# Vietnamese: mới = until



## divisortheory

I know this word has many meanings, but recently i saw a sentence where the meaning seems to be something like "until".  The sentence was something like:

Còn lâu mới thi.
*There's still a long time until the exam.*

I was hoping someone could explain this usage in detail.  And maybe give some examples of different sentence structure but with the same meaning of mới = until.


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## newname

divisortheory said:


> I know this word has many meanings, but recently i saw a sentence where the meaning seems to be something like "until".  The sentence was something like:
> 
> Còn lâu mới thi.
> *There's still a long time until the exam.*
> 
> I was hoping someone could explain this usage in detail.  And maybe give some examples of different sentence structure but with the same meaning of mới = until.



No, it doesn't mean until. It's part of the fixed structure: còn lâu ai mới làm gì/ còn lâu mới (tới) cái gì. ("tới" is often optional)

Examples:
Còn lâu tôi mới thi
Còn lâu mới thi
Còn lâu mới tới kỳ thi
còn lâu mới gặt
còn lâu người ta mới gặt (lúa)
còn lâu mới tới mùa gặt

In short, if you want to express the same idea as ' there + be+ a long time+ until ..., you use the structure, 'Còn lâu (+ chủ ngữ +) mới + danh từ/cụm động từ.

Thân mến.


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## divisortheory

So if I understand, "long time until X" is just a set expression that happens to be expressed using the word mới  

What about the following variations of this pattern?


it's been a long time since X
it won't be long until X (technically this is the same as "X will be soon" = "sắp X", but I want to know if there's a natural sounding way to say it in the negative, e.g. with không lâu)
it's a long ways until X (not talking about time)

Here's my attempts:


(no idea actually how to say this one)
Không lâu mới X nữa
I still have a long ways to go until I can speak Vietnamese fluently = Còn xa mới nói tiếng Việt rành
I suspect xa is the wrong word to use here, but I don't know a better one, if it even exists at all.  And maybe this entire #3 pattern should not use this same structure at all.


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## newname

Yes, mới is part of the structure. Tới means until but is often left out.

Your number 1 is equivalent to, ' Đã lâu (rồi) kể từ khi X'. (We don't have tenses. We use the phrase 'đã lâu rồi kể từ khi' to express the present perfect.)
Đã lâu rồi kể từ khi (tôi/anh/chú...) gặp anh = It's been a long time since I met you.
Your number 2 is corrected as follows, ' Không (bao) lâu nữa thì X/ Ngày/giờ X sẽ không còn lâu nữa.' 
Ngày giờ mình đoàn tụ không còn lâu nữa/Không lâu nữa thì mình đoàn tụ = It won't be long until we reunite/ we'll reunite soon.
Your number 3. Còn xa mới is not often heard in the South, where I live, but people living in the North often use it, especially those living in the countryside. I speak the Northern vernacular, though. Both xa and lâu mean 'long' (time) but I recommend sticking with lâu.

'Còn xa mới nói tiếng Việt rành' is fine, but rành is used in the South. If in provinces in the north they use sõi, 'Còn lâu mới nói sõi tiếng Việt/nói tiếng Việt sõi.

P.S
The opposite of 'còn lâu mới X' is 'không bao lâu nữa thì X'. Còn lâu tôi mới thi v.s không (bao) lâu nữa tôi (sẽ) thi.

Thân mến.


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## divisortheory

Thank you again.  I am mostly interested in Southern dialect, so it's very helpful when you make the distinction like that.  I still like to know Northern however so I can understand, but I only speak Southern.


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## binhan200892

until= cho tới khi,mãi tới khi(typical meaning) )


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## hoan965

What about the following variations of this pattern?



it's been a long time since X
it  won't be long until X (technically this is the same as "X will be soon"  = "sắp X", but I want to know if there's a natural sounding way to say  it in the negative, e.g. with không lâu)
it's a long ways until X (not talking about time)


Here's my attempts:



(no idea actually how to say this one)
Không lâu mới X nữa
I still have a long ways to go until I can speak Vietnamese fluently = Còn xa mới nói tiếng Việt rành
I suspect xa is the wrong word to use here, but I don't  know a better one, if it even exists at all.  And maybe this entire #3  pattern should not use this same structure at all.

I often translate : 
1. it's been a long time since X... : Đã lâu rồi kể tử khi ... /  Đã ....( time) .... qua từ khi .... 
    Ex: It's been a long time since I met him (= Đã lâu rồi từ khi tôi gặp anh ta. 
          It's been two years since I met him (= Đã hai năm trôi qua từ khi tôi gặp anh ta.  
2. it  won't be long until X ... : X ...... sẽ sớm / không lâu nữa 
     Ex: It won't be long until you meet him. (=Bạn sẽ sớm gặp anh ta. / Bạn sẽ gặp anh ta không lâu nữa    
   + However , I agee with Binhhan 200829 that the typical meaning of until is ' cho đến khi , mãi đến khi ...' 
      Ex:  I hadn't known his name until I met him at the party. ( Tôi không biết tên anh ta cho đấn khi gặp anh ta .... ) 
             Not until I met him at the party had I known his name. ( Mãi đến khi tôi gặp anh ta tại buổi tiệc, tôi mới biết tên anh ta.)
3. it's a long way until X ...... : (First of all, you should define the meaning of 'way'. ) 
   - 'way' may mean distance or period of time between two points. 
      Ex: It's a long way until you reach Leicester Square ( Còn xa bạn mới đến được Leicester Square )
          I still have a long way to go until I can speak Vietnamese fluently = Còn lâu tôi mới nói tiếng Việt rành / giỏi / trôi chảy.    

I hope my opinions can help you.


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