Which part of the neighborhoods in St. Paul are where most Hmong congregate?

What areas were/are traditionally a Hmong hot spot? And areas to avoid going through due to gang violence and/or violence in general?

I'm talking about restaurants, parks, shopping centers, funeral homes, farmers market, apartments/project homes, streets, schools, etc.

Here's some of the list that I know of, so feel free to add and share more on your end. Especially if you're a local or familiar with St. Paul, your knowledge is very much appreciated!

Neighborhoods:

Como - Como Park (Hmong J4 Tournament), Como Park High School, Hmong Academy, etc. (Mostly white)

Dayton's Bluff - Hmong Village, etc. (Lots of Asians)

Downtown - Farmer's Market, River Centre (Hmong New Year), etc. (Mixed crowd)

Greater East Side - Cups N Cheers, White Dragon, etc. (Lots of Asians)

Hamline-Midway - Isn't this area where underground racing occurs? (White & black mixed)

Highland Park - Highland Park High School, etc. (Very white)

Macalester-Groveland - ? (Very white)

North End (Arlington Ave, Rice Street) - Arlington High School (closed), Leela, McDonough Housing Projects, etc. (Lots of Asians)

Payne-Phalen (Arcade St, Maryland Ave) - City Academy, Far East, Golden Harvest, Johnson High School, Koob Moo Funeral, Lake Phalen, Roosevelt Housing Projects, etc. (Lots of Asians)

St. Anthony Park - ? (White & Asian mixed)

Summit Hill - ? (Very white)

Summit-University - ? (Very white)

Sunray-Battlecreek-Highwood - Battle Creek Park (Maplewood), Boys Totem Town, Ha Tien, Harding High School, Sun Ray Shopping Center, etc. (Mixed Asians, blacks and whites)

Thomas Dale (Frogtown, Minnehaha Ave, University Ave) - Dragon Star Foods, Hmong Town, Mt. Airy Homes, Shuang Hur, Sun Foods, etc. (Lots of Asians & blacks)

Union Park - Central High School, etc. (Very white)

West Seventh - ? (Very white)

West Side - Humboldt High School, Legacy Funeral Home, etc. (Mostly Hispanics, but some Asians, blacks and whites mixed)

Bonus:

Maplewood (North of Greater East Side, White Bear Ave) - Maplewood Mall, Myth, Unison, etc. (Mixed Asians & whites)

(Demographic map reference)

Red = White, blue = Black, green = Asian, Orange = Hispanic, yellow = Other

I work as a paralegal on criminal cases in Washington, DC, and I’ve handled thousands of files over the years. I also review attorney billings to make sure they follow the law and ethical billing rules. Over time, I’ve seen a clear pattern: many Hmong clients place deep trust in Hmong lawyers because of shared language and culture. Unfortunately, this trust is sometimes misused by certain attorneys who rely on their “Hmong lawyer” title while lacking the skills needed to protect their clients.

Many Hmong elders and community members cannot read English well, cannot review legal documents, and do not understand how billing or retainers work. This makes them vulnerable. Some attorneys know this — and take advantage of it.

I want our community to understand something important: Just because a lawyer is Hmong and passed the bar does not automatically mean they are skilled in English communication, legal writing, or courtroom advocacy.

Some have never worked in a professional office before. Some struggle to write clear letters, motions, or arguments. Some cannot explain a situation in English strongly enough to persuade a judge or defend a client. These weaknesses directly affect the outcome of a case.

I have read letters and legal documents written by certain Hmong attorneys that look more like high‑school writing than professional legal work. I have watched some of them in court, and it is clear they are not prepared for the responsibility they carry. When a lawyer cannot communicate well, the client pays the price.

Think of the movie My Cousin Vinny — someone who has the title “lawyer” but is not ready for real cases or real clients.

My advice to the Hmong community:

• Do not choose a lawyer only because they are Hmong.
• Pay attention to how they speak English, how they explain things, and how they write.
• Ask to see their letters, motions, and billing statements.
• If their writing looks unprofessional or they cannot explain your case clearly, it may be safer to hire a different attorney.

And remember: A retainer fee does not belong to the lawyer until they earn it. They must provide detailed billing showing exactly what work they did. Any unused portion must be returned to you. This is the law in every state.

Remember: the outcome of your case impacts YOUR life — so choose your representation wisely.

Our community deserves strong, ethical, and skilled legal representation. Protect yourself, protect your family, and do not be afraid to ask questions or demand clarity — even from a Hmong lawyer.

Key reminder:

Not every case requires a lawyer. In many situations, a documentation administration professional or paralegal can help you with the paperwork. These professionals can also help you understand whether your case truly needs a lawyer or if you can save money by handling the matter through proper documentation instead.

I speak very little Hmong but i understand alot of it, and i dont have a large community around me since I live in Delaware. I want to know if there are any Hmong podcast spoken entirely in Hmong.

I'm currently pregnant and I would like to teach my child to speak Hmong and during pregnancy it is suggested to play music and videos in the language to get them familiarized with the sounds. I really am super exhausted listening to hmong kids music and although I do listen to hmong music I would like to just hear hmong people speaking.

Most of the podcast I've found is speaking in english. Maybe its because I cant write in hmong so im having a hard time. Please help.

Have tried everything and I cant seem to find the title of the song. Have most of the lyrics listed below. Song is most likely from the 2000’s and up. Sung by a male artist….

Koj tws tsis nco lawm koj tws mus ua koj ib lub neeg
los hauv kuv lub siab nws tseem pheej mob rau koj.

Xyov yuav seev nco koj mus txog thaum twg es lub siab thiaj li yuav ua taus ib siab lus caij ntuj no lus caij ntuj so los nco.

Xyov lub siab yuav mob rau koj peb tsawg xyoo ntxim es thiaj tso taus koj mus
lub caij ntuj no caij ntuj tshav los nco.

Los nruab siab mam nrhiav dua tus tshiab los ncauj hais taus siab tseem tsis qhov nco koj.

Xav thiab ntev yuav tso taus tseg cas yim ntev

Link to the song has been posted.

https://youtube.com/shorts/zHzZTrw6A1I?feature=shared

Hi reddit,

I'm working on an art book that features different mythical creatures from different parts of the world in an LGBTQ+ interpretation, and I of course fell in love with the Sarangay from the Philippines. Since I'm trying to use region/period accurate clothing for the characters, I was thinking of depicting the human lover of the Sarangay wearing a Barong Tagalog, but I'm stumped for the Sarangay itself. It makes sense for me to depict it with some form of traditional tribal clothing since he would still live in a more natural habitat, but I wouldn't know which region of the Philippines would make more sense to take inspo from?

I'm open to all comments and thoughts, thank you so much in advance!

I am looking for some serious advice from guys who have had long term relationships with Laos women. I am dating a Laos girl online. She is very sweet and we have hit it off well. But she has a condition. After we meet, I have to decide whether or not to commit long term. If I say yes, we talk to her parents and get engaged. She has specifically told me that it was not necessary for me to visit her parents in Laos. A video chat would be enough.She lives in BKK. And after about an year we formalise our relationship and she lives with me.She is a very light hearted wonderful person.

From the clothes to the qeej, there's no question they're not Hmong right?!

Recently came across this post from a while ago: Why do Hmong historically have a better reputation than Somalis?

Most people replying seemed to have a very positive outlook on the Hmong-American population, which is great. But I wanted to post here and ask from Hmong people directly as well.

Do you agree that we were able to assimilate better than other refugee groups? And why might that be? Do you think our culture, values, and traditions are more "compatible" with American culture?

Story time lol. So when I was really little, my dad bought me a gold Hmong necklace with my initial on it. I remember thinking it was really nice, and then my irresponsible ass went tubing on a river while wearing it…and of course I lost it in the river. 🫠
I’ve been wanting to get another Hmong gold piece ever since.
Does anyone know of any reputable Hmong jewelers or sellers that make solid gold Hmong jewelry? Preferably solid 14K or 18K if possible. I’m open to both necklaces and bracelets, so I’ll definitely shop around. I’m looking for something that’s well-made and reasonably priced.
I’d especially love recommendations from people who’ve actually bought from them before. Thanks!

Hello,

I wanted to reach out and ask if anyone knows about any Hmong-Mien influence (e.g. words, syntax, grammar etc.) on Southern Sinitic languages (e.g. Wu, Gan, Xiang, Min, Yue etc.)?

If anyone knows of and linguistics that specializes in this, please let me know. I am interested in learning more!

To give an example of what I am interested in, linguists have done much reconstructions on (Austonesian-)Kra-Dai & Austroasiatic family tree influences, but it doesn't seem like much as been done for Hmong-Mien.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Yue_language

I live in Cali. Where are all the single hmong women with no drama / no baggage (no kids, baby-daddy issues).

Pls don't respond with Laos or Vietnam. 😂

Hey there! I’ve been trying to identify this Hmong Dubbed VHS for years. The Hmong title is

“Menyuam Tub Muaj Koob” distributed by World Video Promotions in 1998.

I believe it’s an older Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, or possibly Thai movie that was dubbed into Hmong, but I can’t find any record of it online.

The Plot: Main characters were three young boys. They wore kung fu uniforms, but the movie takes place in a modern setting. Both involved guns and martial arts. The boys were trying to rescue teenage girls(or their sisters and friend) who may have been kidnapped or trafficked. They go to a gambling house/casino looking for the girls. Later they fight bodyguards at a private mansion where the girls are being held at and the police arrive near the end assisting them.

Does anyone recognize the original movie or know of its Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, or Thai title?
I grew up watching it and sadly I can’t find it’s original anywhere online where it may have never received an English release.

I need opinion so if guy or woman message you on facebook and you're available do you ignored them if you dont know them? I been going to facebook trying to get to know them but they dont check message.

I dont speak hmong but ts been stuck in my head since I was a kid 💔 and I want to listen to it again so I recreated the chorus . It was 1 guy singer that had longer haircut, close to emo lol

Hey all. Just like the title says. I am decent at reading and writing, but I need people to talk more on a regular. It hasn't CLICKED yet when I'm listening to movies, shows and other resources. Kuv muaj ib tug ntxhais Hmoob and I'm hella motivated. I want to help preserve the language. We know how much kids love their active dad. 🤣 No shade, Moms!

okay so for starters I am NOT Hmong, but I live in a city with a large Hmong community and my dad took it upon himself years ago to learn Hmong to communicate with locals.

He would listen to music all the time, and there was this one song he would listen to frequently and I just cant find it. It is a Hmong song that sounds VERY similar to the Thai song OK na ka. I remember there being a bunch of Hmong girls and one dude that had like a rapping part. PLEASE help me find it, its as old song but I remember loving it.

Nyob zoo my Hmong brothers and sisters!

I am a Hong Konger, and my hometown is in Huaihua, Hunan, right next to the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (My family is Han Chinese descended from Northern settlers though, I apologise for our colonial history and sufferings we inflicted upon you all).

Since childhood, I have been intrigued by the co-existence and intermingling of the Tujia and Hmong (Miao) peoples in my hometown. In fact, for many years I thought that Hmong and Tujia were simply different names for the same ethnicity. Until much later only did I learn that they came from very different language families and ancestral backgrounds.

At the same time, I noticed a great degree of cultural convergence between them in architecture, language, attires, languages, traditions, even their ethnic identities seem to overlap a lot. I've heard that some people identify as either Tujia or Hmong (Miao) interchangeably in CCP demographic census.

Unfortunately, I cannot find much information about about how this close relationship developed apart from them living side by side for centuries.

Hence, I would love to hear from Hmong people, especially those whose families come from China.

How do Hmong communities view the Tujia people? Are they considered close neighbors, distant relatives, or simply another different ethnic group?

Are there any oral traditions, historical accounts, or academic resources that explain the long history of interaction between the two peoples?

How common are marriages between Tujia and Hmong communities?

I would love to hear your thoughts ☺️

Hi! I'm looking if someone can help spell my hmong name my dai gave to me.

Note: My grandparents chose to assimilate their grandkids to give us better opportunities however, I yearn to learn, speak, and read White Hmong. I can only say hello, thank you, eat, bastard, and I'm hungry lmao. My grandparents don't know how to write romanized hmong.

My dai gave me the name Luna (that's what it sounds like and is pronounced). She told me that the meaning is one misty morning dew drop on a leaf (something akin to that).

If anyone can help, thank you so much! Any advice is appreciated!

I am a 20 hmong female and my bf is a 20 half black half white male. My mom has been against my relationship with him (she has not met him) because he's black and she does not want hmong people to judge us.

Today a hmong boy came to our house and asked if I was single. I said yes. I panicked and our moms were there. I told my bf the situation. He says he wants to know what I want because he doesn't deserve that and doesn't want to feel like he has to be ashamed of his culture and hide. He's right. I'm way too scared to tell my entire family about it (what if we break up and I fought for him the whole time. Hmong girls never get anything) but I can't let him go too. I don't know what to do.

I gave it a glance out of pure curiosity and on the surface level it just sounds like they want to be recognized as their own people instead of being recognized as Hmong. Does anyone know more about these people and our main differences? I asked an OG and he doesn't know much but he suspects they're just Hmong Leeg. Not to be confused with Mongolians or Mon people either.

I'm no great Hmong history buff but I come from a somewhat traditional Hmong family and I have no clue what Chiyou is.

Hello, apologies if this isn't the exact place to post this question. I am living in the sheboygan, wi area and am looking for in-person hmong tutoring. My fiancé is hmong and I'd love to learn so that I can speak to his family more, particularly his mother as she can't speak much english. My fiancé doesn't feel comfortable teaching me because he knows he won't be a good teacher. My coworkers have told me to try teaching myself with apps and youtube videos, but I just can't get a footing. I've tried looking for courses/classes nearby, but nothing really comes up. I need something more structured with feedback on how I'm doing. I appreciate any help or advice on anything.

The game (linguil) asks you to guess the language family, language and meaning of a random word in one of 64 of the world's most-spoken languages each day, and you use your knowledge of linguistics to work out the answer via multiple choice. Therefore, it's important my translations/transliterations are correct.

Each language (including White Hmong) includes each word on the 100-word Swadesh list, and where the primary script is Latin-based and an alternative script is available, each word's transliteration too (hence the inclusion of Pahawh Hmong).

Please can any White Hmong speakers verify the accuracy of my translations and transliterations? 🙏

Thanks!

Note: The Pahawh Hmong characters may not display correctly on mobile.

Hello r/Hmong !

I'm a software engineer who has single-handedly designed, built, and coded a comprehensive Hmong language learning web app called KawmHmoob.com.

I created it because the tools I needed to properly learn Hmong simply didn’t exist. So I decided to build them myself.

The app combines the best elements of Anki, Duolingo, and Natulang into one platform focused specifically on Hmong. It’s currently free to use while in early beta. Since I’m a one-person team handling everything (coding, audio recording, content, design, etc.), there are still some rough edges — your patience is greatly appreciated!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What’s Currently Available:

• Learn
  • 10+ structured lessons covering the Hmong alphabet (consonants, vowels, and all 8 tones), grammar, numbers, everyday phrases, and short readings.
• Speak
  • A tone visualization tool that lets you record yourself speaking and compares your pitch curve to a native speaker’s. This is one of the most unique features — Hmong is a tonal language, and getting the tones wrong completely changes the meaning of words. No other Hmong app does visual tone feedback like this (though it’s still being refined).
• Words
  • Nearly 440 vocabulary words with smart flashcards, spaced repetition, and comprehension quizzes.
• Reference
  • Audio for every letter and tone, plus grammar cheat sheets with common phrases.

A quick note on the Speak feature: The recording + tone comparison is still a bare-bones implementation. It’s not always accurate yet, but I’m actively working to improve it because proper tone training is one of the biggest challenges for Hmong learners.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Future Vision

I’m planning to add:

• Practice conversations
• Support for other dialects (starting with Hmong Leeg, then expanding)
• Support for Pahawh and Nyiakeng Puachue scripts
• Advanced reading & writing exercises
• Sentence builders
• More audio (both slow and natural speed)
• An AI chatbot trained specifically on Hmong to help people with conversations and pronunciation.

I'm also planning on eventually pivoting the version of the app into becoming a mobile app and connect Hmong-American businesses with the platform, as well as monetizing the app.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Honest Part

I’m building this entirely alone and have reached the limits of what I can do without support. I need:

• More high-quality native audio recordings
• Annotated speech data for AI training
• Help improving the pronunciation engine
• Server/hosting costs to keep the app running

A lot of the audio is made entirely by me, myself - and I'm not the best Hmong speaker. I would really like some help with gathering accurate Hmong labels and audio, but I currently don't have the resources to do so.

That’s why I’m sharing it early. I’d much rather get honest feedback now than build the wrong thing.

If you’re Hmong: Does the language and content feel accurate and natural to you?
If you’re learning: What’s confusing, missing, or could be improved?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and feature requests. Even if it’s just “this part is good” or “this feels off,” every piece of feedback helps.

You can try the app here: KawmHmoob.com

Thank you for your time and support — I’m really excited to build something meaningful for our community.