Vietnamese · KNLTV Bậc 1 (A1) · Chapter 40
Tối nay tôi sẽ gọi cho bạnI'll call you tonight
Phone and messages. Vocabulary: gọi điện, nhắn tin, tin nhắn, gửi, trả lời, rảnh, bận, gọi lại, lát nữa, alô. Key grammar: communication verbs need "cho" before the recipient — "gọi cho + person" (call someone), "nhắn tin cho + person" (text someone), "gửi … cho + person" (send … to someone). "Cho" marks the person you reach out to; that person can be a pronoun (bạn, anh, chị, cô ấy, họ): "Tôi gọi cho anh" (I call you), "Em nhắn tin cho chị" (I text you). Note: "gọi bạn" (without "cho") means to call out to / summon someone; to mean PHONE you must have "cho": "gọi cho bạn". English speakers tend to drop "cho" because English "call/text you" needs no preposition: "Tôi sẽ gọi bạn" (= summon you) ✗ → "Tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn" ✓. Tone corner: "gọi" (nặng), "cho" (ngang), "nhắn" (sắc).
Dialogue
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Gọi bạn / Gọi cho bạn
- TomLinh ơi, tối nay tôi sẽ gọi bạn để hỏi bài nhé.Linh, tonight I'll call you to ask about the lesson. (slip: for phoning, use gọi CHO bạn — gọi bạn = call out to you)
- Linh"Gọi bạn" nghe như bạn kêu tên mình cho mình lại gần đó! Muốn điện thoại thì thêm "cho": "gọi cho bạn"."Gọi bạn" sounds like you're calling out my name to come over! To mean phone, add "cho": "gọi cho bạn".
- TomÀ, vì tiếng Anh nói "call you" không cần giới từ. Vậy: tối nay tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn.Ah, because English says "call you" with no preposition. So: tonight I'll call you.
- LinhChuẩn! Nếu tôi bận thì bạn nhắn tin cho tôi, tôi sẽ trả lời hoặc gọi lại cho bạn.Perfect! If I'm busy, text me and I'll reply or call you back.
- Tom"Cho" trước người nhận — tôi nhớ rồi. Nhắn tin cho bạn, gọi cho bạn, gửi bài cho bạn!"Cho" before the recipient — I've got it. Text you, call you, send you the lesson!
Dialogue
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Alô, em nghe đây— Hello, I'm listening
- LinhAlô, em nghe đây. Anh gọi cho em có việc gì không?Hello, I'm listening. You're calling me about something?
- NamỪ, anh gửi ảnh chuyến đi cho em qua tin nhắn rồi. Em nhận được chưa?Yeah, I've sent you the trip photos by message. Did you get them?
- LinhChưa, chắc em đang bận nên chưa xem. Lát nữa em trả lời cho anh nhé.Not yet, I must have been busy so I haven't looked. I'll reply to you in a bit.
- NamĐược. Nếu em rảnh cuối tuần, gọi cho anh, mình đi in ảnh nhé.Okay. If you're free this weekend, call me and we'll go print the photos.
- LinhNhất trí! Em nhắn tin cho anh khi nào em xong việc. Cảm ơn anh đã gọi.Agreed! I'll text you when I finish work. Thanks for calling.
Vocabulary
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- gọi điện
verbto phone, make a call
- nhắn tin
verbto text, send a message
- tin nhắn
nouna text, a message
- gửi
verbto send
- trả lời
verbto answer, reply
- rảnh
adjectivefree, available
- bận
adjectivebusy
- gọi lại
verbto call back
- lát nữa
adverbin a little while, shortly
- alô
interjectionhello (on the phone)
Grammar
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Recipient: "gọi / nhắn / gửi + cho + person"
Explanation
When you contact someone, put "cho" before the recipient: "gọi cho + person" (phone someone), "nhắn tin cho + person" (text someone), "gửi … cho + person" (send something to someone). Here "cho" means "to / for" and introduces the person you are reaching. The recipient is often a pronoun — Vietnamese does not change pronoun forms by position, so "bạn, anh, chị, cô ấy, họ" stay the same: "Tôi gọi cho anh" (I call you), "Anh nhắn tin cho em" (I text you), "Em gửi ảnh cho chị" (I send you a photo). Key point: "gọi bạn" (WITHOUT "cho") means to call out to / summon someone — not to phone. To mean PHONE you must have "cho": "gọi cho bạn". Typical mistake: English "call you / text you" needs no preposition, so learners drop "cho": "Tối nay tôi sẽ gọi bạn" ✗ (sounds like "summon you") → "Tối nay tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn" ✓.
Examples
- Tối nay tôi sẽ gọi cho bạn nhé.I'll call you tonight, okay.
- Anh đang bận, lát nữa anh nhắn tin cho em.I'm busy right now; I'll text you in a little while.
- Cô ấy chưa trả lời tin nhắn. Tôi sẽ gọi lại cho cô ấy.She hasn't answered the message. I'll call her back.
- Bạn rảnh không? Gửi số điện thoại cho tôi, tôi gọi cho bạn.Are you free? Send me your phone number and I'll call you.
Script & tones
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"Gọi cho bạn" — nặng · ngang · nặng
Read aloud, keeping "cho" light and flat in the middle:
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