"I read the menu and eat the cake."

Translation: Tôi đọc thực đơn và ăn bánh.

[Trudie350989]

Why not bánh ngọt?

[Vortarulo]

If the classifiers on their own express definiteness just like "the" does in English, why is the best translation of this English sentence not one involving classifiers (e.g. cái bánh)?

[ckhadung]

You are right. The answer with "cái bánh" should be accepted. However, some phrases like "eat bread, eat cake..." in Vietnamese usually (if not all) does not involve a specific "thing". If possible, I can change this sentence to "I read menu and eat cake" if it sounds natural in English in order to match with the Vietnamese answer.

[Vortarulo]

I see... I'm not a native speaker of English but I think "I read menu" isn't proper English. Maybe the tip about the use of classifiers for "the" should be improved. I think it's more complicated. Someday I'll read a linguistic paper on it, then I'll know... :)

[Snowyfox]

Yes, it isn't proper English. ckhadung meant that he could translate it like that IF English allowed it, but it doesn't.

[Snowyfox]

Aren't the classifiers supposed to clarify and emphasize the form of the object?
AFAIK "the" is default in Vietnamese, you don't need to use a word to express it

[George418878]

I wrote "menu" in English because I forgot the Vietnamese word, and my answer was accepted!

[Kythkyn]

Why was I marked wrong for not using a classifier that wasn't introduced yet?

"You used the wrong word.
Tôi đọc cuốn thực đơn và ăn bánh."

[kn_lingo]

Maybe 'cuốn' is just used for books (and magazines?)

[nantokanare]

This is a useful sentence for the Cheesecake Factory

[hagldn]

Mấy bn nước ngoài nói gì mình ko hiểu [ người Việt Nam nha ]

[Yuzu702902]

can we use "xem" as means "read"?

[Demonym281]

For me, thưc was marked as a typo even though it looked exactly the same in the Duo answer

[Seth853809]

Bánh kem should be accepted, I think.

[BraveLeeFlea]

Cream cake?

[Seth853809]

No, just cake. Bánh by itself doesn't literally mean cake. It refers to a very broad range of baked or steamed things you eat, and can be sweet or savory: bread, cakes, cookies, dumplings, crêpes, spring rolls, even noodles and rice paper.
All these have different names: bánh + X (bánh mì, bánh xèo, bánh tránh, bánh bao).
The type of bánh that a westerner would call a cake (like a birthday cake), I believe is called bánh kem. So yes, literally a cream bánh, I suppose referring to the frosting.

I just found this. I hadn't thought of it, but it does seem that a bánh is basically anything made with any type of flour:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1nh