Welcome to the second installment of EverydayViet’s Traveling Phrases Series!

This series we covers some of the most useful words and phrases to know while traveling. Please comment on what you would like to learn next!

Here are a few of the most requested phrases to know while traveling.

Im sorry, excuse me:
xin l?i d? thua

Do you speak English?:
b?n có bi?t nói ti?ng Anh không

I do not understand:
Tôi không hi?u

I am lost:
tôi di l?c du?ng

I do not feel well:
tôi không th?y kh?e

Where is____?:
_____ ? dâu

Where is the bathroom?
nhà v? sinh ? dâu

Welcome to EverydayViet’s Traveling Phrases Series! We hope this series will provide useful tips for you when traveling to Vietnam.

In this series we will be covering some of the most useful words and phrases to know while traveling. Please comment on what you would like to learn next!

Transportation:
How to say “Bus” in Vietnamese :: xe đò
How to say “Taxi” in Vietnamese :: tắc xi
How to say “Motorcycle” in Vietnamese :: xe mô tô
How to say “Rickshaw” in Vietnamese :: xích lô

Locations
How to say “Airport” in Vietnamese :: sân bay
How to say “Hotel” in Vietnamese :: khách sạn
How to say “Hospital” in Vietnamese :: bệnh viện
How to say “Restaurant” in Vietnamese :: nhà hàng
How to say “Restroom” in Vietnamese :: nhà vệ sinh
How to say “Club” in Vietnamese :: vũ trường

In this lesson we will address an everyday question that we get:

“How do you say your last name?”

This lesson will be helpful in pronouncing some of your friends, co-workers, or classmates last names. The lesson will cover the pronunciation for 20 of these common Vietnamese surnames.

How to pronounce Bùi = boui
How to pronounce Cao = cao
How to pronounce Đặng = dangt
How to pronounce Đinh = din
How to pronounce Đỗ = doh
How to pronounce Hoàng = hwang
How to pronounce Huỳnh = hwin
How to pronounce Lê = lay
How to pronounce Lưu = lou
How to pronounce Lý = lee
How to pronounce Ngô = ngoh
How to pronounce Nguyễn = ngween
How to pronounce Phạm = phaam
How to pronounce Phan = phan
How to pronounce Tôn = tone
How to pronounce Trần = trun
How to pronounce Trương = truung
How to pronounce Võ = voh
How to pronounce Vũ = vu
How to pronounce Vương = vuung

Watch and listen along to the video and audio in this lesson as we cover the different letters in the Vietnamese alphabet and how to speak and pronounce them properly. What’s the correct pronunciation for the characters in the alphabet, you’ll see! This lesson is taught in the Southern dialect.

Which letter is the most difficult for you to pronounce?

Let’s say you were about to speak before a primarily Vietnamese audience, like at a festival, concert, or meeting, and your Vietnamese skills are not yet up to par, you would say this phrase to pardon any mistakes you may make. You can also use this phrase if you will be only speaking English but you want to address the Vietnamese audience first out of respect.

Dạ thưa, tôi nói tiếng Việt không giỏi, xin quí vị bỏ qua cho.
Dear audience, I don’t speak Vietnamese well, please pardon me.

This lesson covers how to address someone in Vietnamese by their age/gender.

The choice of the appropriate word depends on the relative age, social status, gender, degree of acquaintance, and respect.

====== Addressing Others ======

To someone:
Grandparents age (Female) – bà
Grandparents age (male) – ông
Parents Age (Female or Male) – bac
Slightly Younger than parents (Female) – cô
Slightly Younger than parents (Male) – chi
Slightly Older than you (Female) – chị
Slightly older than you (male) – anh
Your age (Female or Male) – bạn
Younger than you (Female or Male) – em

====== Addressing Yourself ======

To someone:
Grandparents age – cháu
Parents Age – con
Slightly Younger than parents – con
Slightly Older than you – em
Your age – tôi
Younger than you (if you are female) – chị
Younger than you (if you are male) – anh

This lesson covers how to say I like you or I love you in Vietnamese.

I love you:
Girl to boy – Em yêu anh
Boy to girl – Anh yêu em
boy to boy or girl to girl – Anh yêu em or em yêu anh (depending on who’s older or younger in the relationship)

I like you:
Girl to boy – Em thích anh
Boy to girl – Anh thích em