Vietnamese Verb "thấy" — to see

thấy

to see

Type

Perception verb

Patterns

6 tense/aspect forms

Simple / Bare Verb

The bare verb with no marker. Context determines whether it refers to present, past, or habitual action.

Simple statement

Structure: Subject + thấy

Tôi thấy.

I see / I saw.

Past / Completed (đã)

The marker "đã" before the verb explicitly marks a completed action or past event.

Completed marker: đã

Structure: Subject + đã + thấy

Tôi đã thấy.

I saw / I have seen.

Progressive (đang)

The marker "đang" expresses an action currently in progress.

Progressive marker: đang

Structure: Subject + đang + thấy

Tôi đang thấy.

I am seeing.

Future (sẽ)

The marker "sẽ" expresses a future action or intention.

Future marker: sẽ

Structure: Subject + sẽ + thấy

Bạn sẽ thấy.

You will see.

Negative (không / chưa)

"Không" negates the verb generally. "Chưa" means "not yet" — implying the action may happen later.

Negative marker: không

Structure: Subject + không + thấy

Tôi không thấy.

I don't see / I didn't see.

Not yet marker: chưa

Structure: Subject + chưa + thấy

Tôi chưa thấy.

I haven't seen (it) yet.

Experience / Other (đã từng / vẫn)

"Đã từng" marks past experience ("have ever done"). "Vẫn" means "still" for ongoing states.

Experience marker: đã từng

Structure: Subject + đã từng + thấy

Bạn đã từng thấy tuyết chưa?

Have you ever seen snow?

Example Sentences

Bạn có thấy không?

Do you see (it)?

Tôi đã thấy anh ấy hôm qua.

I saw him yesterday.

Tôi không thấy gì cả.

I don't see anything at all.