Vietnamese was historically written using chữ Nôm, a script using Chinese characters and locally invented characters.
Official language of Vietnam, Vietnamese is a relatively young language since the creation of its alphabet goes back to 1651. It is thanks to the work of a French Jesuit, Alexandre de Rhodes, that Vietnam to this day uses a latin alphabet, creating a deep historical bond between France (and Western Culture in general) and Vietnam.
About 85% of Vietnam’s population speaks Vietnamese as their mother tongue, while the minority ethnic people speak this language as their second language.
Vietnamese is a tonal language. Accents are used to denote six distinctive tones:
“level” (ngang -)
“acute-angry” (sắc ‘)
“grave-lowering” (huyền `)
“smooth-rising” (hỏi ?)
“chesty-raised” (ngã ~)
“chesty-heavy” (nặng .)
Some of Essential Phrases You’ll Need in Vietnam
1. Xin Chào (sin chow) / Hello
You can probably get away with using only Xin chao as a greeting in most instances. In very informal settings such as when greeting close friends, you can simply say Chao + [their first name]. Yes, it sounds very similar to the Italian ciao!
Tip: If you know someone’s name, always use the first name when addressing them—even in formal settings. Unlike in the West, where we refer to people as “Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.” to show extra respect, the first name is always used in Vietnam.
2. Cám Ơn (Gam uhn) / Thank you
Vietnamese people don’t say ‘thank you’ as much as foreigners do. It doesn’t mean Vietnamese people are ungrateful, it is just because they are not used to saying “thank you”.
If somebody says it to you, reply with ‘Không có gì’ (comb caw zee).
3. Xin Lỗi (sin loy) / Excuse me / Sorry
Use this to apologise when you bump into someone, or when you need to get by someone. Shout out “Em ơi!” (Em oy!) to get the attention of a server in a restaurant. Becareful when using this word because your server is not always younger than you, use “anh ơi” / “chị ơi” respectively for men / women who are older than you.
4. Dạ (Vâng) / Không (Hông) (yah / comb) — Yes / No
There are a few different ways to say ‘yes’ in Vietnamese, but a simple “Dạ” (yah) is a good enough for foreigners. People in the North often use “Vâng” instead of “Dạ”. “Không” is the same everywhere, but the ‘K’ is silent in the South, it sounds more like ‘how’ with an ‘m’ at the end: “Hông”.
5. Đi thôi
Do you think you might need Vietnamese translation services on your next trip to Vietnam?
Read the article one more time and get ready. Việt Nam, đi thôi!