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In Vietnamese conversation, you will often hear the word “khiến”. Its meaning changes depending on the context and the word order in the sentence. In this lesson, we will introduce three common usages of this word.
【Structure】
Usage ① “To make (someone feel…)” / “To cause”
【Explanation】 This usage means to make someone do something, or to cause a specific result or situation to happen.
Example Sentences:
①Câu chuyện này khiến tôi buồn.
This story makes me sad.
②Mưa lớn khiến giao thông bị tắc nghẽn.
Heavy rain caused a traffic jam.
Usage ② “To order” / “To instruct”
【Explanation】 Used when a superior or boss gives an order or instruction to someone (Causative).
Example Sentences:
③Anh ấy khiến tôi làm việc này.
He made me do this work.
④Cô giáo khiến học sinh trả lời câu hỏi.
The teacher had the students answer the questions.
Usage ③ “Due to…” / “Because of…”
【Explanation】 This is also used to express an indirect cause that leads to a certain outcome.
Example Sentences:
⑤Tai nạn khiến cô ấy không thể đi làm.
The accident caused her to be unable to go to work. (Because of the accident, she couldn’t go to work).
⑥Sự việc này khiến tôi suy nghĩ rất nhiều.
This incident made me think a lot.
Nuance Point
“Khiến” is most often used when giving some influence or change to a situation or person.
Depending on the context, it can be interpreted in various ways, such as “causative (make/have)”, “cause”, or “result”.
To make it easier to understand, here is a simple conversation example:
A: Sao hôm nay trông cậu buồn vậy?
(Why do you look so sad today?)
B: Một chuyện nhỏ khiến mình suy nghĩ thôi.
(Just a little thing making me think. / Something is on my mind.)