60 Basic Vietnamese Words for Beginners

Phở

Noodle soup

米粉汤 · フォー

say it: fuh

Say ‘fuh’, not ‘foe’. Get the tone wrong and you have said something rude.

Bún bò Huế

Hue beef noodles

顺化牛肉米粉 · フエ風牛肉麺

say it: boon baw hway

Spicier and heavier than phở. Huế is a city, so say ‘hway’.

Bánh mì

Vietnamese sandwich

越南面包 · バインミー

say it: bahn mee

Bánh is any bread or cake. Add mì and it is the baguette you want.

Cơm tấm

Broken rice

碎米饭 · コムタム

say it: gum tum

Southern breakfast. Cơm is rice, the single most useful food word.

Bún chả

Grilled pork with noodles

烤肉米线 · ブンチャー

say it: boon cha

Hanoi’s dish. Bún is round rice noodles, different from phở’s flat ones.

Gỏi cuốn

Fresh spring rolls

越南春卷 · 生春巻き

say it: goy koon

The fresh ones, not fried. Ask for these when it is hot.

Bánh xèo

Sizzling pancake

越南煎饼 · バインセオ

say it: bahn say-oh

Named after the sound it makes in the pan. Xèo is onomatopoeia.

Mì Quảng

Quang-style noodles

广南面 · ミークアン

say it: mee kwang

Da Nang’s own dish. Almost no broth, and that is on purpose.

Cao lầu

Hoi An noodles

高楼面 · カオラウ

say it: cow lau

Only properly made in Hoi An. Locals will tell you why.

Bún riêu

Crab noodle soup

蟹肉米粉汤 · ブンリュウ

say it: boon zee-oh

Tomato and crab paste. Order it when you are tired of phở.

Chuối

Banana

香蕉 · バナナ

say it: choy

One syllable, not ‘chu-oi’.

Táo

Apple

苹果 · りんご

say it: tao

Rhymes with ‘now’.

Xoài

Mango

芒果 · マンゴー

say it: swai

X is ‘s’ in Vietnamese, never ‘ks’.

Ổi

Guava

番石榴 · グアバ

say it: oy

Two letters, and the hook over the Ổ changes everything.

Cam

Orange

橙子 · オレンジ

say it: kahm

Also the word for the colour.

Dưa hấu

Watermelon

西瓜 · すいか

say it: zuh-uh how

Dưa alone means melon or cucumber. Context decides.

Thanh long

Dragon fruit

火龙果 · ドラゴンフルーツ

say it: tahn long

Literally ‘green dragon’.

Sầu riêng

Durian

榴莲 · ドリアン

say it: sow zee-eng

Literally ‘private sorrow’. The name is a warning.

Mít

Jackfruit

菠萝蜜 · ジャックフルーツ

say it: mit

Short and flat. Also slang for someone slow.

Nho

Grapes

葡萄 · ぶどう

say it: nyaw

Nh is one sound, like the ny in ‘canyon’.

Cà rốt

Carrot

胡萝卜 · にんじん

say it: ka rot

Borrowed from the French carotte.

Cải xanh

Green vegetable

青菜 · 青菜

say it: kai sahn

The catch-all. Say it and you will get whatever is fresh.

Cà chua

Tomato

番茄 · トマト

say it: ka choo-uh

Literally ‘sour cà’.

Hành

Onion / spring onion

葱 · ねぎ

say it: hahn

Say ‘không hành’, meaning no onion, if you do not want it.

Tỏi

Garlic

大蒜 · にんにく

say it: toy

The hook makes the tone drop and catch.

Ớt

Chilli

辣椒 · とうがらし

say it: urt

The most important word on this list. Ask for it, or ask for none.

Khoai tây

Potato

土豆 · じゃがいも

say it: kwhy tay

Literally ‘western yam’.

Bắp cải

Cabbage

卷心菜 · キャベツ

say it: bap kai

Bắp on its own is corn in the south.

Rau muống

Water spinach

空心菜 · 空芯菜

say it: zow moong

The national vegetable. Order it garlic-fried.

Dưa chuột

Cucumber

黄瓜 · きゅうり

say it: zuh-uh choot

Literally ‘rat melon’. Nobody knows why.

Mưa

Rain

雨 · 雨

say it: muh-uh

Mưa is rain. Mua is buy. The horn on ư is the whole difference.

Nắng

Sunny

晴天 · 晴れ

say it: nahng

Rising tone. Nằng with a falling mark is a different word.

Có gió

Windy

有风 · 風が強い

say it: kaw yaw

Literally ‘has wind’. Gió alone is just wind.

Lạnh

Cold

冷 · 寒い

say it: lahn

The dot underneath drops your voice sharply.

Nóng

Hot

热 · 暑い

say it: nawm

You will use this one daily.

Mát

Cool

凉爽 · 涼しい

say it: maht

The good kind of cool, a compliment about the weather.

Nhiều mây

Cloudy

多云 · 曇り

say it: nyew may

Nhiều is many. Mây is cloud.

Bão

Storm

暴风雨 · 台風

say it: bao

Typhoon season is real on this coast. Learn this one.

Sét

Lightning

闪电 · 稲妻

say it: set

Short and sharp, like the thing itself.

Cầu vồng

Rainbow

彩虹 · 虹

say it: cow vawm

Literally ‘arched bridge’.

Ăn

Eat

吃 · 食べる

say it: ahn

The ă is short and clipped, not a long ‘ahh’.

Uống

Drink

喝 · 飲む

say it: oo-ong

Ăn uống together means dining generally.

Ngủ

Sleep

睡觉 · 寝る

say it: ngoo

Ng at the start of a word. English never does this, so practise it.

Đi

Go

去 · 行く

say it: dee

Đ with the bar is a ‘d’. D without it is a ‘z’ in the north.

Đến

Arrive / come to

到 · 着く

say it: den

Đi and đến are the pair you will use for every trip.

Học

Study

学习 · 勉強する

say it: hawk

Học tiếng Việt means study Vietnamese.

Làm

Work / do

做 · する

say it: lahm

Làm gì? means what are you doing?

Bán

Sell

卖 · 売る

say it: bahn

Careful: bán (sell) vs bàn (table) vs bạn (friend).

Mua

Buy

买 · 買う

say it: moo-uh

No mark at all, and that is what makes it not mưa.

Đọc

Read

读 · 読む

say it: dawk

Đọc sách means read a book.

Vui

Happy

开心 · うれしい

say it: vooy

Vui vẻ is the everyday version, closer to cheerful.

Buồn

Sad

难过 · 悲しい

say it: boo-on

Also means bored, depending on what follows.

Tức giận

Angry

生气 · 怒っている

say it: tuck yun

Two words. Tức alone is closer to frustrated.

Ngạc nhiên

Surprised

惊讶 · びっくりした

say it: ngak nyen

Two hard sounds English does not have. Worth drilling.

Lo lắng

Worried

担心 · 心配している

say it: law lahng

Lo on its own already means to worry.

Xấu hổ

Embarrassed

害羞 · 恥ずかしい

say it: sow haw

Literally ‘ugly shame’. Vietnamese is direct.

Phấn khích

Excited

兴奋 · わくわくする

say it: fun kick

Ph is ‘f’, always.

Thất vọng

Disappointed

失望 · がっかりした

say it: tut vawm

From the Chinese 失望, the same characters.

Mệt

Tired

累 · 疲れた

say it: met

The one you will want after a day of this.

Chán nản

Discouraged

沮丧 · うんざりしている

say it: chan nahn

Chán alone means bored or fed up.