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We officially kicked off the forest barbecue season by heading to Trindemossen in Änggårdsbergen twice this week! And both times, we got lucky with our favorite fireplace being free, as if it was just waiting for us to fire it up.

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First flames of 2025

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Today's lesson focused a lot on conversation, introducing ourselves and where we're from. We also learned the names of different countries in Vietanmese, for example:

| English        | Tiếng Việt |
| -------------- | ---------- |
| United States  | Mỹ         |
| United Kingdom | Anh        |
| Australia      | Úc         |
| Germany        | Đức        |
| France         | Pháp       |
| Italy          | Ý          |
| Sweden         | Thụy Điển  |
| China          | Trung Quốc |
| Japan          | Nhật Bản   |
| South Korea    | Hàn Quốc   |

Some countries are same as in English, for example Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

And other countries sound similar to their English name, for example:

| English  | Tiếng Việt |
| -------- | ---------- |
| Denmark  | Đan Mạch   |
| Finland  | Phần Lan   |
| Norway   | Na Uy      |
| Thailand | Thái Lan   |

## Repetition on presentation

We practices how to introduce ourselves again, and this time adding where we're from as well:

- **Xin lỗi, anh/chị tên là gì?** – Excuse me, what’s your name?
- **Tôi tên là Andreas.** – My name is Andreas.

Then, if you want to ask where someone is from:

- **Anh/chị là người nước nào?** – What country are you from?
- **Tôi là người Thụy Điển.** – I’m Swedish.

For example:

**A:** Xin lỗi, anh tên là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên là John.  
**A:** Anh là người nước nào?
**B:** Tôi là người Mỹ.

## When to Use “Là” in Vietnamese

One important thing to know is that **“là”** is only used before a noun, never before a verb or an adjective.

**Tôi là người Việt.** (I am Vietnamese.)  
**Tôi là cao.** (Incorrect! "Cao" means "tall" and is an adjective.)

Instead, if you want to say something like "I am tall", you just drop the **"là"** altogether:
**Tôi cao.** (I am tall.)

This is a big difference from English, where we always say "am/is/are." In Vietnamese, you only use **là** when the word after it is a noun.

## Saying Yes and No in Vietnamese

Another interesting topic of the lesson was how to say "yes" and "no". Vietnamese doesn’t use a simple "yes" or "no" like in English. Instead, you often repeat part of the question in your answer.

If someone asks:

**Anh là người Nhật, phải không?** (Are you Japanese?)

- **Dạ, phải.** (Yes, that’s correct.)
- **Dạ, không phải.** (No, that’s not correct.)

**Phải** means "correct" and **không phải** means "not correct". This pattern works for many yes/no questions.

For other types of yes/no questions, you often repeat the verb instead. If someone asks:

**Anh có hiểu không?** (Do you understand?)

- **Có.** (Yes, I do.)
- **Không.** (No, I don’t.)

It’s a little different from English, but once you get the hang of it, it makes a lot of sense. Now, onto some homework:

### First Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, anh _tên_ là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên là _John_.  
**A:** Anh là người _nước nào_?
**B:** Tôi là người _nước Mỹ_.

### Second Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _chị tên_ là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên _là Jenny_.  
**A:** Chị là người _nước nào_?
**B:** Tôi là _người Nhật Bản_.

### Third Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _anh tên là gì_?
**B:** Tôi tên _là Martin_.  
**A:** _Anh_ là _người_ nước _nào_?
**B:** Tôi _là người Hàn Quốc_.

### Fourth Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _chị là_ người Nhật, phải không?
**B:** Đạ, không phải. Tôi là _người Việt_.  
**A:** _Chị_ tên _là gì_?  
**B:** Tôi _tên là Mỹ_.
