To add an accent mark over a vowel (â, ă, ê, ô, ơ, ư), type the following:
- a + w = ă
- a + a = â
- e + e = ê
- o + o = ô
- o + w = ơ
- u + w = ư
To add diaeresis over a vowel (à, á, ả, ã, ạ) type the following:
- a + f = à
- a + s = á
- a + r = ả
- a + x = ã
- a + j = ạ
If you are a man, refer to yourself as:
- "Anh" (I), only when speaking to a younger girl
- "Tôi" (I, formal), when speaking to others
To address someone (still as a man):
- use "Chị" for an older female: "cảm ơn, chị" (Thank you, elder sister/madam)
- use "Anh" or "Ban" for a male: "cảm ơn, anh" (Thank you, brother/sir)
- use "Em" for a person younger than you:
- "Chào em" (Hello, younger brother/sister)
- "Em tên gì?" (What's your name?)
- use "Cậu" for a friend: "cậu tên là gì?" (What's your name?)
- use "Tớ" for reffering to yourself to a friend: "Tớ cảm ơn cậu, Ngoc Anh" (Thank you, Ngoc Anh)
| I | You | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tôi | Bạn | Same age with the person | Tôi là Vy (I am Vy) Bạn là Vy (You are Vy) Xin chào Bạn Định |
| Em | Chị | "I" is younger than "you" "You" is female |
|
| Chị | Em | "I" is older than "You" "I" is female |
Xin chào em My (Hello to a younger person called My) |
| Em | Anh | "I" is younger than "You" "You" is male |
|
| Anh | Em | "I" is older than "You" "I" is male |
My name is Jonas:
- to younger people: Anh tên là Jonas
- to older people: Em tên là Jonas
When age difference is significant:
| I | You | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cháu (Northern) Con (southern vietnamese) |
Cô, dì, bác | The other person is much older than you, but not very old yet. (looks younger than 70?). "You" is female. |
Con chào dì Định (from little Lex) |
| Cháu (Northern) Con (southern vietnamese) |
Chú, Bác | Same as above, but "you" is male. | When you come to a friend"s house you say “cháu chào bác” to the old person |
| Cháu (Northern) Con (southern vietnamese) |
Bà | The other person is really much more senior than you (looks older than 70?) |
Con chào bà (from younger person, means: Hello grandma) |
| Cháu (Northern) Con (southern vietnamese) |
Ông | Same as above, but for male. | Con chào ông (from younger person, means: Hello grandpa) |
The word for "You", if you were talking to the person directly + ấy (or ta).
- Chúng tôi - excluding the listener: If you are in a restaurant and say to the waiter Chúng tôi muốn đặt cơm (we want to order rice). You exclude the waiter from the “we”.
- Chúng ta - including the listener: If we are with a friend and you ask Chúng ta đi đâu? (Where are we going? or We go where?) you include your friend in the “we”.
| English | Vietnamese |
|---|---|
| Hello | Xin chào |
| Goodbye | Tạm biệt |
| Thank you | Cảm ơn |
| De rien | Không có gì |
| Thanks a lot | Cảm ơn bạn (you) nhiều (a lot) |
| Xin lỗi | I'm sorry |
| Please | Xin vui lòng |
| Yes | "Vâng" or "Có" "Vâng" is a polite and respectful way to say "yes" or "I agree" "Có" is a more general word for "yes" or "there is/are". "Có bánh mì không?" (Is there no bread?), you could answer "Có" (Yes, there is). |
| No | Không |
| My name is ..., what's yours? | Tôi tên là ..., bạn tên là gì? |
| (Informal) Hello, how you're doing? What's your name? | Chào, bạn khỏe không? Bạn tên là gì? gì? |
| A lot | Yêu (to love) anh (you) nhiều (a lot) |
| good morning my friend | chào buổi sáng bạn ơi |
| Hi everyone | Chào mọi người |
| Bye bye | "bái bai" (sounds like bye bye) |
| See you again | Hẹn gặp lại nhé |
| One cup of coffee please | Cho tôi một cốc cà phê |
| One cup of coffee please, take out | Cho tôi một cốc cà phê mang về |
| I can not speak Vietnamese | Tôi không thể nói tiếng Việt |
| Have a good day, my friend | Ngày mới tốt lành nhé, ban Anh! |
| Happy bday | Chúc mừng sinh nhật |
| lie | nói dối (Ban nói dối: you're lying) |
"Ạ" and "Dạ" are polite particles in Vietnamese that are used to show respect and deference towards someone, particularly those who are older or in a higher position of authority.
Both particles can be used for either gender, although "Ạ" is generally considered more masculine and "Dạ" more feminine.
For example to answer yes or no:
- Yes: Có, có ạ, Dạ có
- No: Không, Không ạ, Dạ không
| English | Vietnamese |
|---|---|
| my name is Jonas (formal) | Tôi tên là Jonas (I am called Jonas) |
| I am a French person | Tôi là người Pháp |
| I am 28 years old | Tôi hai mươi tám tuổi 28 is: 2*10+8 Hai Mươi Tám |
| I am an engineer | Tôi là kỹ sư |
| English | Vietnamese |
|---|---|
| 1 | Một |
| 2 | Hai |
| 3 | Ba |
| 4 | Bốn |
| 5 | Năm |
| 6 | Sáu |
| 7 | Bảy |
| 8 | Tám |
| 9 | Chín |
| 10 | Mười |
- To be a "young buffalo": to be young and immature
- tây ngố: a foreigner who is not familiar with Vietnamese culture
- Soái ca: a gentleman
- ghê ghê: vietnamese expression that conveys a sense of awe or admiration. It's similar to "wow!" "amazing!". It's often used to describe a person who is very good at something.