After saying hello, learning how to introduce yourself in Vietnamese might be the second basic but important thing to learn. Giving an introduction about who you are, where you come from, or what you like about Vietnam is a good way to start a conversation. Your trip will be more interesting when you get more friends when you are on the road.
Let’s learn some phrases for introducing yourself in Vietnamese today!
How To Introduce Yourself In Vietnamese
Xin Chào / Chào Bạn – Hello
There are many ways to say hello in Vietnamese. The most common ways are saying ‘Xin chào’ or ‘Chào bạn’. You need to make sure you choose the right pronouns to call the person you are talking to and yourself because the pronouns are important in the Vietnamese daily conversation.
Tên Tôi Là … – My Name Is …
To introduce your name, use the phrase ‘Tên tôi là’, then put your name after that. For example, if your name is Alex, say ‘Tên tôi là Alex.’
‘Tên’ means ‘name’. ‘Tôi’ in this case is equal to ‘my’. The full translation for ‘my’ in Vietnamese is actually ‘của tôi’, but native speakers usually remove ‘của’. ‘Là’ is a to-be verb like is, am, are in English.
If you want to impress your local friends, choose a Vietnamese name or nickname such as ‘Minh’ (clear, bright) or Tí (little, small).
Tôi Đến Từ … – I Come From …
‘Tôi đến từ’ is used when you want to tell someone where you come from. ‘Đến’ means ‘come’. ‘Từ’ is an adjective that is equivalent to ‘from’.
For instance, if you come from the US, say ‘Tôi đến từ Mỹ’.
You can learn some Vietnamese country names from the Ling app.
Tôi Là Người … – My Nationality Is …
The Vietnamese word for ‘ nationality’ is ‘quốc tịch’. However, this word is quite formal and is used in formal documents like a passport or used when you talk with some officers.
In daily practice, people say ‘tôi là người’ before the word for a nationality. An example could be ‘tôi là người Mỹ’ (I’m an American).
Tôi Sống Ở … – I Live In …
‘Sống’ is a word for ‘to live’. You can say ‘tôi sống ở’, then add the name of a city. For example, saying ‘tôi sống ở San Francisco’ if you live in San Francisco.
In the case that you want to specify the place you used to live, you can choose either ‘đã’, ‘từng’, or ‘đã từng’ to add to before the verb ‘sống’. E.g. Tôi đã từng sống ở Anh (I used to live in England).
Tôi Là … – I’m Working As A …
When you want to introduce your job in Vietnamese, say ‘tôi là’, then add a job’s name afterward.
For example, if you are an English teacher, you can introduce as ‘tôi là giáo viên Tiếng Anh’.
For more information, ‘job’ translate as ‘công việc’ in Vietnamese. However, the phrase is normally used in a formal situation.
You can learn more Vietnamese vocabulary for jobs with the Ling app.
Tôi Năm Nay … Tuổi – I’m … Years Old
In Western culture, your age is rarely asked or introduced. This is totally opposite to the Vietnamese culture as people want to know your age to select the appropriate pronouns. Calling someone with a wrong pronoun can be considered impolite.
When you introduce yourself in Vietnamese, you can say ‘tôi năm nay … tuổi’. The sentence can be literally translated as ‘this year, I turn … years old’.
You can learn how to count in Vietnamese to say your age. Remember to replace the dots in the sentence with your age number.
For example, ‘tôi năm nay 30 tuổi’ (I’m 30 years old.)
If you don’t want to say exactly how old you are, use ‘gần’ for nearly or ‘hơn’ for more than. E.g. ‘Tôi năm nay hơn 20 tuổi.’ (I’m a bit more than 20 years old).
Rất Vui Được Gặp Bạn – It’s Nice To Meet You
‘Rất vui được gặp bạn’ can be translated as ‘I’m happy to meet you’ which is as same as ‘It’s nice to meet you’. You can say this sentence at the end of your introduction.
If you want to increase the formality, you can use ‘Rất hân hạnh được làm quen với bạn.’ which is similar to ‘It is my honor/pleasure to know you’.
Tôi Rất Thích Việt Nam – I Really Like Vietnam
Everyone will smile when feeling happy when they love their country. So will Vietnamese people. You can speak ‘ Tôi rất thích Việt Nam.’ that means ‘I really like Vietnam’.
You can also say ‘Tôi yêu Việt Nam.’ because ‘yêu’ means ‘to love’.
Questions To Ask In Vietnamese When You Meet A Person The First Time
Introducing yourself is a good thing to do when you want the other person to know about you. However, it might sound like you start a speech when you keep talking about yourself. It is good to interact with the listener and ask them some questions to get to know them too.
For what you learn to introduce yourself in Vietnamese, you can ask your friend the following questions:
- Bạn tên là gì? – What is your name?
- Bạn đến từ đâu? – Where do you come from?
- Bạn là người nước nào? – What is your nationality?
- Bạn sống ở đâu? – Where do you live?
- Bạn làm nghề gì? – What is your job?
- Bạn bao nhiêu tuổi? – How old are you?
More Vietnamese Phrases And Words For Your Introduction
- Gia đình – family
- Công ty – company
- Sở thích – Hobby
- Tôi thích … – I like (follow with a verb or a noun)
- Tôi không thích … – I don’t like …
- Cảm ơn – Thank you
- Giới thiệu – To introduce
- Tôi đang học tiếng Việt – I’m learning Vietnamese
- Tôi muốn học tiếng Việt – I want to learn Vietnamese language.
- Hẹn gặp lại – See you!
Now you can introduce yourself in Vietnamese and get more friends in Vietnam. Make sure you pronounce the phrases and sentences in the right tones to avoid any misunderstanding. You can practice and check your pronunciation with the speaking games in the Ling app. Download it today. It’s free!
