What Vietnamese phrases should I learn before visiting Vietnam?

Greetings and goodbyes

Xin chào is the phrasebook hello. It is correct and polite, but it sounds a little stiff. What people actually say is chào plus a pronoun: anh for a man around your age or a bit older, chị for a woman, em for someone clearly younger, and cô, chú, bác, ông or bà for people of your parents' or grandparents' generation. If in doubt, anh and chị are flattering safe choices.

The same chào plus pronoun works as goodbye. Tạm biệt is the dictionary goodbye and sounds formal, and chào buổi sáng (good morning) is mostly a translation of the English phrase rather than something locals say.

Polite essentials

Dạ is a polite yes and a sign of respect, used everywhere and especially in the south; northerners also say vâng. Put dạ in front of almost anything (dạ không, dạ có) and it sounds softer.

There is no handy word for "excuse me" when you want a waiter. People call out the pronoun plus ơi: em ơi for young staff, anh ơi or chị ơi for older ones. It is normal, not rude. Làm ơn means please, but requests usually start with cho tôi (give me) instead.

Eating and drinking

At casual places, hold up two fingers and say hai người (two people). Point at the dish and say cho tôi cái này. When you want to pay, catch someone's eye and call em ơi, tính tiền: that is the everyday way to ask for the bill, while thanh toán is the formal word.

Toasts are a group count: một, hai, ba, dzô! (one, two, three, drink) and everyone drinks together. Trăm phần trăm, "100 percent", means finish the glass. Central Vietnam, around Huế, cooks hotter than the north, so không cay (not spicy) is useful there. Chay means vegetarian food.

Shopping and markets

Bargaining is normal at traditional markets, souvenir and clothing stalls without price tags, and with unmetered transport. It is not done in restaurants, supermarkets, fixed-price shops or for official tickets. Keep it friendly, smile, and walk away politely if the price doesn't work.

Too expensive is đắt quá in the north and mắc quá in the south. Prices run into thousands of đồng, so mentally drop three zeros. Cash is what markets and street food stalls want; hotels, malls and chains usually take cards.

Getting around

Pronunciation changes most between north and south: in Hanoi, d, gi and r sound like "z"; in Saigon, d and gi sound like "y" and v often does too. That is why rẽ trái (turn left) sounds like "zeh chai" in Hanoi. For taxis and Grab bikes, showing the address on your phone avoids most tone mix-ups.

Numbers 1-10, 100 and 1,000

Thousand is nghìn in the north and ngàn in the centre and south, and both are understood everywhere. Prices are said in thousands of đồng, and trăm on its own is everyday slang for 100,000 đồng. Tones matter even here: năm (five) and nấm (mushroom) differ only in tone.

Help and emergencies

The emergency numbers are 113 for police, 114 for fire and rescue and 115 for an ambulance. Operators generally speak Vietnamese only, so ask your hotel or a local to call if you can. Locals call the police công an; cảnh sát is also understood.

Etiquette that matters more than words

Pick a pronoun, not "you". Vietnamese has no neutral word for you; people choose kinship terms by relative age and gender, and someone may ask your age early on to get it right. It is not nosy, it is grammar.

Use both hands. Give and receive money, gifts and business cards with both hands, or the right hand supported by the left. Greet older people first.

Don't touch heads, and don't make a scene. Never touch anyone's head, including a child's. Raised voices and public arguments cause loss of face for everyone involved and rarely get a better result, including when bargaining.

Handshakes are softer than in the West, and a slight nod with your greeting is polite. See what is considered rude in Vietnam for the customs that matter more than vocabulary.

Frequently asked questions