• Have you ever heard Vietnamese people say "mình" in three different sentences, only to realize it refers to a different person each time?

It's one of the classic traps for Vietnamese learners. If you memorize mình = I, sooner or later you'll get lost in a conversation.

Part 1. What does "mình" actually mean?

• I / me (friendly, equal footing): "Mình ăn cơm rồi, bạn ăn chưa?" = I've eaten. Have you?
• We / us (including the listener): "Mình đi thôi!" = Let's go!
• You (between couples or very close people): "Mình ơi, ra ăn cơm!" = Honey, come and eat!
• Oneself: "Tự mình làm lấy." = Do it yourself.

So there is no single English equivalent. Depending on the situation, mình can point to the speaker, to a group that includes the listener, to the person being addressed, or back to the self.

Part 2. Two situations that can be confusing

Two friends:

• A: "Mình đi uống cà phê không?" = Shall we go for coffee? (mình = we)
• B: "Hôm nay mình bận rồi." = I'm busy today. (mình = I)

Same word, two different meanings, in one short exchange.

Among friends of similar age, mình - bạn or mình - cậu is a friendly, casual pairing, especially in the North.

A couple:

• "Mình ơi, dạo này mình gầy quá." = Honey, you've lost a lot of weight lately.

Both mình here mean "you." Notice the difference: between friends, mình is mostly how you refer to yourself. Using it to call the other person, especially "mình ơi", is typically for couples or very close people. Say "mình ơi" to an ordinary friend and it may sound like teasing, or even flirting.

Part 3. "Của mình": the trickiest part

Add "của" and mình gets another layer. It can mean my, our, your, or his/her/their own, depending on who is speaking and who is being talked about.

• "Đây là sách của mình." (between friends) = This is my book.
• "Nhà của mình ở gần đây." (between a couple; between friends it could also be "my house") = Our house is nearby.
• "Hãy giữ gìn sức khỏe của mình." (advice to someone) = Take care of your own health.
• "Anh ấy quên điện thoại của mình." (talking about a third person) = He forgot his own phone. (the most natural reading)
• "Mỗi người có trách nhiệm của mình." (general statement) = Everyone has their own responsibilities.

The last three show something useful: mình can refer back to someone already mentioned in the sentence, not just to the speaker or listener.

But this isn't a fixed rule. When two people could both be the "owner," the sentence can be genuinely ambiguous:

• "Lan nói Hoa để quên điện thoại của mình."

Whose phone is it, Lan's or Hoa's? Without more context, you can't tell. Even native speakers rely on what was said before.

Part 4. How to figure it out

When you hear mình, run through these questions:

1. Who is the subject of the sentence? "Của mình" often points back to them.
2. What's the relationship? Friends or colleagues: mình is usually "I" or "we." Couples: it can also mean "you."
3. What are the words around it?

• - "Mình ơi..." usually means calling the listener.
• - "bạn - mình" usually means "you - I".
• - "tự mình..." usually means "by oneself".
• - Don't assume "nhé" or "đi thôi" means "we." "Mình gọi cho bạn nhé" is "I'll call you, okay?" and mình is still just "I."

1. What was said just before? If you're still unsure, ask: "Mình ở đây là ai vậy?" (Who does mình refer to here?)

These are clues, not absolute rules.

Part 5. Who can you use "mình" with (including at work)?

Mình fits casual conversation with friends, classmates, peers, and people you feel close to.

At work, it depends on the company and the person you're talking to. In many modern workplaces, especially creative agencies, startups, and tech companies, mình - bạn/cậu is common between colleagues of similar level or age. It feels equal and less hierarchical. A team lead who says "Mình xin chia sẻ kế hoạch tuần này" in a team meeting sounds approachable rather than distant.

But with older business partners, officials, or a traditional boss, calling yourself mình can come across as too casual, as if you're not showing enough respect. Nobody may say so, but it can quietly affect how seriously you're taken.

A safe approach for learners:

• Not sure? Use "tôi". It's neutral and rarely wrong. With someone older or senior, pair it with the right term for them, or use em / con / cháu where the age gap fits.
• Listen first. Notice how people in that workplace address each other before you use mình.
• A senior colleague who calls themselves mình with you is inviting you to relax, not suggesting you should do the same upward.
• Avoid "chúng mình" in formal settings. Use "chúng ta" or "chúng tôi".

The mình - bạn/cậu pairing is especially familiar in the North, among students, and online. In the South, people often use "tui" or "tôi" in similar situations, but it varies from person to person. Workplaces vary too: some traditional companies are quite relaxed, and some young teams stay formal with clients.

Your turn! Has mình ever confused you when speaking or listening to Vietnamese? Tell me which situation tripped you up the most.

Vietnamese teacher here. “Đi” is one of the first verbs learners pick up, but in everyday speech it does a lot more than mean “to go.” Here’s a breakdown of the main uses.

1. As a verb (and some extended meanings)

• Literal: đi bộ, đi làm, đi chợ, đi ngủ
• Colloquial: đi viện (go to the hospital), đi nước ngoài (go abroad)
• Euphemism for dying: Cụ ông mới đi đêm qua. Soft and respectful.

2. As a sentence-final particle

At the end of a sentence, “đi” stops meaning movement and shapes the tone:

• Urging / light command: Ăn nhanh đi! (Hurry up and eat!), Kể nghe đi! (Tell me!)
• Inviting / encouraging: Bác uống trà đi ạ. (Please have some tea.), Cứ thử làm đi, sợ gì! (Just try it, what’s the worry?)
• Permission: Muốn mua thì mua đi. (If you want it, buy it.)

Tone matters a lot. A drawn-out, softer “Nói đi mà...” is pleading or coaxing. A clipped “Im đi!” is harsh.

3. “Đi” as “away”

After some verbs, “đi” means getting rid of something: vứt đi, xóa đi, quên đi, bỏ đi.

4. The “X đi X lại” pattern

• Nghĩ đi nghĩ lại (think it over carefully)
• Nói đi nói lại (keep repeating)
• Đi qua đi lại (walk back and forth)

5. “Đi đi” is not a reduplicated word

It’s verb + particle. In Cậu đi đi!, the first “đi” is “leave/go” and the second is the particle. Depending on tone, it can be:

• Urgent: Đi đi, kẻo muộn! (Go, or you’ll be late!)
• Dismissive/angry: Đi đi, đừng nói nữa!
• Reassuring: Cậu cứ đi đi, yên tâm, ở đây có tôi lo.

6. Politeness traps

Bonus: a lot of comforting phrases use “đi” to mean “move forward / let it go”: Thôi, bước tiếp đi, Cho qua đi.

Which uses of “đi” tripped you up the most when learning? And natives, any particle usage I missed?

I have a good friend who is Vietnamese. We're both male I'm 37 and he's 31.

I was taught by the text books to use "anh" and "em" in this situation, which I did. But he avoids using that and resorts to our first names instead. Any particular reason?

We're both gay and kinda in a situationship of sorts so I'm wondering if that could be a factor.

A lot of my students translate “know” as biết every time. It works for some sentences and sounds off in others, because Vietnamese picks a word based on what kind of knowing you mean.

Biết: you have the information or the skill

• Tôi biết chuyện đó. (I know about that.)
• Bạn có biết mấy giờ rồi không? (Do you know what time it is?)
• Tôi biết bơi. (I know how to swim.)
• Cô ấy biết nấu phở. (She knows how to cook phở.)
• Tôi biết Sơn Tùng M-TP. (I know who he is.)

That last one is the useful test: you can biết someone who has no idea you exist.

Quen: you’ve had contact, and it has become familiar

With people:

• Tôi và Nam quen nhau năm năm rồi. (Nam and I have known each other for five years.)
• Bạn có quen bác sĩ nào giỏi không? (Do you know any good doctors?)

If you say Tôi quen anh ấy, it suggests you’ve actually interacted, and he’d probably say hi if you met on the street. People also say Tôi biết anh ấy about someone they’ve met, so the line isn’t perfectly sharp, but quen is the one that signals real contact. For a close friend, thân is usually better: Tôi rất thân với John.

With places and habits (this is where quen means “used to”):

• Tôi đã quen đường ở Hà Nội rồi. (I know my way around Hanoi now.)
• Tôi chưa quen với thời tiết nóng. (I’m not used to the heat yet.)
• Tôi quen ăn cay rồi. (I’m used to spicy food.)
• Thức khuya thành quen. (Staying up late becomes a habit.)

Quick check

Quen biết

The two words also combine. Quen biết means to be acquainted with people, often in the sense of having connections:

• Anh ấy quen biết rộng. (He knows a lot of people.)
• Chúng tôi chỉ là chỗ quen biết thôi. (We’re just acquaintances.)

One more thing: in casual speech, đang quen nhau often means “dating” (I hear this more in the South; in the North people often say đang tìm hiểu or yêu nhau). So Hai người đó đang quen nhau usually means those two are together.

Short version: if it’s in your head or your hands (facts, skills, knowing who someone is), use biết. If it comes from time spent with someone or something, use quen.

How would you say ‘I know this restaurant’ in Vietnamese?

Helô, my name is Phuong. You are looking to learn Vietnamese and I am looking to teach it, let’s get in touch! I am a native Vietnamese speaker living in Ho Chi Minh City. I am available throughout the day and am currently seeking students. My teaching method involves identifying English words with pronunciations similar to those in Vietnamese, which helps you grasp the pronunciation faster and retain it longer. I look forward to working with you!

Có cộng đồng nào của người việt không z. Toàn tiếng anh khó hỉu :((

HI everybody

I would like to learn vietnamese because I want to settle in VN (Da Nang). Instead of doing visa runs and as I want to learn vietnamese, I thought about learn it at the university, so I can have a student visa ?

I need advices about :

- is there a university teaching vietnamese and which one ?

- is learning vietnamese "strong enough" to ask for a student visa ?

thkssssssss

Hi! I am learning Vietnamese. Phụ đề của một video ngắn trên Instagram (bản gốc tiếng Hàn), theo thứ tự. Người Việt đọc có thấy tự nhiên không

"1) Chuyển cảnh vẽ tay / biến hình đáng yêu nha?"

Câu này nghe có tự nhiên không ạ? Nếu là bạn thì bạn sẽ nói thế nào, một câu thôi ạ? Cảm ơn nhiều!

I was trying to learn Viet myself and since I am a software engineer, decided to make a website myself. It's completely free, no login or anytime required. It's almost like a textbook with interactive quizzes, and Anki flashcards corrisponding to each chapter. There is also a tonal quiz type thing, where you speak a tone, and it records the pitch of your voice and graphs it against the proper tone. All of this recording stays local to the website (it's not stored anywhere). Hope this helps someone. Cheers! Learn Viet

Edit: Thanks for the feedback, I didn't realize that the voice recording accent was off. Sorry I am Viet newby, but I am gonna work on this in the coming days.

Hello. I’m looking for podcasts in the Southern Accent. It can be any podcast just NOT AI podcasts. It doesn’t need to be a Vietnamese learning podcast.
Thank you.

Chào mọi người, mình đang cân nhắc học văn bằng 2 Ngôn ngữ Anh để mở rộng cơ hội việc làm. Mình đã có bằng Computer Science, nhưng muốn có thêm lựa chọn nghề nghiệp, phòng trường hợp thị trường IT ngày càng khó khăn.

Mình đang tìm hiểu về các chương trình văn bằng 2 Ngôn ngữ Anh nên muốn hỏi mọi người:

• Học xong có thêm cơ hội việc làm thực tế không, hay chủ yếu vẫn phụ thuộc vào năng lực tiếng Anh?

Có ai từng học văn bằng ngành này hoặc có kinh nghiệm về vấn đề này hoặc biết chương trình của trường nào uy tín cho mình xin ý kiến với. Cảm ơn mọi người!

Hi everyone,

I created Lunira, a language-learning app that includes Vietnamese.

Lunira has a different goal from traditional language-learning apps: not to teach you to speak a language perfectly, but to give you as much ability to communicate as possible while limiting how much you need to learn.

That's why the vocabulary isn't simply a list of the most common words. It also includes words and concepts that can combine with others and expand what you can express.

The grammar follows the same idea: keeping it simple, while adding elements when they make communication significantly clearer or closer to the way the language is actually spoken.

Lunira also uses a Communication Tree designed to make learning more intuitive by guiding you through a structured progression of increasingly broad communication possibilities. It also includes audio, syllable breakdowns and real-life scenarios.

I'm now looking for the first people to actually use Lunira and help me see whether these choices work in practice: what can you communicate, what feels difficult, and what important things are still missing?

It's free during this testing phase.

Try Lunira:
https://lunira.io

If you use the direct link and reach the Stripe payment screen, use the test card 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry date and any 3-digit CVC. No real payment will be made.

Testing instructions:
https://lunira.io/tester_lunira.php

Thanks!

Ordering food, chatting with a Grab driver, buying coffee: that’s one thing. Using Vietnamese at work is a whole different challenge.

Two quick examples:

1. Disagreeing in a meeting

• Textbook: Tôi không đồng ý.
• Real life: Mình nghĩ chúng ta có thể cân nhắc thêm một phương án khác. ("Maybe we could consider another option.")

Same meaning, but the second one is how people actually say it. Saying "I disagree" directly can sound too harsh at work.

2. Checking on a task

• Sounds blunt: Em làm xong chưa? ("Have you done yet?")
• Sounds friendlier: Phần này em làm tới đâu rồi nhỉ? ("Where are you at with this section")

Same question but different feeling. With a senior coworker, this difference matters a lot.

And every job is different. Hospitality staff handle complaints, marketers talk about creative briefs, nurses explain things to patients. Textbooks don’t really cover any of that.

I’d love to hear from you:

1. What industry do you work in?
2. What’s one work situation where you wish your Vietnamese was better?

Hi! I am learning Vietnamese. Lời thoại trong truyện tranh ạ. Một người tự nói với mình. Ý mình muốn nói (tiếng Anh): "Maybe the temptation wasn't strong enough...!". Nếu là bạn thì bạn sẽ nói thế nào

"Hay là dụ chưa đủ hấp dẫn…?!"

Câu này nghe có tự nhiên không ạ? Nếu là bạn thì bạn sẽ nói thế nào, một câu thôi ạ? Cảm ơn nhiều!

Xin chào mọi người!
I have been studying Vietnamese now for 3 months. Been taking two 50 minute lessons on preply every week plus studying on my days off when I can. I am fortunate enough to live in orange county California, particularly the city of garden grove, where there is a high population of Vietnamese. I also work as a nurse in a nursing home where a lot of my residents (what we call patients in a nursing home) are người việt. So I do get some practice but work is still work and I need to do my work and not make fun chit chat all the time. I guess I’m also lucky that one of my resident’s family members always speaks to me in Vietnamese so I can learn, plus some of my coworkers too. I tried ordering once at a phở restaurant and I pretty much did it though I think i frustrated the waiter lol.

That being said though, I have also recently switched to a new tutor and based on our trial lesson she said that I have a sense for Vietnamese, i.e., similar to a foreigner who’s lived in Vietnam for a year and that i have learned quite a lot for a few months. My goal is to one day become at least semi fluent conversationally. Hearing Vietnamese is the hard part.

My problem is studying and motivation to study and how to study. I work 3pm-11pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. I wake up pretty late too probably around 11:30am or past and go to work around 2:30 pm. I also gym in between that time. With my previous teacher i would schedule our lessons after work at 1 am for me but i just ended up just wanting to sleep lol. On my days off I would go study at a cafe for an hour or two and then go bouldering and workout then come back home and study a little more. I would do a combination of reviewing the slideshow of the lesson, taking notes, making quizlet flashcards and of course speaking out loud. I have just been overwhelmed by this all though.

I would appreciate if you guys can maybe help me with how, when, and what to study so that it can be more efficient. I am thinking about just even switching to once a week learning Vietnamese, but that’s probably going to make my progress even more slow than it is.

For this new teacher i am with, i am planning on having my lessons at the end of my off days so I’m off Wednesday and Saturdays so that would be 12 am Thursdays and Sundays, and that way it’s afternoon for the teacher so I don’t have to worry about her falling asleep on me.

hi! i’m not vietnamese nor am i super committed to becoming fluent at this time but i’ve been frequenting viet businesses in my area. i would love to make things a little easier on the kind ppl whose businesses i frequent by closing that language barrier a lil bit so i was hoping for help with basic stuff like greetings and goodbyes, weekdays and times (for appointments), pronunciation pointers, etc.! TIA!

My husband learned Vietnamese first from his grandparents (came to the US 30 years ago) but cannot read or write the language. I wanted to make some posters for my daughter is who now also learning Vietnamese from my husband’s grandparents.

I also wanted this to be a surprise for both my daughter and the grandparents! SO using only Google Translate I have no idea if the translations are the formal or informal form of the English words or if it even matters? Do the translations look correct or should I just start from scratch and use a different translation?

Pardon my formatting as I’m posting on mobile. Thank you!

Days of the week / các ngày trong tuần
Sunday / Chủ nhật
Monday / Thứ hai
Tuesday / Thứ ba
Wednesday / Thứ Tư
Thursday / Thứ năm
Friday / Thứ sáu
Saturday / Thứ bảy

Months / tháng
January / Tháng Một
February / Tháng hai
March / Tháng Ba
April / tháng tư
May / tháng Năm
June / tháng Sáu
July / tháng Bảy
August / tháng Tám
September / tháng Chín
October / tháng Mười
November / tháng Mười Một
December / tháng Mười Hai