Vietnamese Guides

Useful Phrases When someone asks Khỏe không?: The tone of “How are you?” Khỏe không? does not always request a detailed health report. Treat it as an everyday check-in and choose a short answer with khỏe, mệt, or bình thường. Read this guide → Useful Phrases The day street signs stop looking like one block of letters You do not need to translate everything. Use letter shapes, known words, and the surrounding place to pick up one useful meaning from a Vietnamese sign. Read this guide → Useful Phrases How to read a menu without translating all of it Find a known word such as phở, cơm, bún, or cà phê, compare entries that repeat it, and narrow the menu to one item you can point to. Read this guide →

Life & Culture After “Hello”: Choose Vietnamese forms of address as a pair Use age and gender to choose anh, chị, or em, and role and gender to choose thầy or cô. Thinking about how to address the other person and refer to yourself as a pair makes the next line after a greeting much easier. Read this guide → Life & Culture Rainy and dry seasons are not enough: Read Ho Chi Minh City’s sky day by day Connect nóng, nắng, mưa, gió, and lạnh to the sky and places around you. Keep seasonal tendencies separate from today’s forecast and the view just before departure. Read this guide → Life & Culture Do not reduce southern Tết to one pattern Instead of stopping at hoa mai and bánh tét, observe the city’s time, each household’s table, and relationships separately. Keep differences visible as you approach Tết. Read this guide →

Travel & Confidence Your first market purchase can begin with pointing Hear mời, point to an item, ask the price, make a short request, and close with cảm ơn. Follow one complete market exchange using only a little Vietnamese. Read this guide → Travel & Confidence A price tag is more than a number: From 30.000đ to a buying decision Read the number, separator, currency sign, and selling unit in order. A price tag then becomes a small guide that tells you what still needs confirmation. Read this guide → Travel & Confidence A first Ho Chi Minh City café visit: Follow the flow to one drink Some cafés take payment first, some take orders at the table, and some give a number. Observe, order, confirm, receive, and pay without assuming one universal system. Read this guide →