Hi everyone!

To help beginners build a solid vocabulary foundation, our team at Beyond Vietnamese created a full review video covering 300 core words.

Why this might be helpful for your study:

• Organized Alphabetically: Easily jump to any letter/sound you want to review using the timestamps in the description.
• Shadowing Friendly: Spoken clearly with enough pace for you to repeat out loud after each word.
• Structured Progress: Covers the essential words every beginner needs to know.

I’ve dropped the YouTube link in the comments section below. Hope it helps with your Vietnamese journey! Let me know if you have any feedback or what topics you'd like us to cover next!

Hi all, my little cousin sent me a voice message today telling me about her back to school day, through her Vietnamese-speaking mum's Instagram. She speaks French and Vietnamese natively and I wanted to be able to tell her something in Vietnamese along the line of "I hope your back to school day went well, I think about you often!" as her mum does not speak much French and I'm sure she would be delighted.

Could anyone help with this and a phonetic pronunciation? Thank you so much 😊

Hello, I am from Australia trying to learn conversational Vietnamese as my partners family only speaks Vietnamese and I have little to no Vietnamese skills. I speak mainly English.

Hey

I have been learning Vietnamese seriously for about 6 months, I currently learn by watching comprehensive input videos, eveytime I watch a particular video I will try to extract what I consider a high frequency or useful word from the content until I have exhausted it

I’m at about 500 words now, and a problem is arising that I don’t know words to memorise 

I’ve memorised the super frequent ones, and now I’m at the point where I don’t know whether it’s worth learning a particular word, I’ve been cross referencing every word i’m about to extract with a list of 1000 most common words list

It’s not unusual for a 10 minute video to take over an hour to go through (with look ups etc.), and that’s a limiting factor in knowing what words come up the most 

I’m sure this isn’t unique to Vietnamese, but there are soooo many variations and compound words which adds an additional layer of complexity because even if I know I would find a particular word useful, I still don’t know which variant of it to memorise 

So my question is simply how do you know which vocab to memorise

Chào các bác, em đang phân vân 1 chút về hai kiểu nói này. Thực ra, em chưa nghe "đẹp không nào?" bao giờ -- em chỉ dùng "chứ" trong trường hợp này thôi. (để nhấn mạnh 1 tí thay vì nói "đẹp phải không.")

Hi everyone!

If you're living in or visiting Da Nang or Hoi An and have been thinking about learning Vietnamese, I'd love to help!

I'm a local Vietnamese teacher offering practical, conversation-based lessons for foreigners of all ages—whether you're a child, teenager, university student, working professional, retiree, traveler, or long-term expat.

My lessons are designed to help you use Vietnamese confidently in everyday life, not just memorize vocabulary from a textbook.

What you'll learn:

• 🗣️ Everyday conversations
• ☕ Ordering food and drinks
• 🛒 Shopping at local markets
• 🚕 Taking Grab and taxis
• 🏥 Visiting a pharmacy or hospital
• 👋 Making Vietnamese friends
• 🇻🇳 Understanding Vietnamese culture and customs

Why learn with me?

• ✔️ Lessons tailored to your level, learning style, and personal goals
• ✔️ Friendly, patient, and supportive learning environment
• ✔️ Focus on speaking and listening from day one
• ✔️ Practical Vietnamese that locals actually use every day
• ✔️ Fun and interactive activities for children, plus engaging lessons for adults

Class options:

📍 Private 1-on-1 lessons – Perfect if you'd like a personalized learning plan and flexible schedule.

👥 Small group classes – Learn together with friends, family members, colleagues, or other learners in a fun and interactive setting.

💻 Online lessons are also available if you're outside Da Nang or Hoi An.

Whether you're learning Vietnamese for travel, work, daily life, family, business, or simply because you're interested in the language and culture, I'd be happy to help you learn with confidence.

If you're interested or have any questions, feel free to send me a DM!

Looking forward to meeting new students from around the world.

See you in class!

Hey r/learnvietnamese, basically title, looking to hire a personal tutor to teach me Vietnamese.

My only requirements are you know English, nothing else.

Ideally southern dialect from the research I've done.

I am looking for someone long term, so hourly rate initially (feel free to pick something you are genuinely happy with), later I am open to hiring you on a salary bases if you would prefer.

Send me Discord or Instagram, once we have a call we can go from there.

Looking to start from October

I’m planning to visit North Vietnam for a month in October. I would like to learn the basics needed. Please DM /leave a comment about pricing and trial class. (About me: I’m 25, from India)

In English, we often prefer directness: “Yes” or “No.” It’s fast, clear, and efficient. But when you learn Vietnamese and start talking to Vietnamese people, you may notice something rather confusing: we don’t always take the straight line to get to an answer. This isn’t necessarily because we don’t know the answer; sometimes, it’s because the answer is not the only thing that matters. How we deliver the answer, how the other person may feel about it, and what happens to the relationship afterwards can be just as important.

You may have already encountered some Vietnamese phrases that leave you wondering what the person actually means. For example, someone says “Để xem đã” (“Let me see”), and you wait for them to get back to you, but the update never comes. Or you hear “Chắc cũng được” (“I guess that’s okay”), which sounds like agreement but may actually express quite a lot of hesitation. Then there is the familiar “Để anh xem lại” (“Let me check/review it”). Sometimes the person really does intend to check, but in some situations, it can also be a polite way of ending the conversation without giving you a direct “No.” If you are used to communication where a question normally expects a clear yes or no, these answers can be surprisingly difficult to interpret.

So why don’t Vietnamese people just say “No”? The simple answer is that communication is not always only about transferring information. In many Vietnamese situations, being too direct can be perceived as unnecessarily blunt or tactless, particularly when a refusal might make the other person uncomfortable or cause them to lose face. This is where the idea of giữ thể diện, roughly “preserving face” or preserving someone’s dignity, becomes relevant. Instead of choosing the shortest path from the question to the answer, a speaker may choose a slightly longer route that delivers essentially the same message while creating less social discomfort.

That is why you may hear “Để xem đã,” “Chắc hôm khác,” “Để xem thế nào,” or “Để anh/chị tính” instead of a straightforward “No.” The speaker may be leaving the possibility open, buying some time, expressing uncertainty, or simply making a refusal softer. The important thing is that you should not treat any of these expressions as secret codes with one fixed meaning. “Để xem đã” does not automatically mean “No,” just as “Chắc cũng được” does not automatically mean “Yes.” The actual meaning depends on the situation, the relationship between the speakers, the tone of voice, and sometimes what happens afterwards.

This is one of the reasons learning Vietnamese involves much more than memorizing vocabulary and grammar. A dictionary can tell you that “Để xem đã” means “Let me see,” but it cannot always tell you what that person is doing by choosing those particular words in that particular situation. As your Vietnamese improves, you gradually move from asking “What does this sentence mean?” to asking “What does this person mean by saying it this way?” That is an important step because you are no longer simply translating Vietnamese; you are beginning to understand how Vietnamese communication works.

So, when you are learning Vietnamese, don’t be too quick to force every conversation into a straight line of question → yes/no answer. Sometimes the longer route is not a sign of confusion, dishonesty, or lack of clarity. It may simply be a way of getting to the same destination while taking greater care with the person you are talking to.

In other words, learning Vietnamese means learning not only the words, but also the curve.

If there are 3 siblings in family: in order 1 2 3: Nam, Mai, Minh

North call: Anh cả, chị Mai, Minh

South call: Anh Hai, chị Ba, Út Minh

Ba tôi kể rằng:

Theo dòng lịch sử, người Việt xưa vốn sinh sống tập trung ở phương Bắc. Khi người Việt bắt đầu đi về phương Nam để khai phá và lập nghiệp theo chính sách của Chúa Nguyễn Hoàng, những người ra đi thường là Cha hoặc những người con thứ như anh Hai, anh Ba, anh Tư… Trong khi đó, người con CẢ thường ở lại quê nhà để phụng dưỡng cha mẹ già, coi sóc từ đường, mồ mả và bàn thờ cho tổ tiên.

My dad said: throughout history, early Vietnamese communities were concentrated in the North. When people moved south to claim and build new land under King Nguyễn Hoàng, those who went were typically fathers or younger siblings (anh Hai, anh Ba, anh Tư). The eldest son (anh CẢ), however, remained at home to support aging parents, tend to the family estate, and care for ancestral graves and altars..

Từ đó bắt đầu hình thành nên những cộng đồng người Việt đầu tiên sống ở phương Nam có rất nhiều "anh Hai, anh Ba,...." mà không có nhiều "anh Cả"

As a result, the earliest Vietnamese settlements in the South were filled with many "anh Hai" and "anh Ba", with almost no "eldest brothers - anh Cả" around.

Và cách gọi này dần được giữ lại thành một thói quen, một nét văn hóa miền Nam qua nhiều thế hệ. Vì thế, dù sau này một gia đình ở miền Nam có một người con trai hay con gái đầu lòng, người con đó vẫn gọi là "anh Hai, chị Hai"

Over generations, this way of addressing family members took root and became a defining cultural tradition in the South. That is why, even today, the firstborn child in a Southern family is still called anh Hai (eldest brother) or chị Hai (eldest sister).

By the way, Út Minh chào các bạn

Chúc bạn 1 ngày tốt lành 🍀🍀

My family is first generation immigrants, I’m writing a memoir on our family history but , I don’t know Vietnamese people might find my work offensive. I know we hold our parents very dear and taught to respect them but I thought if I could just speak the truth, I don’t have to paint everyone as perfect because we’re not. Still I’d like the opinions from those who know Vietnamese readers well, do you think this material is offensive or let me know if I crossed the line with anything in there and the Vietnamese culture). PS. I have passages in my memoir about loving moments of my overprotective mother as well. She is the not the villain all the time.

She talked endlessly about people looking down on us, yet she was always the first to
dissect every little flaw in everyone around her. She never let a single grievance go
unaccounted for.

It took one person to show me that happiness didn’t have to be about money at all.
My father had a best friend named Loc. We called him Chú (Uncle) Loc. He was
always wonderful to my dad’s kids. Sometimes he would take us on outings without our
parents, taking us to eat at places my parents could never afford, or buying us toys my
parents would never dare spend money on. He wasn’t rich or well-established—though he
did speak better English than most of our other uncles—and he wasn’t irresponsible either.
He just knew how to take in special moments with people he felt mattered.

He was the person who introduced us to Toys “R” Us for the very first time. It was
there that he bought me my very first Barbie doll, marking one of the grandest moments of
my childhood. I remember feeling ecstatic for days, holding that Barbie to sleep every night
and carefully brushing her hair every morning.Then, one day, we were all at the grocery store. As my mother was paying at the
register, my dad asked Uncle Loc if he wanted anything and told him to throw it onto our
tab. So, my uncle grabbed a couple of beers and some candy.

That was how it always went after he left.
My mom was sitting at the kitchen table with one arm around her right leg, bent and up
on the stool, looking at a newspaper article and flipping the pages with the other hand, the
same side foot flat on the floor.

My brother used to call it the Asian woman squat, where the Vietnamese woman
always sits with one leg bent up no matter where she sits — on the sofa, in the car. One leg
was always propped up and bent beside her.
And then he would distinguish it from the traditional Asian squat, the one most
Vietnamese men could do, standing and squatting very low with their knees close to their
chest. He’d say he could tell if they were a true Vietnamese at heart just by how long they
could stay bent over like that.

He argued it was because that’s how men in Vietnam went to
the bathroom, but I never wanted to know if that was true, and I’m still not interested in
finding out.
“I still think he’s a cheapskate,” my mother said in Vietnamese to my dad, as she
nonchalantly flipped the newspaper.
My dad, a little tipsy from a gathering with his friends, was trying to sober up by
cutting a jackfruit.
“Mmmh… why… is this hard… to cut…” He was still trying to stab the knife through
it.

“You know that’s like the third time already. You know that, Your Dad?”
“Huh, what… hmmppz. Come on. Why so hard, just one piece. Damn spikes…”
“That’s the third time today. He never pitches in! Does he expect us to pay all the time?
And he’s the one always coming up with the ideas. Oh, let’s get together, oh, let’s get
together! But he never pays for the drinks, he never pays for the food. I don’t know why
you always let him do that. You say he’s a good person. Do you think a good person always
makes his friends pay for everything, Your Dad?”

“Are you listening to me, Your Dad?”
My dad was smacking his lips now, getting mad at the tough exterior of the jackfruit,
but not going down without a fight.

“We went to the lake with him back in February, remember? When we were in the
liquor and paid for him and wife's soda and chips? As soon as he saw I was paying for them he swicthes the small size chips for the big family size bag"
Noticing that my dad wasn’t putting up a wall or resisting, she continued.
“What a shady cheapskate! And then the last time was when he wanted to throw a party at his house,
and you just had to call him and had to tell him we were at the store, and what did he say, huh?...He
asked us to pick up a twenty-four pack of Heineken! Do you remember how much that cost?
He never even pay us back! He keep asking us to buy beer for him at the market, Your Dad.
Not crabs, not a potato, not a piece of pork! Do you think food stamps cover imported beer Your
Dad? ....Your Dad!”

My dad was standing over the kitchen counter with the big jackfruit in front of him,
holding his choice of cutlery, half awake and half drifting off, still trying to cut it. He wasn’t sober
enough to realize his strategy was futile.
“And then finally today, it’s the third time! We’re at the grocery store and you had to
open your big mouth at the checkout lane! And again he thought we were offering a big
hand of charity to buy the whole bar! Not just the bag of chips, not just the gum — he even
walks to the beverage section to grab a six pack! What does that tell you? That cheapskate
was waiting the whole time for you to say something! You’re so dumb, you old man! How
come you don’t see it when people use you?”
My dad’s eyes finally snapped open, and he pretended he’d been listening the whole
time.

“Yeah, sure, I know, I get it, I get it, I do. We’ll continue talking about it tomorrow. I
had a long day.”
He threw the butter knife into the sink and started to make his way to the bedroom, not
walking in a straight line.
My mom’s eyes followed him the whole way, mad-dogging him. “Stupid… stupid
man.” She shook her head.
My mother caught my eyes fixed on them, and realized I was listening the whole time. She pointed in the direction
my dad had walked. “You see how stupid your dad is? Always letting people use him! Be wise in choosing your friends!"

I remembered just looking at her and thinking, "Oh, put a sock in it Mother."

[https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/s/JQFbHglaNC\](https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/s/JQFbHglaNC)

Hi , Việt Connect is almost ready for testing. 8 of you are already in, and we just need 12 more to round out the group.

​What it does: flashcards with color-coded tones so you can see how each word should sound, spaced repetition so words you are still learning come back more often, and live video practice. You can get matched with someone learning the other language or study together side by side on a call. There is also a teacher directory and language exchange meetups.

​It is free, and testing just means installing it from the Play Store like any normal app and poking around for a bit with no commitment beyond that.

​To join, reply with the Gmail or Google account email on your phone, which has to match what is signed into your Android device. I will send you a link, you tap become a tester, and you are in.

​Thanks so much.

​

​Chào mọi người lần nữa, Việt Connect sắp sẵn sàng để thử nghiệm. 8 bạn đã tham gia rồi, chỉ cần thêm 12 người nữa.

​Ứng dụng có gì: thẻ ghi nhớ với dấu thanh được tô màu để bạn thấy rõ cách phát âm từng từ, hệ thống lặp lại ngắt quãng giúp từ bạn còn đang học xuất hiện thường xuyên hơn, và luyện tập video trực tiếp. Bạn có thể được ghép với người đang học ngôn ngữ kia hoặc học cùng nhau qua cuộc gọi. Ngoài ra còn có danh sách giáo viên và các buổi gặp mặt trao đổi ngôn ngữ.

​Ứng dụng miễn phí, và việc thử nghiệm chỉ là cài đặt từ Google Play như ứng dụng bình thường rồi dùng thử một chút và không cần gì thêm.

​Để tham gia, nhắn lại email Gmail hoặc Google đang đăng nhập trên điện thoại của bạn, phải khớp với tài khoản trên máy Android. Mình sẽ gửi link, bạn nhấn become a tester, và xong.

​Cảm ơn mọi người rất nhiều.

If you're in Vietnam tonight or following the AFF Cup news, you're gonna hear this everywhere: "Việt Nam Vô Địch!"

Quick rundown for anyone wondering what's going on:

1. What it actually means

Vô Địch is Sino-Vietnamese — "Vô" means without/none, "Địch" means rival/opponent. Literally it means "no rivals," i.e. unbeatable/invincible. In context it just means "Vietnam is the champion!" or basically "Go Vietnam!"

2. How to chant it like a local

Nail the tones: "Việt" drops sharply, "Địch" rises fast. The classic street rhythm is:

Việt Nam! (clap-clap) Vô Địch! (clap-clap)

3. The "đi bão" phenomenon

Whenever the national football team pulls off a big win (especially defending the regional title against Thailand), people flood the main streets on motorbikes — flags waving, horns blasting, pots and pans banging.

This is called "đi bão" (literally "storm-riding"). It's 100% peaceful chaos — just pure national pride at full volume.

Anyone here ever joined a "đi bão" in Hanoi or Saigon? Drop any questions about the tones or football slang in the comments!

Xin chào mọi người! / Hello everyone! 👋

Are you living in Hanoi or planning to learn real, practical Vietnamese? If you are looking for a patient, friendly, and supportive tutor, I am here to help you speak with confidence!

About Me:

My Name: Nam (Male)

Background: 2nd-year university student in Hanoi.

Personality: Extroverted, patient, and love helping people.

🌟 What I Offer:

Standard Northern Accent: Clear and natural Hanoi pronunciation.

Easy Communication: B2 level in English, so I can explain grammar and cultural concepts clearly.

Personalized Slides: Custom lesson slides tailored to your goals.

Real-life Practice: Practical outdoor activities in Hanoi to practice speaking in real situations!

💰 Pricing & Packages:

Trial Lesson ($3.5 / hour): I will assess your level, give feedback on your strengths/weaknesses, and design a personalized roadmap for you.

Single Lesson ($4.5 / hour): Flexible 1-hour session.

Weekly Package ($12.6 / 3 lessons): 2 online lessons + 1 practical outdoor activity in Hanoi.

Monthly Package ($48 / 12 lessons): 8 online lessons + 4 practical outdoor activities in Hanoi.

📌 Class Details:

Platform: Zoom / Google Meet.

Materials: Personalized slides and learning materials provided for every class.

📩 How to Get Started:

Send me a Direct Message (DM) here on Reddit! After a quick chat, we can move to Instagram or your preferred platform to arrange our first lesson.

Let’s practice Vietnamese together! ☕✨

Watch full lesson here: https://youtu.be/fRLqv4k4hpk?si=dOqXSCnE5iKGZwEK

Hey guys, I have been living in Vietnam for 1 year now, I started learning about a year ago when I arrived. I can speak pretty good with a good accent, BUT I have a big weakness: understanding what people say. I am living in Saigon and everyday, when I went to eat, to the gym or at any place, I could only understand about 60% of what people were telling me. So I wanted to be truly fluent and to be able to fully understand what locals were saying, so I first started using Duolingo.. Bad idea, if any of you have tried the app, you know that it teaches textbooky vietnamese, that nobody speaks, with a horrible robotic voice. So as an engineer I decided to take action and build my own app: VietBuddy. I use super natural and realistic voices, to teach real life sentences and I use my app everyday. I wanted to share it with you guys because I truly think it could help more than one fellow here. I am working on it everyday and shipping new updates all the time. Let me know if you have any question!

At first, it might seem obvious.

If phải can become không phải in the negative, then when you see không phải, you might naturally assume that its positive form is phải.

But that doesn’t always work. Take this sentence:

Đó không phải là xe của tôi.
That is not my car.

What is the corresponding positive sentence?

Đó là xe của tôi.
That is my car.

Not:

Đó phải là xe của tôi.
That must be my car.

Why? Because adding phải changes the meaning.

A useful note for learners

Don’t think of “không phải” as simply “không” + “phải.”

It’s better to learn “không phải (là)” as a negative pattern:

A không phải (là) B
A is not B.

And learn its positive counterpart as:

A là B
A is B.

This is especially useful because phải on its own can have a different meaning.

A phải là B
A must be B.

So when you see không phải, don’t automatically remove không and assume phải is the positive form.

Learn the whole pattern instead:

That small difference can save you from a surprisingly common Vietnamese learning trap.

https://youtu.be/_HdGzrh9Ikc?si=c2udozoVJz-unQOy

EDIT 08/29: All of the free passes have been claimed — kudos to everyone who grabbed one. Code REDDIT10 now takes $5 off the Traveler Pass, $10 instead of $15, no limit and no expiry.

I'm back in Saigon Sept 3 through mid-October, mostly Thủ Đức and District 12, but I'll definitely get to District 1 as well. I posted here last month about https://fluentsaigon.com — a Southern/Saigon Vietnamese language learning website, every voice recording by my girlfriend Kim, who's in Saigon.

Kim and I will be filming the stuff a language app can't fake — ordering in a restaurant, Grab, the market — and it'll genuinely be my first time applying what she's been teaching me.

We built the website because a language learning site for how I (emphasis added) learned would kill a couple birds with one stone. I'm super happy with how it has turned out and the fun Kim and I had doing the recordings (ok, that part wasn't all fun), and I thought it could also help me with my goal of earning $1 as a result of something I personally built digitally. Next, we get to try our hand at vlogging during the trip.

To celebrate, I'm giving away 20 free passes to the website. The Traveler Pass is normally $15 for 30 90 days. Promo code SAIGON60 at checkout makes it $0 — no credit card required when you enter the promo code; we just ask for an email address. There are 20 passes left and it expires Sept 30. Over 700 recordings, all Kim, no AI. There is also an always free section of the website that doesn't require any sign up.

I think the blogs on the site are an excellent resource as well, and I plan to write more while I'm on this trip.

Visit https://fluentsaigon.com/pages/pricing.html to sign up. There are intuitive digital cheat sheets, quizzes, resources for adding/using Vietnamese keyboards, and cool stickers for WhatsApp featuring Kim.

Cảm ơn nhiều!

Edit 08/29: All of the free passes have been claimed. I also chose to change the Traveler Pass from 30 days to 90 days. This gives you time to practice ahead of your trip and still have access to the apps resources during your trip. I think that makes the product more friendly. The last 4 people who redeemed coupons received a 90 day pass instead of 30 :) -- Those who redeemed before I made the edit on the 27th got 30 days free.
New Promo code REDDIT10 takes $5 off if you still want in - no limit (Expires 12/31/2027)

Started learning Vietnamese a couple of weeks ago mostly using apps. Finally have some words memorized but my prononciation is basically non existent lol

I just had my first lesson and we mostly went over the alphabet. I really struggled with some of the letters and my memorization was horrible

Any chance any of you have some flash cards just for the alphabet and maybe some other basic prononciations? All the Vietnamese flash cards I can find basically have thousands of words, aren't voiced, or aren't southern.

Thank you!