Languages / Vietnamese / Level 2 · Unit 2

Toi nghi rang — Expressing Opinions

Lesson 32 of 170 · Level 2 of 6All lessons
In this lesson

You are learning expressing opinions: you will read the scene it happens in, take apart the pattern behind them (opinion structures), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.

The scene

A bia hoi corner in Ta Hien Street, the Old Quarter. Cheap draught beer, shared tables, strong opinions. Every Hanoian has a theory about which pho is best. Now you can join the debate.

Ta Hien — The Bia Hoi Debate

Ta Hien Street at 6pm: plastic stools spilling onto the pavement, bia hoi (fresh draught beer, brewed that morning, about 25 cents a glass) flowing fast. The stranger sits at a corner junction. Three Hanoians join his table.

The debate begins immediately. 「Pho Thin hay Pho Gia Truyen?」 one asks.

The stranger has an opinion now: 「Toi nghi rang Pho Thin dam da hon. Nhung Pho Gia Truyen thanh hon — cung ngon.」

The man across slaps the table. 「Toi khong dong y! Theo toi, Pho Gia Truyen la so mot. Tai vi nuoc dung truyen thong.」

The woman next to him: 「Toi thay ca hai deu ngon. Nhung bun cha moi la mon ngon nhat Ha Noi!」

Everyone laughs. More bia hoi is poured. 「Toi dong y!」 says the stranger. More food opinions. More beer. This is Hanoi at its best.