r/Vietnamese

I am a special education teacher at a high school. It seems like in my area when students from other cultures have names that are difficult to pronounce or read correctly, they end up adopting some common English name to use at school. I had one girl on my roster whose name started with a Q and I asked her how to pronounce it she said that she just went by “Abby.” I don’t know when or how this practice started, but I’ve my best to work around it and learn the name they were given from their parents. So now I am working with “Kiley” a teen girl with special needs whose verbal skills are VERY limited. One day I noticed a tag on her bag read “Ngaontshia“ and realized she was another one of those cases with a different name. I think as a teacher, particularly working in a special education setting with her, it would really benefit me to learn how her name is actually said. The Internet has been kind of vague with letters and syllables. Any help appreciated.

When I am talking shit, I might say "cái thằng nớ hắn ngu quá hè" but what does "hè" even mean in this sentence?

Another example, what is the difference between "mi ăn cái chi rứa?" and "mi ăn cái chi rứa hè?"

Or what is the difference between "không được hả" and "không được hè"?

I am new to Vietnam and have started dating here.

I find it very difficult to get to know most Vietnamese women. Whenever I show interest and ask questions about their life, they often respond, "This seems like an interrogation" and will sometimes just ghost me.

So I thought, fine, I won't show as much interest in asking questions anymore. But when I do this, either the conversation just completely dies, or they will say, "It seems like you're not very interested in me."

So it seems like I can't win either way. Do they want you to ask questions or not? It seems like there's an extremely fine line, and it's hard to know where that line sits because every woman is different.

I've dated women in other parts of Asia, such as Thailand and the Philippines, and I've never encountered this before. Most women are actually just happy that you're showing interest by asking them questions.

Can anyone explain why this is happening in Vietnam, and how I can avoid it? It seems like I can't win either way.

Hello guys !

Currently learning vietnamese, I am struggling with the meaning of certain oral expressions and I have difficulties tu catch the differences between them. I received quite different answers from locals, and I hope ​someone could help me clear this out.

"Chứ sao" / "chứ sao không"​

"Chứ còn gì nữa"​​

"Còn gì"

Thank you very much !!

Hello, I’m hoping someone can help me with an English - Vietnamese translation. I need to speak with my elderly neighbor about something serious but struggling with the language barrier. We’ve tried using the translate app to communicate in the past but he has said he can’t clearly understand when using Translate and then when he speaks into it, it comes out mixed up for me too.
I want to remain respectful and polite so need to make sure we have a clear understanding.
I’m hoping to PM and send the messages that need translating. Can anyone help? Thank you!!

Bonus, you’ll get the neighborhood tea/drama 😂😂

Hi All,
I am from India, lived in Dubai & have been living in Vietnam from last 2 years. After alot of running here & there I finally managed to register my business here which I will be launching in coming 1.5-2 Months.
I already have experience in perfume industry & building brands.

I'll be providing best quality scents in 10,30 & 50 ml bottles starting from 100-120k vnd to 350-400k VND max for 50 ml bottles.
I have sourced the perfume oils & these are inspired perfumes from big brands plus some of my own creations. I already did market research and gave some random samples to few strangers & they always came back for ordering and I did some sales around 15-20 pieces word of mouth.

I just wanna do a small research on the price point, is it affordable for locals? As I am providing really luxury scents by reducing my margins anyway or is it still too high? My focus is on brand building initially so would not want to keep prices high in future either.

Would love to send some samples to first 10 people who'd like to try scents as well & if they could share their POV and knowledge for this industry in Vietnam.
Cheers!

I’m the child of Vietnamese immigrants and while I do speak Vietnamese fluently, I often have troubles with word meanings and their connotations. I’ve always been a little unsure about the emotional connotation of the word “chiều,” especially in family contexts.

For example, my dad often says things like: “Lúc nào ba cũng chiều theo ý mẹ con.”

Literally, I know “chiều” can mean accommodating, indulging, spoiling, or going along with someone’s wishes. But emotionally, it often sounds negative to me — almost like a complaint or a subtle accusation, as if he’s saying:

“I already do everything your way, so you shouldn’t complain.”

Is such an interpretation possible? To native Vietnamese speakers, what does “chiều theo ý người khác” imply?

Hi there, first time visitor to Vietnam from Australia with my girlfriend, we are both 31. We have just over 2 weeks there so want to get the right balance of seeing Vietnam but also not constantly moving around trying to do too much.

This is a rough itinerary we have put together, we'd be keen for any feedback on it and advice. We'd love to do the Loop as a priority for our trip. We like exploring the outdoors but also learning about history/culture/nightlife. This trip would be end of May and into June. We understand it is rainy in alot of these areas but are okay with it

We think breaking down our trip to 3 segments, exploring the north including the ha giang loop - the centre for beach and relaxation and then finish back at HCM.

Any help is much appreciated ! Thankyou

Hello! This is my first on Reddit so forgive me for not knowing how to format things. I’m currently an 18 year old girl who was born and raised in America—my ethnicity being Vietnamese. Currently, I’ve been struggling with my culture and connecting with it. Growing up, I’ve learned how to partially understand and speak the southern dialect but struggling hard. Sometimes, I feel extremely ashamed for how out of tune I am with the history of Vietnamese culture and lack of understanding of the language. Whenever I try to start learning, there was always a reason for me to stop—whether it was with a busy schedule, or even just a lack of confidence. What’s even harder is that I don’t have any Vietnamese friends I could talk to so that I could strengthen my understanding. I love my parents, but they’re way too busy to help me and I feel like I’ll talk like an old granny if I try to learn from them. Is there like an app or a social media where I could possibly befriend some Vietnamese people? I want so badly to be fluent and knowledgeable, but it feels so overwhelming. Is there any advice you guys could give me?

Hi all! My neighbour is an elderly Vietnamese woman and she’s so lovely. Today, I offered to make her some Kẹo mè xửng (I found a recipe in an asian cooking book) but she couldn’t have sweets. We do both share a love for cooking so instead we said we’d cook together some time. I am trying Duolingo to learn some Vietnamese phrases to try and connect a little and surprise her, but obviously it’s not an ideal app that often misses the mark with translating.

Does anyone have an alternative app? I’m not sure exactly where she’s from so I wouldn’t know about regional dialects. What are the most common sentences used that I can start with just to greet her and ask her how she is doing? I worry that if I just google it or use google translate it will come out wrong.

I’m also unsure about “politeness/respect rules” (I’m originally from the netherlands but with Indonesian and Aruban roots, we have specific words/terms to address elderly people. For example, we have a different type of “you” for someone who’s older. I don’t want to accidentally be disrespectful.)

Last question: any tips for learning the language in general?

Thanks in advance!