Learning some Vietnamese words and phrases can be considered as one of the necessary things to do before traveling to Vietnam. Below are some useful Vietnamese phrases that US tourists should know if you are planning to visit this country.
Daily Conversation for Vietnam travel
Most of Vietnamese are very friendly when talking to foreigners. Just remember to act politely, you will have a new friend easily. Here are some usual phrases and sentences that Vietnamese use in their daily life.
| English | Vietnamese |
| Hello/hi/good morning/ good afternoon/ good evening | Xin chào |
| Goodbye | Tạm biệt |
| Good night | Chúc ngủ ngon |
| See you again | Hẹn gặp lại |
| How are you? | Bạn có khỏe không? |
| I’m fine, thank you! | Cám ơn bạn, tôi khỏe |
| What’s your name? | Bạn tên gì? |
| My name is… | Tôi là… |
| Thank you | Cám ơn |
| You’re welcome | Không có chi |
| Sorry/Excuse me | Xin lỗi |
| No problem | Không sao |
| Yes | Vâng |
| No | Không |
| Can you help me? | Bạn giúp tôi được không? |
| I don’t understand | Tôi không hiểu |
| I understand | Tôi hiểu |
| Happy New Year! | Chúc mừng năm mới |
Traveling & Directions for your travel in Vietnam
English is a second language in Vietnam, but it doesn’t mean every Vietnamese are good at it. Some, especially taxi drivers don not know much English. Therefore, to reduce your chances of being lost, ensure your journey, you should learn some traveling vocabulary when getting around the country. Additionally, it is better to bring along a map as well as note down the address you want to go.
| English | Vietnamese |
| I want to go to… | Tôi muốn đến… |
| Where is…? | …ở đâu? |
| Hurry! | Nhanh lên |
| Please slow down! | Đi chậm lại! |
| Go straight | Đi thẳng |
| Left | Bên trái |
| Right | Bên phải |
| Stop here | Dừng ở đây |
| Turn around | Quay lại |
| Next to/by | Bên cạnh |
| How do I get to (the place)? | Đi đến (the place) như thế nào? |
| Where’s the…(the place)? | (the place) ở đâu? |
| I’m lost | Tôi bị lạc |
| Can you show me on the map? | Chỉ trên bản đồ được không? |
| Wait here | Đợi ở đây |
| Crossroad | Ngã tư |
Shopping in Vietnam
Vietnam can be considered as a wonderful place for shopping. The goods are not only plentiful but also has quite affordable prices. Knowing these following Vietnamese words, it can be smoother and easier for you when going shopping in Vietnam.
| English | Vietnamese |
| I would like something else | Tôi muốn cái khác |
| Souvenir | Quà lưu niệm |
| Bag | Bao |
| How much? | Bao nhiêu tiền? |
| Can you give me a discount? | Bớt được không? |
| That’s too expensive | Đắt quá |
| I can’t afford it | Tôi không đủ tiền |
| OK, I’ll take it | Tôi mua cái này |
| I don’t want to buy this | Tôi không mua |
| Smaller size | Cỡ nhỏ hơn |
| Larger size | Cỡ lớn hơn |
| What is this? | Cái gì đây |
| Can I have a look? | Tôi có thể xem được không? |
Dining & Ordering Food in Vietnam
Cuisine of Vietnam is undoubtedly one of the features making the country more and more famous for foreigners. Let’s learn a few common phrases of this topic so you can be assured that you don’t find yourself in awkward and embarrassing situations when trying specialties in this country.
| English | Vietnamese |
| Pho | Phở |
| Bread | Bánh mì |
| Iced Coffee with Milk | Cà phê sữa đá |
| Sugar | Đường |
| Roll | Gỏi cuốn |
| Spring roll | Chả giò |
| Mineral water | Nước suối |
| Beer | Bia |
| Dessert | Tráng miệng |
| Is there a restaurant nearby? | Có tiệm ăn nào gần đêy không? |
| Bill, please | Xin tính tiền |
| Hot/spicy | Cay |
| Delicious | Ngon quá |
| I am full | No rồi |
| Well-done | Chín |
| Rare | Tái |
| Medium | Vừa |
Numbers, Dates & Times in Vietnam
Numbers, dates and times are used intensively in Vietnamese’s everyday conversation. Moreover, their pronunciation and the rules of their structure are quite easy to learn.
| English | Vietnamese |
| 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 |
| 100 | Một trăm |
| 1,000 | Một nghìn |
| 100,000 | Một trăm nghìn |
| 1,000,000 | Một triệu |
| 1 billion | Một tỷ |
| number | Số |
Days of The Week
| English | Vietnamese |
| Monday | Thứ hai |
| Tuesday | Thứ ba |
| Wednesday | Thứ tư |
| Thursday | Thứ năm |
| Friday | Thứ sáu |
| Saturday | Thứ bảy |
| Sunday | Chủ nhật |
Time in Vietnamese
| English | Vietnamese |
| Minute | Phút |
| Hour | Giờ |
| Day | Ngày |
| Week | Tuần |
| Month | Tháng |
| Year | Năm |
| Now | Bây giờ |
| Later | Lát nữa |
| Morning | Sáng |
| Afternoon | Chiều |
| Evening | Tối |
| Night | Đêm |
A Few Tips for your Vietnam travel
Learn from videos on the Internet or take a Vietnamese course
It is easy to find videos on the Internet to learn Vietnamese. These can walk you through the proper grammatical and pronunciation lessons. However, if you love to know more about Vietnamese, taking a course to learn the language is highly recommended. You should start learning Vietnamese at least a year before traveling to this country.
Use body language
If you forget or don’t know how to say what you want in Vietnamese, body language is always helpful. Don’t worry about if it takes times to do that as Vietnamese people do not mind that, they are always willing to help you.
Don’t be afraid
Don’t know much about Vietnamese is not a big problem, just consider this a good chance for you to explore new language. It doesn’t matter if you make any mistakes when using Vietnamese, don’t be shy so that you can learn a lot of new things from others and locals. Don’t worry if your pronunciation is not good as the locals may be willing to fix it for you.
With those phrases and tips to when learning Vietnamese, we hope your trip to Vietnam will be safer and easier.
JUST-IN: Please remember that all US travelers need a valid visa to enter Vietnam. Check how to get Vietnam visa for US citizens here.
