Learning to speak a few words of local language while on your trip is always fun and greatly improve your experience. Let’s learn some words/phrases of Vietnamese while preparing your trip and you will have chance to talk/chat, make friends – however briefly – with the majority of locals who might not know your language and also give you a far greater appreciation of the Vietnamese culture. Below are some easy and popular phrases which I think will enhance your enjoyment, if you are interested to know a little more about our language, you can download here the phrasebook to sharpen your skills.
Simple Phrases
At the very minimum it is important to at least know how to say ‘Hello’ and ‘Thank you’ – it takes moments to learn yet can make a big impression, as you will already know more than 90% of travellers arriving in Vietnam.
Hello. Xin chào. (sin chow)
Hi. Chào. (chow)
How are you? Khỏe không? (kweh kohng?)
Fine, thank you. Khoẻ, cảm ơn. (kweh, gauhm uhhn)
What is your name? Bạn tên là gì? (ban ten la zee)?
My name is ______ . Tôi tên là ______ . (Toy ten la _____ .)
Please. Làm ơn. (lam uhhn)
Thank you. Cảm ơn. (gauhm uhhn)
You’re welcome. Không sao đâu. (kohng sao dwoh)
Yes (affirmative). Vâng (vuhng)
Yes (affirmative, respectful). Dạ (Northern : zah, Southern : yah)
Yes (correct). Đúng (doong)
No. Không. (kaumng)
I’m sorry. Xin lỗi. (sin loy)
Goodbye. Tạm biệt (tam byet)
I can’t speak Vietnamese [well]. Tôi không biết nói tiếng Việt [giỏi lắm]. (thoy kohng byet noy tyeng vyet [zoy luhm])
Do you speak English? Bạn biết nói tiếng Anh không? (ban byet noy tyeng ang kaumng)
Is there someone here who speaks English? Có ai đây biết nói tiếng Anh không? (GAW eye day byet noy tyeng ang kaumng)
Help! Cứu (tôi) với! (gih-OO (thoy) vuh-y!)
Look out! Cẩn thận! (guhn tuh’n!)
Good night (to sleep). Chúc ngủ ngon. (chook ngoo ngawn)
I don’t understand. Tôi không hiểu. (toy kohng hugh)
Where is the toilet? (formal and common): Nhà vệ sinh/wc ở đâu?
Be back soon. Sẽ quay lại sớm (se-ay kway lie-ay sohm)
Addressing people
For Vietnamese people it is important to use the correct form of address than signifies your age and relationship to the person you are speaking to. In general, when talking to someone younger than you you may call them ‘Em’, or if you think you are younger than them you may call yourself ‘Em’ and use a range of pronouns based on the other person’s gender and age.
As a traveller however it is acceptable to ‘cheat’ and use a generic ‘Tôi’ for ‘I’ and ‘Ban’ for ‘Friend’, rather than finding the correct form of address – this is not disrespectful and will help you make yourself understood.
Pronunciation
Like the majority of South East and East Asian languages, Vietnam is a tonal language. This means that for each syllable there are six different tones that can change the meaning of a phrase.
Tones
| Description | Sample word | Meaning |
| High rising | Má | Mother |
| Low falling | Mà | That |
| Start in a low tone, go down, and gently back up (I tend to imagine a bored butler – ‘Ye-es M’lud?’ ) | Mả | Tomb |
| Start high, bring voice down, cut off and go back up* | Mã | Horse |
| Bring voice down and cut off abruptly (imagine a parent firmly saying ‘No.’) | Mạ | Rice Shoots |
| Mid range voice, go flat and level | Ma | Ghost |
*This tone is very strong in the North around Hanoi where there is a perceptible ‘cut’ in the sound. In the South around Saigon people tend to speak in a more ‘smooth’ manner, and many would say this tone becomes almost identical to the low, rising tone above it (‘Ye-es, M’lud”)
Vietnamese Alphabet
Although the Vietnamese use the same alphabet as Latin languages such as English and French, some of the sounds are fairly different to their English equivalent. There are a few similarities with French, however.
Consonants
| d | Like ‘z‘ as in zero |
| đ | Like ‘d‘ in English as do |
| g,gh | Like ‘g‘ in go |
| gi | Like ‘y‘ in yes |
| kh | Like ‘Karen’ |
| nh | Like ‘n’ in Cognac |
| ng, ngh | Like Singer |
| ph | Like ‘f‘ in forest |
| r | Normal R in English |
| s | Normal S in English |
| t | As in Tan |
| th | As in Thump |
| tr | As in Train |
| v | As in Violet |
Vowels
One rule to pronouncing vowels in Vietnam that is very useful to remember is that whenever you get two vowels together – for example ‘ui’ – the first vowel should have much more emphasis than the second – ‘ui’
| a | As in father |
| ă | like ‘a’ in “father”, except said very quickly |
| â | As a in black |
| ai | I |
| ao | Loud |
| au | Ow |
| âu | As in go |
| ay | As in day |
| ây | As in David |
| e | Like in America |
| eo | Like meow-cat’s noise |
| ê | Like in café |
| i | Like in see |
| ia | Like in idia |
| ie | Like in yes |
| o | Like in door |
| oa | Like in Oasis |
| oai | Like in Why |
| oay | Like in Uruguay |
| e | Where |
| oi | Coin |
| ô | Joseph |
| ôi | Like in toy |
| ơ | Like in Burger |
| u | Like in Sue |
| ua | Like Ecuador |
| uê | Like in ‘Question’ |
| ui | Like oo-ee |
| uy | Like ‘oui’ in French |
| uya | As French ‘Culture‘ |
| uyen | When |
| y | Like letter ‘e‘ |
| yeu | Like in few |
More useful phrases
You can now pronounce most of the words, remember these useful phrases below.
At the restaurant
| Restaurant | Nhà Hàng |
| Menu | Thực đơn |
| Food | Thức ăn |
| Drink (n) | Đồ uống |
| A pair of chopsticks | Đôi đũa |
| I am a vegetarian | Tôi ăn chay |
| Not too spicy | Không quá cay |
| No chilli please | Không ớt |
| No fish sauce | Không nướn mắm |
| Can I have the bill please? | Tính tiền |
| Delicious | Ngon quá |
| I am full | Tôi no rồi |
| Medium | Vừa |
| Rare | Tái |
| Well-done | Chín |
| Without | Không có |
| A little | Ít |
| Sugar | Đường |
| One more | Thêm một |
| One more beer | Thêm một bia |
| Meat | Thịt |
| Seafood | Hải sản |
| Chicken | Gà |
| Beef | Bò |
| Pork (South / North) | (Thit) Heo / Lợn |
| Fish | Cá |
| Squid | Mực |
| Prawns | Tôm |
| Crab | Cua |
| Soft shell crab | Cua lột |
| Fried / Deep Fried | Chiên |
| Stir fried | Xào |
| Grilled | Nướng |
| Steamed | Hấp |
| Stewed | Kho |
| With | Với |
| Fish sauce | Nước mắm |
| Stir fried chicken | Gà xào |
| Grilled chicken | Gà nướng |
| Morning glory | Rau muống |
| Water | Nước |
| Ice | Đá |
| Red wine | Rượu đỏ |
| White wine | Rượu trắng |
| Can I have the menu please? | Có thực đơn không? |
| Can I have chicken sate please | Tôi muốn gà sa tế |
| Can I have a glass of red wine please? | Tôi muốn một ly rượu đỏ |
Getting Around
| Do you use the meter? | Bạn có chạy theo đồng hồ không? |
| I like to go the cinema, please | Tôi muốn đi rạp chiếu phim |
| Motorbike Driver | Xe Ôm |
| Bicycle Rickshaw (Cyclo) | Xích Lô |
| Bus Station | Trạm Xe Buýt |
| Train Station | Ga Xe Lửa |
| Airport | Sân Bay |
| How much is it to go from here to Russian Market? | Đi chợ Nga bao nhiêu tiền? |
| That’s expensive, I pay 30,000 VND ? | Mắc quá, tôi trả ba mươi ngàn? |
| I’m in a hurry | Tôi đang vội |
| Please slow down! | Đi chậm lại! |
| I don’t want to die | Tôi không muốn chết! |
Numbers, times + dates
Vietnamese numbers are quite easy to follow, as higher numbers use the same words as lower – for example, twenty five would be expressed as ‘Two Ten Five’, or 365 as ‘Three Hundred Six Ten Five’. This means that once you have learnt to count from one to ten other numbers are pretty easy.
There is one irregularity with numbers: since the word for 5 (Nam) is the same as for year(s) (Nam) it changes to ‘Lam’ avoid confusion, for example:
5 – Năm
20 years – Hai Mươi Năm
25 – Hai Mươi Lăm
55 – Năm Mươi Lăm
55 years – Năm Mươi Lăm Năm
| 0 | Không |
| 1 | Một |
| 2 | Hai |
| 3 | Ba |
| 4 | Bốn |
| 5 | Năm |
| 6 | Sáu |
| 7 | Bảy |
| 8 | Tám |
| 9 | Chín |
| 10 | Mười |
| 11 | Mười một |
| 12 | Mười hai |
| 13 | Mười ba |
| 14 | Mười bốn |
| 15 | Mười lăm |
| 16 | Mười sáu |
| 17 | Mười bảy |
| 18 | Mười tám |
| 19 | Mười chín |
| 20 | Hai Mươi |
| 21 | Hai Mươi Mốt |
| 30 | Ba Mươi |
| 32 | Ba Mươi Hai |
| 100 | Một Trăm |
| 1,000 | Một Nghìn |
| 100,000 | Một Trăm Nghìn |
| 1,000,000 | Một Triệu |
| 1 bn | Mot Tỷ / Tỉ |
Money
Since money in Vietnam is demarcated in thousands it is acceptable to skip the ‘thousand dong’ when negotiating prices, or to use slang. Do note though that ‘Chuc’ is used more in the south and may not be recognised in the north.
| 1 $ | Một đô |
| 1 £ | Một bảng |
| 1,000 Dong | Một Nghìn Đồng |
| 50,000 Dong | Năm Mươi (Nghìn đồng) |
| 20, 000 / Twenty bucks (slang) | Hai Chục |
| 50,000 / 50 bucks (slang) | Năm Chục |
Units of Time
| Minute | Phút |
| Hour | Giờ |
| Day | Ngày |
| Week | Tuần |
| Month | Tháng |
| Year | Năm |
Days of the week
| Monday | Thứ Hai (Day 2) |
| Tuesday | Thứ Ba (Day 3) |
| Wednesday | Thứ Tư (day 4) |
| Thursday | Thứ Năm (day 5) |
| Friday | Thứ Sáu (day 6) |
| Saturday | Thứ Bảy (day 7) |
| Sunday | Chủ Nhật (God’s day) |
Shopping
A favourite activity for many travellers to Vietnam is shopping. With a huge range of unique crafts available Vietnam is a great place to find souvenirs, and thanks to cheap prices and very talented tailors it is also a popular place to have clothes made. By sprinkling some Vietnamese into your shopping not only will it be easier to get things you want but you may even get some better bargains too. Don’t forget to take a look at our section on dates, numbers and money too.
| Where | Ở đâu |
| Where is Ben Thanh market? | Chợ Bến Thành ở đâu? |
| Where can I buy sun cream? | Tôi có thể mua kem chống nắng ở đâu? |
| How much is it? | Bao nhiêu tiền? |
| It is too expensive | Mắc quá |
| Do you have something cheaper? | Bạn có cái nào rẻ hơn không? |
| Can I pay by card? | Tôi có thể trả bằng thẻ tín dụng không? |
| Can I pick it up later? | Tôi có thể lấy nó sau được không? |
| Can you ship it overseas? | Bạn có gởi hàng ra nước ngoài không? |
| Can I have a receipt please? | Tôi muốn hóa đơn |
| Can I try it? | Tôi có thể thử nó được không? |
| It doesn’t fit | Nó không vừa |
| Do you have a bigger one? | Bạn có cái lớn hơn không? |
| Do you have a smaller one? | Bạn có cái nhỏ hơn không? |
| It’s perfect | Rất tốt |
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