Definition

1. Auxiliary Verb:

   • To be in the process of: Indicates that an action or state is currently happening, ongoing, or in progress at the moment of speaking or at a specific reference point in time.

2. Verb (Archaic/Literary):

   • To take on the responsibility of; to be willing/able to bear: Expresses the capacity or willingness to undertake a task, often used in negative or questioning contexts to imply reluctance or moral difficulty.

Usage Examples

• Auxiliary Verb:

  • Cô ấy đang đọc sách. (She is reading a book.)
  • Hôm qua lúc tôi gọi, anh ấy đang họp. (Yesterday when I called, he was in a meeting.)
  • Trời đang mưa. (It is raining.)

• Verb (Archaic/Literary):

  • Làm việc ấy sao cho đang? (How can one bring oneself to do such a thing?)
  • Nỡ lòng nào cho đang? (How can the heart bear it?)

Advanced Usage

• "đang khi": While, during the time when. This is a more formal or literary conjunction.
  • Đang khi mọi người bàn bạc, thì chuông điện thoại reo. (While everyone was discussing, the phone rang.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đương (p, v): An older or literary variant of "đang" with the same core meanings of "in progress" or "to bear".
  • Công việc đương tiến hành. (The work is proceeding.)

Synonyms

• Auxiliary Verb: Currently, in the middle of, presently (used to form progressive tenses in English: is/am/are + V-ing, was/were + V-ing).
• Verb (Archaic): To undertake, to bear, to shoulder (a responsibility).

Notes on Usage

• As an auxiliary verb, "đang" is extremely common and is the primary marker for the present and past continuous/progressive aspects in Vietnamese. It directly precedes the main verb.
• The verbal meaning is now rare in everyday modern speech and is mostly found in classical literature, poetry, or proverbs.

verb

1. to be the process of

verb

1. to take on the responsibility of