“Anh:” you are male and older than the other person “Chi:” you are female and older than the other person “Em:” you are younger than the other person (whether male or female) “Tôi:” you and the other person are the same age (rarely used)
“Anh:” you are younger than the other person and they’re male “Chi:” you are younger than the other person and they’re female “Em:” the other person is younger than you “Bạn:” the other person is the same age as you (rarely used)
“Con:” your personal pronoun when you’re addressing your parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle “Ba:” father “Mẹ:” mother “Ông:” grandfather “Bà:” grandmother There are different pronouns for aunts and uncles depending on whether they are older or younger than your parents and which side of the family they’re on. [5] X Research source
For example, if you are male and you want to say “I love you” in Vietnamese to your younger significant other who is also male, you would say “Anh yêu em. " If they’re older, you would say “em yêu anh. "
For example, if you’re female and wanted to tell your younger female friend that you like her (maybe as more than just a friend), you could say “Chi thích em. "
For example, if you’re female and want to express your affection to your older female partner, you might say “em thương chi. " Even after you’ve said “yêu,” this word is more frequently used in social contexts or casual settings, like when you would say “I love you” in English before ending a phone call or leaving the house.
For example, suppose you’re female and you want to tell your younger female partner, Ann, that you love her. You might say “Ann à, chi yêu em. "
“Bạn trai:” boyfriend “Bạn gái:” girlfriend “Người yêu:” lover (gender-neutral)
For example, if you want to get your significant other’s attention and they’re female, you would say “em ơi. " If they’re male, you would say “anh ơi. " Their age doesn’t matter for this particular phrase. Think of this as similar to calling your significant other “honey” or “dear” in English.
“A” makes an “ah” sound like the “a” in the English word “father. " “E” makes an “eh” sound like the “e” in the English word “get. " “I” makes an “ee” sound like the “i” in the English word “machine. " “O” makes an “ah” sound like the “o” in the English word “hot. " “U” makes an “oo” sound like the “oo” in the English word “boot. "
An “â” sounds like the “u” in the English word “but,” while an “ă” sounds like the “a” in the English word “hat. " An “ê” sounds like the “a” in the English word “mate. " An “ô” sounds like the “oa” in the English word “boat,” while an “ơ” sounds like the “u” in the English word “fur. " The sound of “ư” does not change relative to the unaccented vowel. It still sounds like the “oo” in the English word “boot. "
A “d” or “gi” is pronounced like the “z” in the English word “zoo” in Northern Vietnam. In Central and Southern Vietnam, it sounds more like the “y” in the English word “yes. " The letter “đ” sounds like the “d” in the English word “dog. " A “g” or “gh” is always pronounced with a hard “g” sound, like the “g” in the English word “goat” or the “gh” in the English word “ghost. " A “kh” produces a sound that doesn’t exist in English but is similar to the “ch” in the Scottish word “loch” or the German word “ach. " “Ng” and “ngh” sound like the “ng” in the English word “sing. " However, unlike in English, this consonant cluster can appear at the beginning of words. “Ny” sounds like the “ny” in the English word “canyon. " Unlike in English, this consonant cluster can also appear at the beginning of words. The “x” makes a sound like the “s” in the English word “sun” in Northern Vietnam. In Central and Southern Vietnam, it sounds more like the “sh” in the English word “shy. "
La: start high, stay flat Là: start low, stay low Lá: start high, go higher Lạ: a short, low tone Lả: start relatively low and go higher, as though you’re asking a question in English Lã: the same as the “lả” tone in Southern Vietnam; short break in the middle in Northern Vietnam
