How It Works

1. Using cần with Nouns and Verbs
Because Vietnamese verbs do not conjugate, cần is incredibly easy to use. You simply place it before the thing you need or the action you need to take:

  • cần + Noun: Tôi cần thời gian. (I need time.)
  • cần + Verb: Tôi cần ngủ. (I need to sleep.)

2. Degree of Obligation: Cần vs. Phải
It is important to distinguish cần from phải (must / have to). Use cần for a personal necessity or requirement (need to) where the pressure points inward. Use phải for a stronger, stricter obligation (must / have to) where the pressure points outward (external rules or circumstances). Note that while cần can be followed directly by a noun, phải cannot. To say "must have" a noun, you must add the verb có (to have), as in Tôi phải có thời gian (I must have time). You will also frequently hear them combined as cần phải + Verb to express a strong necessity or requirement.

3. The Negative Form
The negative form is không cần, which strictly means "do not need to" (a lack of necessity). It does NOT mean "must not". If you want to forbid an action, you must use không được instead. To say "don't have to" or "don't need to", native speakers commonly use không cần phải or không phải + Verb. Note that phải also means "correct" or "right", so không phải can sometimes mean "it is not the case that" or "is not". However, context usually makes it clear, and không phải + Verb remains a standard, everyday way to say "don't have to".

4. Asking Questions
To ask if someone needs something, use the standard có ... không? question frame:

  • [Subject] + có cần + [Noun/Verb] + không?: Bạn có cần giúp không? (Do you need help?)

Examples (4)

  1. Tôi cần một ly nước.

    I need a glass of water.

    Word by Word: I need one glass water.

    Here, cần is followed directly by a noun phrase.

  2. Cô ấy cần nghỉ ngơi.

    She needs to rest.

    Word by Word: She need rest.

    Here, cần acts as an auxiliary verb followed directly by the action verb.

  3. Chúng ta cần học tiếng Việt mỗi ngày.

    We need to study Vietnamese every day.

    Word by Word: We need study Vietnamese every day.

    Expressing a practical necessity to achieve a goal.

  4. Anh không cần đi làm hôm nay.

    You don't need to go to work today.

    Word by Word: Brother not need go work today.

    The negative form không cần shows that an action is not necessary.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating 'cần' and 'phải' as the same for a rule.

    Different MeaningTôi cần có visa để đi Mỹ.
    Tôi phải có visa để đi Mỹ.

    'Tôi cần có visa để đi Mỹ' is a natural sentence: it says a visa is needed for the trip. 'Tôi phải có visa' stresses that a rule forces you to have one. Use 'cần' for what you need to reach a goal, and 'phải' for what a rule or duty requires.

  • Assuming 'không cần' means 'must not' (prohibition).

    Bạn không cần hút thuốc ở đây.
    Bạn không được hút thuốc ở đây.

    'Không cần' strictly means 'do not need to'. If you want to say 'must not' or 'not allowed to', you must use 'không được'.

How It Connects

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cầnLevel 1To Need

Learn This First

To use 'cần' (to need), learners must understand that Vietnamese verbs do not conjugate and that the language follows a Subject-Verb-Object word order. It is also helpful to be familiar with 'có' (to have) as 'cần' often functions similarly when followed by a noun.

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