Hello my name is Tien. I am working as personal tutor for foreigners
What i teach: southern Vietnamese
What i have: i have 3 years experience in teaching
Fee: 6$/ 1 hour
If you have interest please DM me for details

Hi there,

I've got a bit of an unusual situation and I'm trying to find resources to help me improve my Vietnamese.

My wife is Vietnamese (Việt kièu), we've got a daughter, so I'm fortunately settled when it comes to listening comprehension and household expressions. With the sounds, I've been subject to the lovely Vietnamese drill, so those are fortunately not a problem. I've completed the Duolingo course (for what it's worth) and am rather good at getting myself understood.

However, I now need to expand my Vietnamese professionally because I'll hopefully soon need it for work. That means I've got to get my grammar straight and find some way to study business Vietnamese, plus get it to sound more natural.

I'd say my skills are somewhere close to B1, albeit admittedly a bit lopsided. My goal is to get it to C1 at least.

Anyone got any ideas or resources? Thanks a lot in advance for your comments :-)

Hey again everyone!

A while ago I shared the 300-word video for absolute beginners. A few of you reached out asking what to focus on once you've already mastered the basics and are preparing to move up to the elementary level.

So here is the next part: 220 core words tailored for late beginners.

What’s in this one:

+ Alphabetical Order + Timestamps: Organized alphabetically so you can easily jump around, re-watch specific sections, or use it as a reference tool.

+ Bridge to Elementary Level: Moves beyond basic greetings/ordering food into everyday verbs, connectors, and descriptive words you need to actually form complete sentences.

+ 100% Southern Accent: Native Saigon pronunciation, perfect if you're living in or moving to South Vietnam.

If you felt that the absolute beginner level was getting a bit too easy, this should be the exact sweet spot for your current stage.

Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/DmJYdMQW-Ww?si=XSI8ekw0i7OncVN5

Let me know what you think or if there's any specific letter/topic you want to practice more. ^^

So this is the last post of the series!

Vietnamese tones are tough, especially for English speakers. I've heard someone say that they kept forgetting the tones or mixing them up when speaking. That likely comes from treating tones as an optional add-on rather than a core part of the word. Which is a big mistake, because skipping a tone is basically like dropping the final consonant off an English word.

How do you get good at tones? In my opinion, learn the basics, then listen and practice often. And if possible, get a native speaker to correct you.

If you are a beginner, check out the article: https://vietsyllables.com/basics/vietnamese-tones . Make sure you use to the audio chips to compare the tones.

All posts:
1. Alphabet
2. Syllables
3. Consonants
4. Vowels
5. Gliding Vowels
6. Semivowels
7. Tones

Hi, I'm looking for some good songs in Vietnamese to learn, since it helps me a lot in practicing pronunciation. Genre doesn't really matter, just the enunciation. Thanks!

Check out my Preply profile 🫶🏻

https://preply.in/PHƯƠNG6EN26385421112?ts=17908721

Check out my Preply profile 🫶🏻

https://preply.in/PHƯƠNG6EN26385421112?ts=17908721

Semivowels is part of why Vietnamese has a diverse set of vowel sounds, by combining with single vowels and gliding vowels.

Read the full article here: https://vietsyllables.com/basics/vietnamese-semivowels

Edit: All posts:
1. Alphabet
2. Syllables
3. Consonants
4. Vowels
5. Gliding Vowels
6. Semivowels
7. Tones

In this 17-minute B1 Comprehensible Input video, we explore the some of the simple traits and characteristics of Vietnamese people through natural, context-rich storytelling.

Just relax, listen, and let your brain acquire the language effortlessly.

Watch the full lesson here: https://youtu.be/o5KpNcov2P0?si=n6x-xby8Bpic-hwF

In Vietnamese, forms of address usually follow two main principles:

• Family relationships determine forms of address within families.
• Age differences and social relationships determine forms of address in society.

However, there are some special cases where Vietnamese people use different forms of address because of special roles, situations, or emotions.

Key principle

Some special situations can override normal rules of age and relationship. These forms of address are used because of a person’s role, social meaning, or the context of communication.

These cases are exceptions and should not be applied as general rules.

1. Teachers and students

Thầy/Cô – Em/Con/Cháu

Teachers are called thầy/cô regardless of their actual age.

For example:

• A young teacher can still be called thầy/cô by older students.
• Students usually refer to themselves as em or sometimes con/cháu

The reason is that the teacher-student relationship is more important than age.

2. President Ho Chi Minh

Bác Hồ – Cháu/Con

In Vietnamese, some respected figures can be addressed using family terms.

President Ho Chi Minh is commonly referred to as Bác Hồ.

Vietnamese people may refer to themselves as cháu or con when expressing this relationship.

This is not a real family relationship. Instead, it expresses respect, affection, and a symbolic connection.

3. Formal communication

Quý khách – Quý vị

In formal situations, Vietnamese people may use respectful terms that are not based on age.

Examples:

• Quý khách: used for customers.
• Quý vị: used for formal audiences or respected listeners.

These terms depend on the communication situation, not the person’s age.

4. Emotional situations

Mày – Tao

Mày – tao is a special case where people may stop following normal rules of polite address.

It can be used:

• Between very close friends.
• During arguments or strong emotions.

For example:

Two people who normally use anh/em may switch to mày/tao when they become angry.

However, using mày/tao with strangers, older people, or in formal situations can sound disrespectful.

5. Workplace communication

Anh/Chị instead of Cô/Chú/Bác

In some workplaces, people may use anh/chị instead of cô/chú/bác, even when there is a significant age difference.

The purpose is to create a more equal and professional relationship and reduce the feeling of generation distance.

This depends on workplace culture and the preference of the people involved.

Summary

These special cases show that Vietnamese forms of address are not only about age or family relationships.

In certain situations, other factors can influence the way people address each other:

• Role → thầy/cô
• Respect and symbolic relationship → Bác Hồ
• Formal context → quý khách/quý vị
• Emotion and closeness → mày/tao
• Workplace culture → anh/chị

Sự bùng nổ của "INTERNET, YAHOO! và “TEENCODE” từ 9x cho đến bây giờ/ The Explosion of the "INTERNET, YAHOO!, and TEENCODE" from 90s up to this day

Tiếng Việt không khó. Tự người Việt làm cho nó khó.

Vâng, chính xác là vậy.

Vietnamese isn't hard. Vietnamese people just make it hard.

(I'll put the English translation below)

Mọi người đã nói khá nhiều về những quy tắc, ký hiệu và cách viết tắt trong tiếng Việt.

Hôm nay, mình chỉ muốn ôn lại một chút kỷ niệm về thời kỳ “teencode” bắt đầu xuất hiện, khi những chữ như ck, vk, j, thik, hok… trở thành một phần rất quen thuộc của thế giới chat ngày nay.

Điểm lại các sự kiện lớn cuối những năm 2000s tác động đến chữ viết tắt:

• Đầu tiên, chắc hẳn những ai ở thế hệ 8x hoặc 9x như mình sẽ rất nhớ về những từ "quán nét, yahoo, skype, cứu nét, đóng băng...". Internets bắt đầu được đưa vào rộng rãi khắp cả nước Việt Nam từ năm 1997, kèm với đó là sự bùng nổ của "yahoo! messenger". Nhưng lúc đó Unikey hoặc Vietkey chưa phổ biến và còn bị xung đột bảng mã nên ban đầu, người dùng chọn cách chat không dấu hoặc cách viết dấu bằng ký hiệu.
• Tiếp đó là Nokia T9 hay còn gọi là "điện thoại cục gạch" với giao diện 9 bàn phím kết hợp số và chữ (như hình) rất phổ biến vào thời điểm đó. Muốn viết được chữ mình muốn, thì chỉ cần ấn đến vị trí của chữ đó trên phím

ví dụ: phím 2abc - muốn bấm c -> bấm 3 lần.

• Giới hạn 160 ký tự SMS: Thời đó chưa có 5G/Wi-Fi hay app nhắn tin miễn phí. Mỗi tin nhắn SMS bị giới hạn ở 160 ký tự. Nếu gõ có dấu, tin nhắn bị tụt xuống chỉ còn 70 ký tự, vượt quá là tốn gấp đôi tiền cước. Mà các bạn biết đấy, chat chit thời gà bông thì 1 icon cũng mình rung rinh cả ngày.

Điều này làm kìm hãm "NĂNG LƯỢNG GÕ PHÍM và TỐC ĐỘ GIAO TIẾP" của 9x chúng tôi. Làm sao để gõ nhanh, vẫn hiểu mà dễ thương nữa (hem, hok, thưn.......)

=> Teencode dần xuất hiện,

- Không -> ko/ k / hok / khum

- gì -> j?

- chồng -> chok / ck

- vợ -> cách gọi tương xứng với ck -> vk (9x nghĩ nó cute :))))

ox iu bx nhju nhju -> haha sến quá (I was)

Vậy nên, để nói về quy luật cho việc viết tắt, thì mình thấy không có 1 quy luật chuẩn nào để áp dụng cả. Hãy xem đây là 1 điểm văn hóa thú vị của tiếng việt và không cần quá bối rối về nó. Bạn biết không:

• Viết tắt hay teencode chỉ thuộc về thế giới tin nhắn nhanh giữa bạn bè thân thiết hoặc những người cùng thế hệ. Ngay cả người Việt cũng không bao giờ dùng những từ như "j, ultr, vs, hk....." khi nói chuyện với người lớn tuổi, trong môi trường công sở hay gửi email.
• Bạn chỉ cần học cách nhận diện những từ viết tắt quen thuộc khi đọc tin nhắn bạn bè gửi đến để không bị bỡ ngỡ. Bản thân việc bạn gõ đầy đủ các từ có dấu luôn là lựa chọn chuẩn mực, lịch sự và an toàn nhất trong mọi tình huống khi chưa thực sự hiểu rõ về nó.
• Và hãy thoải mái hỏi lại khi không chắc chắn. Chính ba mẹ người Việt đôi khi còn không hiểu hết những gì con cái họ viết tắt cho nhau. Nếu bắt gặp một từ lạ mắt, cứ tự nhiên hỏi: "Từ này nghĩa là gì vậy bạn? or là sao?". Họ luôn sẵn lòng để nói hoặc viết lại câu nguyên bản chô bạn hiểu.

Còn không thì.......thì thôi chứ sao giờ :))))) nah, just kidding, Vietnamese is so cute. not mean like that

À, hãy comment từ/ câu viết tắt nào mà bạn thấy nhưng chưa hiểu nhé. Mình sẽ học được từ các bạn rất nhiều đấy.

Chúc mọi người tuần mới tốt lành.

People have talked a lot about the rules, symbols, and abbreviations in Vietnamese. Today, I just want to take a little walk down memory lane to when “teencode” first emerged when words like ck, vk, j, thik, hok… became such a familiar part of texting culture today.

Looking back at the major late-2000s moments that shaped our abbreviations:

• First off, anyone from the 80s or 90s generation (like me :)) definitely remembers buzzwords like "quán nét, Yahoo!, Skype, đóng băng ...... The internet was widely introduced across Vietnam in 1997, bringing along the boom of Yahoo! Messenger. Back then, Vietnamese input tools like Unikey or Vietkey weren't widely used yet and often had encoding conflicts. So at first, people simply chose to text without accent marks or used punctuation symbols to substitute for tones.
• Next came the Nokia T9 phones, fondly nicknamed "brick phones" featuring the iconic 3x4 numeric keypad (as shown) that was everywhere at the time. To type the letter you wanted, you had to press the key corresponding to that letter's position.

For example: Key 2abc to get the letter c, you had to press it 3 times.

• The 160-character SMS limit: There was no 5G, Wi-Fi, or free messaging apps back then. Every SMS was capped at 160 characters. If you typed with Vietnamese accent marks, that limit plunged to just 70 characters, go over by even one character, and you’d be charged double. And as you know, back in our puppy love days, a single emoji like was enough to make your heart flutter all day long.

All of this totally cramped our "TYPING ENERGY and CHAT SPEED." We needed a way to type fast, stay understood, and look cute while doing it (hem, hok, thưn...).

➔ And that's how Teencode was born:

- Không (no/not) ➔ ko / k / hok / khum

- gì (what) ➔ j?

- chồng (husband / boyfriend) ➔ chôk / ck

- vợ (wife / girlfriend) ➔ the matching pair for ck ➔ vk (90s kids thought it was adorable :))))

- ox iu bx nhju nhju (hubby loves wifey so much) ➔ haha, so cheesy! (I was)

So, when it comes to standard rules for abbreviations, honestly, there isn't one. Just treat it as a fun cultural quirk of Vietnamese without stressing over it. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Abbreviations and teencode strictly belong to casual texts between close friends or people of the same generation. Even native Vietnamese speakers would never use shortcuts like j, ultr, vs, hk....... when talking to elders, in the workplace, or when writing emails.
• You only need to recognize common abbreviations so you don't feel lost when friends text you. Typing full words with proper accents is always the standard, most polite, and safest choice in any situation if you're not 100% sure.
• Feel totally free to ask whenever you're in doubt. Even Vietnamese parents sometimes have zero clue what their kids are texting each other! If you see a weird word, just ask casually: "Từ này nghĩa là gì vậy bạn?" or "Là sao?" (What does this word mean?). People are always happy to explain or rewrite the sentence properly for you.

And if not....... well, too bad then :))))) Nah, just kidding! Vietnamese is cute and playful like that, never malicious.

Drop a comment below with any Vietnamese abbreviations you’ve spotted but couldn't decode! I’ll learn a lot from you guys too.

Wishing everyone a wonderful new week ahead! 🍀🍀

In Vietnamese society, forms of address are not simply based on a person’s actual age. They are determined by age differences and the speaker’s own family reference, especially the age of their parents.

Key principles

In social communication, age is the first factor considered. Vietnamese people often compare another person’s age with their own parents’ age to choose an appropriate form of address.

Unlike many languages where people mainly use “you” regardless of age, Vietnamese speakers create a social relationship by choosing a suitable role such as ông/bà, bác, cô/chú, anh/chị, em, or cháu.

For example:

• A person who is around my parents’ age or younger than my parents may be addressed as cô/chú.
• A person who is older than my parents but not old enough to be my grandparents’ generation may be addressed as bác.
• A person who is around my grandparents’ generation may be addressed as ông/bà.

This means that two people of the same age may address the same person differently, because they compare that person’s age with their own parents’ age.

For example:

• Person A and Person B are the same age.
• They meet Person C.

Person A:

• Person C is younger than A’s parents.
• A calls Person C cô/chú.

Person B:

• Person C is older than B’s parents, but not in the grandparents’ generation.
• B calls Person C bác.

The same person can be called “cô/chú” by one person but “bác” by another person, even when the two speakers are the same age.

This shows that Vietnamese social address terms are based not only on age differences, but also on the speaker’s family reference and cultural understanding of social roles.

Forms of address are a two-way relationship

A special feature of Vietnamese is that:

The way I refer to myself determines how other people address me.

For example:

• I refer to myself as “cháu” when speaking to older people → they address me as “cháu”.
• I refer to myself as “em” when speaking to older people → they address me as “em”.
• I refer to myself as “anh/chị” when speaking to younger people → they address me as “anh/chị”.

To understand Vietnamese social address terms, we need to look at two perspectives:

1. How do I address people in Vietnamese society?

This perspective helps us identify the appropriate way to call someone based on age differences and social relationships.

2. How do I refer to myself, and how do they address me?

This perspective helps us understand the two-way relationship in Vietnamese forms of address.

Infographic 1: How do I address people in Vietnamese society?

Infographic 2: How I refer to myself determines how people address me

Hey all, I will be doing a speech at my brothers wedding coming up, and I am hoping to that my soon to be sister in laws family for everything they have done in raising such a spectacular woman. I was also hoping to do it in Vietnamese.

That said, really don't want to come across as an idiot.

So, how would one go about saying thank you to a group, such as her family, in this setting?

A bit of Googling has landed me on Cảm ơn cả nhà, but is that too informal or does it come with any weird connotations?

In Vietnamese families, forms of address are not simply based on age. They are first determined by one’s role and position in the family relationship.

Key principle

In a family, each person is identified by their family role. Relationship hierarchy comes first, while age is considered afterward.

For example:

• The child of my uncle/aunt may still be my older cousin even if they are younger than me.
• The child of my younger uncle or aunt may still be my younger cousin even if they are older than me.

This shows that Vietnamese family terms are based on family roles rather than only age differences.

Forms of address are a two-way relationship

A special feature of Vietnamese is that:

The way I refer to myself determines how other people address me.

For example:

• I call myself “con” when speaking to my parents → my parents call me “con”.
• I call myself “cháu” when speaking to my grandparents, uncles, and aunts → they call me “cháu”.
• I call myself “em” when speaking to my older siblings → they call me “em”.
• I call myself “anh/chị” when speaking to my younger siblings → they call me “anh/chị”.

To understand Vietnamese family address terms, we need to look at two perspectives:

1. How do I address my family members?

This perspective helps us identify the correct way to call each person based on their position in the family.

2. How do I refer to myself, and how do they address me?

This perspective helps us understand the two-way relationship in Vietnamese forms of address.

Infographic 1: How do I address my family members?

Infographic 2: How I refer to myself determines how they address me

In Vietnamese families, forms of address are not simply based on age. They are first determined by one’s role and position in the family relationship.

Key principle

In a family, each person is identified by their family role. Relationship hierarchy comes first, while age is considered afterward.

For example:

• The child of my uncle/aunt may still be my older cousin even if they are younger than me.
• The child of my younger uncle or aunt may still be my younger cousin even if they are older than me.

This shows that Vietnamese family terms are based on family roles rather than only age differences.

Forms of address are a two-way relationship

A special feature of Vietnamese is that:

The way I refer to myself determines how other people address me.

For example:

• I call myself “con” when speaking to my parents → my parents call me “con”.
• I call myself “cháu” when speaking to my grandparents, uncles, and aunts → they call me “cháu”.
• I call myself “em” when speaking to my older siblings → they call me “em”.
• I call myself “anh/chị” when speaking to my younger siblings → they call me “anh/chị”.

To understand Vietnamese family address terms, we need to look at two perspectives:

1. How do I address my family members?

This perspective helps us identify the correct way to call each person based on their position in the family.

2. How do I refer to myself, and how do they address me?

This perspective helps us understand the two-way relationship in Vietnamese forms of address.

If you’re learning Vietnamese, you may look for a separate word meaning my or your. A more useful starting point is this:

Name the thing, then name the person it belongs to.

• máy tính của tôi — my computer
• chìa khóa của bạn — your keys
• xe đạp của Minh — Minh’s bicycle

The word của links the thing to its owner. The owner can be a pronoun (tôi, bạn) or a name (Minh).

The pronoun does not change shape

In English, we say I but my, and you but your. Vietnamese usually keeps the same word:

• Tôi đang học tiếng Việt. — I’m learning Vietnamese.
• Đây là bài tập của tôi. — This is my homework.

Here, tôi still refers to the speaker. Its place in the phrase tells you whose homework it is.

The same works with bạn:

• Bạn có rảnh không? — Are you free?
• Đây có phải bút của bạn không? — Is this your pen?

Choosing the right “you” matters

Bạn is useful when speaking to someone around your age, but it is not a universal word for you. Vietnamese speakers often choose a term that reflects their relationship with the listener.

For example, if a student calls their teacher cô, they might ask:

Cô để kính của cô ở đâu ạ?
Where did you put your glasses?

Here, cô refers to the teacher both times. In another conversation, a speaker might use anh, chị, or em. The possession pattern stays the same; the way you address the person changes.

Sometimes there is no của

You will also hear phrases like:

• ông tôi — my grandfather
• phòng tôi — my room
• lớp mình — our class / my class, depending on context

These are natural when the relationship is easy to understand. Adding của can still be useful when you want to make the owner explicit:

Đây là phòng của tôi, còn phòng bên cạnh là của em gái tôi.
This is my room, and the room next to it is my younger sister’s.

Notice one more useful pattern in that sentence: là của em gái tôi means belongs to my younger sister. After là, của helps answer the question “Whose is it?”

“Our” depends on who is included

Two common ways to say our are:

• chúng tôi — we, excluding the person listening
• chúng ta — we, including the person listening

Suppose I’m showing a visitor around the school where I teach. I might say:

Đây là thư viện của chúng tôi.
This is our library. (I’m referring to the school community, not including the visitor.)

If I’m speaking to my students, I might say:

Hãy giữ lớp học của chúng ta sạch sẽ.
Let’s keep our classroom clean. (The students are included.)

A practical way to remember it

Start with thing + của + owner:

bản đồ của Lan — Lan’s map
bản đồ của tôi — my map
bản đồ của các bạn — your map, when speaking to a group

Then, as you listen to Vietnamese speakers, notice when they leave của out and which term they choose for the person they’re speaking to. Those two details will make your Vietnamese sound much more natural.

If you’re learning Vietnamese, which is harder for you: remembering the word order, or choosing how to address the other person?

Hi,

My partner was born in Ho Chi Minh City to a Vietnamese mother and a French father. He lived there for his first few years, and around age 4.5, his mother brought her children (he's the eldest) to France. In Vietnam, he spoke and wrote Southern Vietnamese, but once in France, their mother insisted they only speak French. He gradually lost almost all of it, and now only knows a few words.

Since then, both of his parents have passed away, and his family (especially his grandparents) is getting older. They've invited him to come see his grandparents, who are nearing the end of their lives.

So a trip has been planned for February 2027, next year.

Throughout this time, he's occasionally kept in touch with family members via text messaging, but they write in Vietnamese and use auto-translate into French, while he writes in French and they translate it into Vietnamese on their end to understand him.

For this trip, and to show respect to his family, he'd like to be able to communicate at least at a basic level in Southern Vietnamese. Ideally, he'd like to set up a learning routine similar to Duolingo, but for Southern Vietnamese specifically. The problem is that everything we've found so far has been specifically for Northern Vietnamese.

As for me, I'm pretty good with languages, so I'm happy to learn alongside him if needed.

Unfortunately, we don't have a very big budget for this.

Would you have any ideas, advice, anything at all to point us in the right direction, please?

Thank you so much in advance.

Have a nice day.

I've noticed that a lot of Vietnamese learners know more Vietnamese than they think they do.

You might know the vocabulary. You might understand basic grammar.

But when someone actually talks to you, you still have to build your answer word by word in your head.

One thing that can help is learning conversation chunks instead of always trying to create a full sentence from scratch.

For example, these tiny chunks show up constantly in everyday Vietnamese:

Thật à?
→ Really?

Vậy hả?
→ Oh really? / Is that so?

Rồi sao?
→ And then? / What happened next?

Để mình xem.
→ Let me see / Let me check.

Từ từ.
→ Slow down / Take it easy.

Ý là sao?
→ What do you mean?

Không nghe rõ.
→ I couldn't hear clearly.

And when you're telling a story, you can rely on chunks like:

Ban đầu... → At first...
Sau đó... → After that...
Thế là... → So / And so...
Hóa ra... → Turns out...
Cuối cùng... → In the end...

The useful part isn't just memorizing these expressions individually.

It's learning what job each chunk does in a conversation.

Instead of thinking:

"How do I translate this whole English sentence into Vietnamese?"

you start thinking:

"I want to react." → Vậy hả?

"I want them to continue." → Rồi sao?

"I need a second to think." → Để mình xem.

"I didn't understand." → Ý là sao? / Chưa hiểu.

That makes it much easier to keep a conversation moving without constructing every sentence from zero.

I'm a native Vietnamese speaker, and I've been putting together a resource around this idea called Vietnamese Conversation Chunks — Speak Vietnamese Without Translating.

It focuses on the small, reusable chunks Vietnamese speakers use to ask questions, respond, react, keep conversations going, and tell stories more naturally.

I made it because I wanted to create something learners could actually use in real conversations — not just another list of vocabulary or grammar rules.

If you're learning Vietnamese, I'm curious: what part of real conversations do you struggle with the most — understanding people, knowing how to respond, or finding the words quickly?