Vietnamese

Verb

vào ‎(𠓨)

1. (transitive) to enter

   vào nhà

   to enter the/a house

   Xe đi vào trung tâm thành phố.

   The car goes into the city center.

2. (transitive, by extension) to go southwards in Vietnam

   từ Hà Nội vào Huế

   to go from Hanoi south into Hue

   vào Sài Gòn

   to go to Ho Chi Minh City from its north

3. (transitive) to become a member of; to join

   vào hội

   to join the/an association

   vào tù

   to enter prison; to become a prisoner

4. (transitive) to join in, to participate in

   vào tiệc

   to join a party

   vào đám

   to join the crowd

5. (transitive) to begin (a new chapter in time)

   vào năm học mới

   to start a new school year

   vào hè

   to begin one's summer

6. (transitive) to abide by, to conform to

   vào quy củ

   to work according to a methodology

   vào khuôn phép

   to abide by a code of conduct

   Công việc đã vào nền nếp.

   The task has become second nature.

7. (transitive) to attain, to achieve

   Một người thợ vào loại giỏi.

   A worker becomes skilled.

   học vào loại trung bình

   to be average in one's studies

8. (intransitive, figuratively) to comprehend

   Có tập trung tư tưởng thì học [nó] mới vào.

   Only by concentrating one's thoughts does one comprehend one's studies.

   Đầu óc rối bời, đọc mãi mà [nó] không vào.

   With his/her head in such a jumble, he/she keeps reading but [it] doesn't click.

9. (intransitive, soccer) (of a ball) to enter the goal

   Sút! Vào!

   He shoots! He scores! [Shoot! It's in!]

Synonyms

• vô (southern Vietnam, central Vietnam)
• (to begin): bắt đầu
• (to join in): tham gia
• (to become a member of): gia nhập
• (to abide by): tuân theo

Antonyms

• (to enter): ra
• (to join): vô
• (to join in): vô
• (to begin): xong
• (to abide by): trái
• (to enter the goal): chệch

Derived terms

Preposition

vào ‎(𠓨)

1. in, into, upon

   vào trong

   inside of

   nhìn vào trong nhà

   to look inside the/a house

   quay mặt vào tường

   to turn and look at the wall

   Nô lệ vào sách vở.

   The slave gets into reading books.

   dựa vào

   based upon; to base upon

   hướng vào

   to go into

2. during, on

   vào dịp Tết

   on the occasion of Tet

   vào lúc đang gặp khó khăn

   during a time of difficulty

Synonyms

• vô (Southern Vietnamese, Central Vietnamese)

Antonyms

• (in): ra, ra khỏi
• (during): ngoài

Derived terms

• vào khoảng

See also

• lúc
• ở

Particle

vào

1. Used at the end of a clause or sentence to ask the listener to do something vigorously.

   Làm nhanh vào!

   Do it quickly!

   Mặc thật ấm vào kẻo lạnh.

   Dress truly warmly or you'll be cold.

2. Used at the end of a clause of sentence, usually after lắm or nhiều, to speak critically or reproachfully about excess, implying obvious bad consequences.

   Chơi lắm vào, bây giờ thi trượt.

   Played so much – now your test scores are falling.

   Ăn kẹo cho lắm vào để bị đau bụng.

   You ate so much candy that you got a stomach ache.

References

• "vào" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)
• Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)