Vietnamese School Lesson 1 - Different Words For "You"



Chào các bạn!
In this lesson, we will look at the different words for "you" in Vietnamese.

When talking to someone in English, we constantly use the word "you". For example,
"Do you like chocolate?"
"Have you watched Yee?"
"I don't like you."
These are all phrases that use the word "you". A common mistake that people learning Vietnamese make is to translate this directly.

Why is this a mistake?

When you look up "you" in an English-Vietnamese dictionary, the first word that will come up is usually "bạn". While this isn't necessarily wrong, you don't really hear it in everyday conversations.

So how DO you address the other person?

There are a couple ways you could go about addressing the other person:
1. You can use their name.
Ex) Kim có thích sôcôla không?
= (Talking to Kim) Do you like chocolate?

2. You can use a familial pronoun.
Ex) Chị có hiểu không?
= (Talking to a female within 10 years older than you) Do you understand?

Examples of common familial pronouns 

  • Em / Talking to someone within 10 years younger than you
  • Cháu / Talking to someone more than 10 years younger than you 
  • Anh / Talking to a male within 10 years older than you 
  • Chị / Talking to a female within 10 years older than you
  • Chú / Talking to a male more than 10 years older than you
  • Cô / Talking to a female more than 10 years older than you 
There are more familial pronouns you could use, but these are some of the most common ones.

So is there an instance when you CAN use "bạn"?

When talking to a person your own age who you don't know the name of, it is appropriate to call them "bạn".

That's all for today! Please keep this lesson in mind next time you want to address someone in Vietnamese. Tạm biệt! :) 

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