Đi bằng gì? — Talking about means of transport

What you will learn

This lesson adds transport to the place-and-directions unit. The main question is Đi bằng gì?, but natural answers do not always repeat bằng.

1. Đi bằng gì?

• Anh đi bằng gì? — What do you go/travel by?
• Chị đi làm bằng gì? — How do you travel to work?
• Từ đây ra sân bay đi bằng gì? — What can you take from here to the airport?

2. Đi xe máy

Very common answers are:

• Tôi đi xe máy.
• Tôi đi ô tô.
• Tôi đi xe buýt.

Vietnamese often uses đi + vehicle directly. You do not need to repeat bằng in every answer.

3. Đi bằng xe máy is also possible

• Tôi đi bằng xe máy.
• Mình đi bằng ô tô nhé.

Bằng makes the means/instrument explicit. The shorter đi xe máy is extremely normal.

4. Đi bộ

Đi bộ means go/walk on foot:

• Tôi đi bộ.
• Gần lắm, đi bộ được.

Learn đi bộ as a unit. Do not mechanically build a phrase equivalent to “by foot”.

5. Taxi and ride-hailing

• Đi taxi.
• Gọi taxi.
• Đi xe công nghệ.

Xe công nghệ is a broad everyday label for app-based ride services. It does not name one single vehicle type: a ride may be by motorbike or car depending on the service.

6. Xe buýt

• Tôi đi xe buýt.
• Có xe buýt không?

This lesson only introduces the transport word. B94 later handles the practical details of using a bus.

7. Other transport words to recognize

• xe đạp — bicycle
• tàu hỏa / tàu lửa — train; regional/usage variation exists
• máy bay — airplane
• tàu — can refer to different kinds of vessel/train depending on context

Recognition is enough here; do not try to master every transport system in one lesson.

8. From place to place

• Từ nhà đến chỗ làm, tôi đi xe máy.
• Từ khách sạn ra sân bay, tôi đi taxi.
• Từ đây đến chợ có thể đi bộ.

The pattern connects places already learned in Unit 8 with a means of travel.

9. A short conversation

Lan: Từ đây đến ga có xa không?

Minh: Khá xa.

Lan: Đi bằng gì tiện?

Minh: Đi taxi hoặc xe công nghệ cũng được.

Lan: Đi bộ được không?

Minh: Xa quá, không nên đi bộ.

10. Đi, chạy and lái are not interchangeable

For a beginner, đi xe máy / đi ô tô safely describes travel. Lái specifically focuses on driving. Chạy xe is common in some everyday usages but has broader meanings and regional habits. Do not replace every đi with lái.

11. Useful vocabulary

• đi bộ — walk/go on foot
• xe máy — motorbike
• ô tô — car/automobile
• taxi — taxi
• xe công nghệ — app-based ride service/vehicle, broad everyday term
• xe buýt — bus
• xe đạp — bicycle
• tiện — convenient, suitable in context

12. Vietnam in real life

The practical meaning of “near” changes with transport, road conditions and traffic. A place that is easy by motorbike may not be comfortable on foot. B69 adds duration and distance estimates.

13. Common beginner mistakes

• Repeating bằng in every answer because English uses “by”.
• Translating “on foot” word by word instead of learning đi bộ.
• Assuming xe công nghệ is one exact vehicle type.
• Turning this lesson into detailed taxi/bus procedures that belong later in B93–B94.

Try it

1. Ask how someone travels to work.
2. Answer with đi xe máy.
3. Say that a nearby place can be reached on foot.
4. Give two possible ways to get to an airport.

Quick recap

Ask Đi bằng gì?, but expect natural answers such as đi xe máy, đi ô tô, đi xe buýt, đi taxi and đi bộ. Vietnamese does not need to mirror English “by + transport” in every sentence.