Vietnam Phrasebook

Forms of address communicate levels of respect and are thus important to learn: don’t address an older man as “friend” or a small child as “sir.” Below we use the form of address bån (friend); replace it wih other pronouns as circumstances dictate. Some vocabulary differs between northern and southern Vietnam.

Form Of Address	Vietnamese	Form Of Address	Vietnamese
friend, peer	bån	child	em
younger man	anh	younger woman	ch¢
older man/male of higher status	®ng	older woman/female of higher status	bà

The Basics	Vietnamese	N	The Basics	Vietnamese
hello	chào bån		goodbye	chào bån
What’s your name?	Bån tˆn gì		My name is..	T®i tˆn là..
How are you?	Bån kh¤e kh®ng?		Excuse me.	Xin l!i.
I don’t speak Vietnamese.	T®i kh®ng bi\t ti\ng Vi_t.		Do you speak English?	Bån bi\t nói ti\ng Anh kh®ng?
please	làm £n		Speak more slowly.	Xin nói chÆm låi.
Thank you.	Cám £n.		I don’t understand.	T®i kh®ng hi€u.
You’re welcome.	Kh®ng có chi.		Please write it down.	Làm £n vi\t nó ra.
Help!	Cu vøi!		Do you have..?	Bån có..?
I’m sorry.	Xin l!i.		I want..	T®i mu#n..
yes	có	.	no	kh®ng
restroom	bu·ng t m		toilet paper	gi+y v_ sinh
Western toilet	c<u tiˆu ki€u ph™£ng tñy		squat toilet	c<u tiˆu ki€u ngi ch·m h%m
I’m lost.	T®i låc Œ™ng.		I don’t know.	T®i kh®ng bi\t.
I’m sick.	T®i c=m th+y mˆt.		doctor	bác sæ
hospital	b_nh vi_n		police station	s˚ cãnh sát
hotel	khách sån		guesthouse	nhà khách
room	phòng		air conditioning	Œi]u hoà Œÿ nhi_t (N)/ có máy lånh (S)
passport	hÿ chi\u		post office	b™u Œi_n

Numbers	Vietnamese	Numbers	Vietnamese
0	kh®ng	11	m™i mÿt
half	na	12	m™i hai
1	mÿt	20	hai m™£i
2	hai	21	hai m™£i m#t
3	ba	100	mÿt trm
4	b#n	200	hai trm
5	nm	407	b#n trm b=y
6	sáu	1000	mÿt ngàn
7	b=y	10,000	m™i ngàn
8	tám	11,000	m™i mÿt ngàn
9	chín	100,000	mÿt trm ngàn
10	m™i	1,000,000	mÿt tri_u

Directions	Vietnamese	Directions	Vietnamese
Where is..?	.. Œñu?	I want to go to..	T®i mu#n Œi Œ\n..
How far is.. from here?	.. cách xa Œñy bao nhiˆu?	How long does it take to get to..?	i bao lñu thì tøi..?
close, near/nearby	g<n	far, distant	xa
(to the) north	(phía) b c	south	nam
east	Œ®ng	west	tñy
left	bˆn trái	right	bˆn ph=i
kilometer	cñy s#	map	b=n Œ·

Money	Vietnamese	Money	Vietnamese
money	ti]n	price	giá
US dollars	Œ® la	receipt	biˆn lai
credit card	thë tín dƒng	How much does it cost?	Giá bao nhiˆu?
bank	ngñn hàng	inexpensive	rë
currency exchange	Œ%i ti]n	expensive	d t
ATM	máy lñy ti]n/“ATM”	too expensive	d t quá

Food	Vietnamese	Food	Vietnamese
to eat	n	I am a vegetarian.	T®i n chay.
restaurant	ti_m n	I don’t eat meat.	T®i kh®ng n th¢t.
I’m hungry.	T®i Œói.	I’m thirsty.	T®i khát.
market	ch	chopsticks	Œ®i Œ´a
hot	nóng	cold	lånh
chicken	th¢t gà	beef	th¢t bò
pork	th¢t ln/th¢t heo	fish	cá
tofu	ŒÆu phƒ	dog	th¢t chó
eel	l™£n	snake	r n
rice	c£m	noodle soup	ph
spring rolls	nem rán	fish sauce	n™øc m m
spicy	cay	not spicy	kh®ng cay
water	n™øc	bottled water	n™øc khoáng/n™øc chai
ice	Œá	soup	xúp
fruit	hoa qu=	vegetable	rau
beer	bia	wine	r™u
coffee	cà phˆ	tea	trà
This is delicious!	Ngon l m!	This is not delicious!	Cái này kh®ng ngon!
This could use more fish sauce.	C<n thˆm n™øc m m.	Cheers!	Chúc!

Transport	Vietnamese	Transport	Vietnamese
What time does the.. leave?	M+y gi thì xe .. Œi?	I would like to rent a..	T®i mu#n thuˆ mÿt..
plane	ma• bay	train	xe l¸a
bus	xe bu•t	ferry	tàu
bicycle	xe Œåp	raft	xu·ng
motorbike taxi	xe ®m	motorbike	xe máy/xe honda
ticket	vé	stamp	tem
train station	tråm xe l¸a	bus station	tråm xe bu•t
airport	phi tr™ng	luggage	hành l•
Hey! This bus is filled with chickens!	Ê! Xe bu•t này Œ<y nhng con gà!	I am experiencing motion sickness.	T®i Œang b¢ say xe.

Daily Life	Vietnamese	Daily Life	Vietnamese
I already have a wife.	T®i có v r·i.	I already have a husband.	T®i có ch·ng r·i.
Am I eating an endangered species?	Có ph=i t®i Œang n mÿt con thú s p b¢ tuy_t ch©ng kh®ng?	Is that safe to eat?	Cái này n có an toàn kh®ng?
Is there a problem, officer?	Có chuy_n gì vÆy chú?	How is the road to..?	Con Œ™ng Œi Œ\n .. nh™ th\ nào?
How old are you?	Bån bao nhiˆu tu%i?	I am.. years old.	T®i .. tu%i.
Zounds!	Ch\t r·i!	I love Vietnam.	T®i yˆu Vi_t Nam.
I am..	T®i là..	.. American	..ng™i MÅ
.. Australian	..ng™i úc	.. Canadian	..ng™i Ca Na a
.. English	..ng™i Anh	.. European	..ng™i Chñu Âu
.. South African	..ng™i Nam Phi	.. Kiwi	..ng™i Tñn Tñy Lan