As Vietnamese is a tonal language (with six different tones), the particular tone used determines the meaning of a word. As the same word can mean many different things depending on the tone it is a difficult language to grasp but the locals will certainly appreciate your efforts!
The following words and phrases are spelled phonetically to help you with pronunciation.
Popular phrases:
- Hello>> sin chow
- Goodbye >> chow, tam bi-ait
- Excuse me (sorry) >> sin looee
- Please >> lam on
- Thank you >> gum urn
- Yes >> vung (when spoken in the north), roi(in the south)
- No >>kom
- Excuse me >> sin loy
- How much? >>bough new?
- Tea >> cha
- Coffee >>café
- Water >> nook
- Beer >>bia
- I don’t understand >> toy kom beet
Numbers in Vietnamese:
- 1 >> mot
- 2 >> hai
- 3 >> ba
- 4 >> bon
- 5 >> numb
- 6 >> sow
- 7 >> buy
- 8 >> tum
- 9 >> chin
- 10 >> moo-ee
- 11 >> moo-ee mot
- 12 >> moo-eehai
- 20 >> hai moo-ee
- 30 >> ba moo-ee
- 100 >> mot tram
- 1000 – mot ngan
Find out more
Vacation, Trips and Holidays in Vietnam
Things to see in Phu Quoc
Where to Travel in Vietnam