Lessons · Level 1
1-1. More about yourself — age, job and where you live
Giới thiệu bản thân
🎯 Goal Ask someone's age to settle forms of address, then talk about your job, where you live and your family · about 30 min
Why do people ask your age right away?
Vietnamese people often ask your age when you first meet. It's not rude — they want to work out which form of address (anh/chị/em) to use with each other.
This lesson builds on the greetings from 0-6:
- Asking and answering age → settling forms of address (kêu bằng — Southern for 'to call someone…')
- Your job, where you live (Thảo Điền, D2), how long you've been in Vietnam
- Family (married? kids?)
In the South, 'to come / come over' is often qua ('wa'). Anh qua Việt Nam bao lâu rồi? = How long have you been in Vietnam?
Words for jobs and family
| Vietnamese | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| tuổi | age, years old | too-oy |
| năm nay | this year | nam nai |
| làm việc | to work In the South, v is soft, like 'y' or 'w' | lam yee-uhk |
| công ty | company | kohng tee |
| nhân viên | employee, staff | nyuhng yee-uhng |
| giáo viên | teacher | yao yee-uhng |
| kỹ sư | engineer | kee sew |
| gia đình | family | ya din |
| vợ | wife | yuh |
| chồng | husband | chohng |
| con | child, children | kawng |
| độc thân | single | dohk tuhng |
Asking age and settling forms of address
| Vietnamese | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Anh bao nhiêu tuổi? | How old are you? | an bao nyee-oo too-oy? |
| Anh sinh năm mấy? | What year were you born? Common when asking someone's age directly feels awkward | an sin nam muhy? |
| Em sinh năm chín lăm. | I was born in '95. People often say just the last two digits of the year | em sin nam chin lam. |
| Em năm nay ba mươi tuổi. | I'm thirty this year. | em nam nai ba mew-ee too-oy. |
| Vậy em kêu anh bằng anh nha. | Then I'll call you 'anh'. kêu bằng = to call (someone something) (Southern) | yuhy em kay-oo an bang an nya. |
Job · where you live · family
| Vietnamese | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Anh làm nghề gì? | What do you do? | an lam ngay yee? |
| Em làm ở công ty nước ngoài. | I work at a foreign company. | em lam uh kohng tee new-uhk ngwai. |
| Anh ở đâu? | Where do you live? | an uh duh-oo? |
| Em ở Thảo Điền, Quận 2. | I live in Thao Dien, District 2. | em uh tao dee-uhng, wuhng hai. |
| Anh qua Việt Nam bao lâu rồi? | How long have you been in Vietnam? South: qua ('wa') = to come over | an wa yee-uhk nam bao luh-oo roy? |
| Em mới qua được ba tháng. | I came here just three months ago. | em muhy wa dew-uhk ba tang. |
| Anh có gia đình chưa? | Are you married? Literally: Do you have a family? | an kaw ya din chew-uh? |
| Em có vợ và hai con rồi. | I have a wife and two kids. | em kaw yuh ya hai kawng roy. |
| Em chưa có gia đình. | I'm not married yet. | em chew-uh kaw ya din. |
Real conversation — meeting someone at a café in D2
A café in Thảo Điền. Vy, sitting at the next table, starts talking to Minsu. Not knowing her age yet, Minsu calls her 'bạn'.
| Vy | Anh là người Mỹ hả? | Are you American? |
| Minsu | Dạ, đúng rồi. Bạn cũng ở gần đây hả? | Yes, that's right. Do you live nearby too? |
| Vy | Em ở Thảo Điền luôn. Anh bao nhiêu tuổi vậy? | I live in Thao Dien too. How old are you? |
| Minsu | Anh ba mươi hai. Còn em? | I'm thirty-two. And you? |
| Vy | Em hai mươi sáu. Vậy em kêu anh bằng anh nha. | I'm twenty-six. Then I'll call you 'anh'. |
| Minsu | Ừ. Em làm nghề gì? | Okay. What do you do? |
| Vy | Em là giáo viên tiếng Anh. Anh qua Việt Nam lâu chưa? | I'm an English teacher. Have you been in Vietnam long? |
| Minsu | Anh mới qua được ba tháng thôi. | Only three months. |
| Vy | Vậy hả? Anh nói tiếng Việt giỏi quá! | Really? Your Vietnamese is so good! |
| Minsu | Cảm ơn em. Anh đang học mỗi ngày. | Thanks. I'm studying every day. |
Southern phrases to keep the conversation going
- Còn em? / Còn anh? ('kawng em?') — 'And you?' The most common way to turn a question back.
- Vậy hả? ('yuhy ha?') — 'Really?' as a reaction.
- ~ luôn ('loo-uhng') — 'too, as well'. Em ở Thảo Điền luôn = I live in Thảo Điền too.
- When someone compliments your Vietnamese, a modest Cảm ơn, em đang học (Thanks, I'm still learning) goes down well.
Careful with personal questions
- In Vietnam, people may ask your age, marital status, salary or rent even at a first meeting. It's mostly curiosity, so don't be too surprised.
- If you'd rather not answer, just smile and say Bí mật! ('bee muhk' — It's a secret!).
- Don't give people you've just met your apartment block and unit number, passport or bank details. 'I live in Thảo Điền' is enough.