50+ Basic Vietnamese Phrases Every Traveler Should Know

Planning a trip to Vietnam? Learning a few basic Vietnamese phrases can enhance your experience, help you connect with locals, and make your journey more enjoyable. Whether you’re ordering food, asking for directions, or greeting someone, these phrases will come in handy.

Learn Basic Vietnamese Phrases for your incredible tour

In addition to being able to communicate more easily with locals, knowing basic Vietnamese words also makes you more professional and knowledgeable when joining motorbike tours in Vietnam. Like other languages, Vietnamese has many different pronunciations for words. Check out the information below to learn more about Vietnamese! 

Basic knowledge of Vietnam

Vietnam is a nation in Southeast Asia that has a long and rich history and culture. Vietnam’s culture is influenced by various sources, such as China, France, and the United States so the Vietnamese accent will be different in each region of Vietnam. 

The nation and language

Due to the influence of many different countries in the world, the pronunciation of each region is also different. Besides, Vietnam is divided into 3 main regions: North, Central and South, each region will have its own characteristics in pronunciation, which creates a special feature of Vietnam’s culture. To explore the beauty of the three main regions, contact us to immerse yourself in nature with North Vietnam Motorbike Tours, South Vietnam Motorbike Tours, Central Vietnam Motorbike Tours.

The different accents between 3 regions of Vietnam

The information below will give you the pronunciation of all 3 regions and their special features.

• For Northern Vietnam: Pronunciation seems to be heavier and clearer. For example, people in the North usually pronounce the “l” and “n”; “gi”, “d” and as the same while people in the Central and South usually distinguish them more clearly.
• For the Central people: They make Acute accents into Grave accents while Underdot becomes Grave ones.
• For the South of Vietnam: Southerners pronounce the letter “gi” as same as the letter “d” and they make the sound of the Tilde accents as same as the Hook above accents. 

In addition, in each region, there will be different local words and the use of words is different to refer to the same objects. All those things make the Vietnamese language diverse. 

Find out more: 10 Motorbike Safety Tips For An Unforgettable Experience

The difference between addressing people in English and Vietnamese

In England or other English speaking countries, people use the same pronouns for “I”, “you”, “he”, and “she” regardless of age or status. While in Vietnam, we have a lot of ways to call someone. 

Typically as in English, people use the same word for “uncle” or “aunt” regardless of whether they are related by blood or marriage. For example, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Tracy. In Vietnamese, people use different words for “uncle” or “aunt” depending on whether they are related by blood or familiarity with the Vietnamese person you are talking to.

How to address people here

Vietnamese people use different pronouns for “I”, “you”, “he”, and “she” depending on the situation and the person you are talking to. For example, “Tôi” or “Tui” (in the South of Vietnam) means I and is used when talking to strangers. “Em” means younger sibling and is used for people who are younger than the person that they talk to or when talking to their lovers. 

Addressing people is considered one of the hardest parts of communication in Vietnam. There are a lot of ways to call someone based on age, gender, and relationships. You can check the table below for basic Vietnamese phrases to address someone in Vietnam. 

Basic Vietnamese phrases for foreign tourists in each situation

Vietnam is a beautiful and hospitable country, Vietnamese people are willing to help or have a chat with foreigners. We’ll inform you of common Vietnamese phrases in different situations below to communicate easily and have a great trip. 

For Greetings

The most common way to say hello in Vietnam is “Xin chào” or “Chào” (a little bit the same as Italian). It’s a versatile phrase that can be used at any time of the day and with anyone. In another way, you can address people naturally by calling someone following the table above. 

When saying goodbye to Vietnamese, you can use different phrases depending on the situation. For example, you can say “Tạm biệt” which means “Goodbye”, or simply say “Bai” which means the same pronunciation and meaning as “Bye” in English. 

Those are some Basic Vietnamese Phrases for riders to greet in Vietnam. 

Asking for direction/help

When you want to ask for directions, you can greet Vietnamese people (like the instructions above) first then ask them how to get to a certain place using the following structure:

“[The place that you want to get there] ở đâu ạ?” which means “Where is [address]?”

“Đi đến [address] như thế nào ạ?” means “How do I get to [address]?”

Alternatively, you can use the simpler structure as “Any location + o dau?” The word “o dau?” means “Where” in Vietnamese. 

Say thank you and sorry

For beginners and who have the first time come to Vietnam, you can simply say thank you or sorry using the following sentences:

Giving a compliment

You can give a compliment to Vietnamese by simply showing them a thumbs up or you can use the following simple sentences below here. 

Communication at a coffee shop or restaurant

Traveling Vietnam, you can experience the culture here by eating at the markets or restaurants in the area you visit. Besides the restaurants, you can also experience coffee shops in Vietnam to know more about our culture. 

Shopping and Bargaining

Vietnam is famous for many food markets, Vietnamese dishes are diverse and delicious. In order to be able to communicate simply with locals or market traders, we provide you with some simple Vietnamese basic words and phrases so that you can have the best experience in Vietnam.

Communication at the airport

In addition to basic Vietnamese for riders above, you can use the following sentences to ask for the easiest and fastest way to the airport.

• By using the structure: Toi muon den (I want to go) + The place you want to go to, you can ask for the way to come to the airport.

Counting numbers and the face value of money in Vietnam

Below are some of the most important basic Vietnamese phrases / words. Aware simple numbers as well as the face value of money not only help your payment easier but also make your trip more wonderful. 

Counting numbers

The table below provides you with how to say and write some Basic Vietnamese Phrases of numbers.  

The face value of money in Vietnam

Vietnam has many different face values of money. Check out the information about Vietnam’s face value and color so as not to confuse when using it.

Vietnam becomes more and more popular destination for tourist all over the world; however, most of the Vietnamese people are not good at speaking English or foreign languages so we hope some of these Basic Vietnamese Phrases will help you sometimes during your travel in Vietnam!

For the best experience of Vietnamese culture, history, and landscapes, please consider allowing us to be your local tour guides during your travels in Vietnam. Just join one of our Vietnam motorcycle tours here and enjoy Vietnam with our local guide team!

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