Flirting in Vietnamese like a Pro – A Perfect Guide to Flirting
You don’t speak the language and you don’t have time to learn Vietnamese properly, but you met a Vietnamese lady or man and want to impress them on the first date. It is no longer a big deal now. We’ve got the Key Phrases that you’re going to need on your next Vietnam trip.
You might read one of our articles about Flirting phrases before – check here. That article received lots of attention, and the readers have been sending us tons and tons of messages, asking the same question: “How about Foreign girls flirting Vietnamese guys? How to do that?” This article will answer it all. This is a Full Guide to Flirting in Vietnamese. Both men and women can use it. You will flirt like Pro! 😉
P/S: Even if you have no intention to flirt with any Vietnamese, this article still helps you get more productive conversations with the locals. The flirting part is the bonus.
Before getting started, we’ve got a note for you. The Vietnamese language goes beyond two pronouns “You” and “I” since it has a bunch of pronouns in all conversations. But in this article, we would mention “Ban” (You) – “Toi” (I), or “Anh” (Indicates a Man) – “Em” (Indicates a Woman, or Man if that’s the case for some 😉). You can choose to use one of the two pairs. The first pair sounds friendly while the second sounds cute and a bit flirty. Normally, “Anh” is used when the man is older than the woman; however, when it comes to flirting, it does not matter. Just go for it, man, call her “em” and you are “anh” no matter what your age is.
Contents
Meeting Someone in Person
Pick up lines are lame, and mostly they do not work at all. Instead, you just say hello and have fun.
Say Hello …
“Hi, I am ….”
– Chào (em), anh là … (If you’re a man talking to a woman)
– Chào (anh), em là … (If you’re a woman talking to a man)
How to pronounce:
/Ciao/ ~ like in Italian 😉 – /em/ or /n/ – /la/
“Nice to meet you! ”
– Rất hân hạnh được gặp em (If you’re a man talking to a woman)
– Rất hân hạnh được gặp anh (If you’re a woman talking to a man)
How to pronounce:
/Rat/ – /han/ – /hank/ – /duck/ – /gap/ – /m/ or /n/
Then, the question you might be undoubtedly asked when you’re out of the town is:
“Where are you from?” – Anh/ em đến từ đâu?
How to pronounce:
/n/ or /m/ – /dense/ – /too/ – /dou/
* den sounds like /dense/ but without /s/
You can respond with:
“I’m from the USA/England/Canada/etc.” – Anh/ Em đến từ Mỹ/ Anh/ Canada/ etc.
How to pronounce:
/n/ or /m/ – /dense/ – /too/ – /mee/ or /ann/ or /canada/ etc.
If you are tired of answering the same question, just lie then.
“I’m from right here.” – Anh/ Em đến từ đây này. or Anh/ Em đến từ Hanoi / Saigon / etc. (The place that you’re currently in)
How to pronounce:
/n/ or /m/ – /dense/ – /too/ – /dense/ – /na/
Then the girl or guy you’re trying to woo would roll their eyes like “Seriously?”. Just relax, wink at them, and deal with it:
“Yeah, I swear!” – “Ừ, anh / em thề! “
How to pronounce:
/umm/ – /n/ or /m/ – /thei/
When both of you burst out laughing, some funny joke would definitely work.
“My accent/ voice is a little strange today because I just caught a cold!” – “Do hôm nay anh / em ốm nên giọng thế đấy!”
How to pronounce:
/dzo/ – /houm/ – /na/ – /ann/ or /m/ – /oum/ – /nen/ – /jon/ – /thei/ – /dei/
Tell a One-line story
The best way to begin a conversation is to tell a one-line story. Just talk about why you’re here, what you want, what your hobbies are, etc.
“I’m just walking around” – “Anh/ em đi loanh quanh thôi”
How to pronounce:
/ann/ or /m/ – /dee/ – /long/ – /kwai/ – /thou/
Or
“I really like …Hanoi…, especially its …food….” – “Anh/em rất thích ..Hà Nội .. Đặc biệt là ..đồ ăn..”
How to pronounce:
/ann/ or /m/ – /rat/ – /thick/ – /hanoi/. /duck/ – /bet/ – /la/ – /dou/ – /ann/.
When it comes to impressing someone, it’s best to combine “hello” and a one-line story. But how to do that?
Some foreigners change their real names into some kind of Vietnamese names. For instance, there is a guy named “Mike” but he got a Vietnamese name “Minh”, and he made his Vietnamese conversation pretty much interesting this way:
“I am Minh. My real name is Mike. I am just Vietnamesefied myself. And you’re the only who could call me by that.”
– “Anh là Minh. Nhưng tên thật là Mike. Anh đang việt hóa bản thân đó! Và tên đó chỉ có em mới được gọi anh vậy thôi” 😉
How to pronounce:
/ann/ – /la/ – /min/ – /nhung/ – /ten/ – /theit/ – /la/ – /Mike/. /Ann/ – /dan/ – /viet/ – /haw/ – /ban/ – /tan/ – /do/! /Van/ – /ten/ – /dou/ – /chi/ – /ko/ – /m/ – /duck/ – /goy/ – /vei/ – /hoy/
Say hello. Then a perfect one-line story. Boom! You are flirting now.
Things sound good, right? Now, get your potential partner a drink.
“Can I get you a drink?” – “Anh/ em mời em/ anh một ly được không?”
How to pronounce:
/ann/ or /m/ – /moi/ – /m/ or /ann/ – /mooc/ – /lee/ – /duck/ – /hok/
If you’re in the bar or anywhere that has a dance floor, the next move is obviously inviting him/her to dance.
“Would you like to dance?” – “Em/ anh nhảy với anh/em nhé?”
How to pronounce:
/m/ or /ann/ – /nha/ – /dzoi/ – /ann/ or /m/ – /nhe/
Once the conversation gets rolling, talk about something you two are both interested in. Just go with the flow.
Meeting Someone Online
Tinder or any other dating sites are much preferred by the young people these days. Then why don’t you give it a go?
Guys, who are more or less expected to start conversations in every circumstance, should not type just Chao / Xin chao! (Hello!) to start a conversation on Tinder. Say something specific and terrific! Show her you’re not boring at all!
Meeting on Tinder is different from meeting in person. To stand out from the crowd, you are supposed to do something different. Tell the girl or the guy you are into something smart or something in common. Here are some examples.
The examples are in “Anh” – guys say. If girls say, just change Anh to Em and Em to Anh – Easy, right?
You see “I like sketching” on her profile. And you do, too: “I see you like sketching! I do, too” – “Anh thấy em thích vẽ, anh cũng thế!”
How to pronounce:
/ann/ – /thei/ – /m/ – /thick/ – /ve/, /ann/ – /kul/ – /thei/!
Or
You want to joke around: “I’m like in my photo, but more handsome in person. How about you?” – “Anh giống trong hình, nhưng đẹp trai hơn ở ngoài đời. Còn em?”
How to pronounce:
/ann/ – /joun/ – /troong/ – /him/ , /nhun/ – /dip/ – /trai/ – /hun/ – /uh/ – /ngoy/ – /dou/. /Kon/ – /m/?
Any Tricks? Well, you got Tinder. You got Google/MS Translation right on your phone. Then why don’t use make use of it? Google translate, replace “Toi” and “Ban” with Anh” and “Em” in the correct order. Whoo! You win.
Telling them about your Desires
It’s time to be honest about your desires. Here’s some vocabulary:
“Em/anh có bạn trai/gái chưa?” – “Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?”“Anh/em đang tìm bạn người yêu” – “I’m looking for love.”“Anh/em muốn một mối quan hệ không ràng buộc” – “I’m looking for something with no strings attached.”“Anh/em muốn kết bạn” – “I want to make friends”“Anh/em muốn tìm hiểu em/anh” – “I would like to get to know you more.”
Making use of Compliments and Flirty words
Now, as you are getting to the point where some compliments should be used, here is how you do them:
When you offer this compliment to the person of your affections, you are most likely to get a good response:
“You are very beautiful/ handsome” – “Em/ Anh rất xinh gái/ đẹp trai”
Followed by the compliments theme, this one is a chat-up line that can increase your chance of success.
“I love your smile” – “Anh/em yêu nụ cười của em/anh”
This is one step forward. Say the next two sentences at the right time and in the right context; otherwise, it could hardly guarantee results.
“I like you” – “Anh/ em thích em/anh”
“You’re the man/woman of my dreams!” – “Anh là người đàn ông trong mơ của em/ Em là người phụ nữ trong mơ của anh”
Save it just in case you need it. Don’t say it too early on!
“Kiss me” – “Hôn anh/em đi”
And the last one …
“Will you marry me?” – “Em/ Anh cưới em nhé?”
Oops, you’re proposing marriage here! You could use it as a joke when both of you are having some good laugh, or if you really think you have met your Vietnamese-speaking soulmate, just be bold and say it.
If you try all of our flirting phrases as the base, but you are not really confident in your Vietnamese, don’t worry and be honest with your partner: “Sorry my Vietnamese doesn’t go much further.” You are still much appreciated because of your efforts.
So, those are some of our Vietnamese flirting phrases we would like to share, but we are sure you got some great ones of your own. Don’t be shy, leave a comment below, we’d love to hear them. And if you’ve ever found yourself using any tips above, we would LOVE to hear all about the results!
If you meet someone after reading this article, you owe me a drink. 😉
Cheers!
Ha, never read anything like this before… I’ll try and remember these tips if I’m ever in Vietnam lol!
I have no plans to flirt with anyone in Vietnam, but this is still so fun to read! It’s so interesting how different our languages can be even though we are saying the same things.
Such a fun post. Flirting is great any every language! Thanks for sharing this!
What fun post! I travel a lot and I always like to learn at least a little bit of the language. I’ve never tried Vietnamese and the phrases looked quite difficult but they were easier than I thought with your pronunciation help.
This is a very cute post, sweet and a lot of fun. always good to learn a new language and make an effort while in another country xx
Hahaha! They may freak out at the last one. But I think if you can get them to laugh, you have won the day. And the flirting went exactly the way you would have hoped. You are right. Saying hello is always better than a cheesy pickup line.
It’s so interesting to me how language plays a role in flirting. I loved learning more about the Vietnamese culture too!
Pretty hilarious post. I wasn’t expecting an actual dialogue guide in this but lol Learning new languages is cool though. Wish I had more time to focus on this and really master a new language or two!
This is so fun! Def feel like I learned something new haha!
Yay! I love learning new languages! Now, I just have to get to Vietnam…Lol
Vietnamese is such a fascinating language! I think the phrases in the beginning could benefit anybody visiting Vietnam, to get closer to the locals 😀
Such an interesting article. This post contains all the useful phrases. Any foreigner would find this super helpful!
I have no plans on flirting with anyone… but I think my husband and I might play such flirting game once we are in Vietnam
So many great tips on how to speak to the locals. I’m not sure if I am bold enough to flirt but at least I know I could probably do so now!
This is so cute, I love it! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Great guide.
This would be so great to know! Even though its just a little but its a start! I would love to learn this language!
This is not something I ever expected to read but I loved it. It’s kind of cute.
Oh wow, interesting to read about other customs around the world. I know someone who is looking to date someone from Vietnam. Would be interesting for him to know all this beforehand.
I love your title it’s very catchy and it’s fun while reading. This will be helpful for readers having the same intention.
Everyone needs to be able to meet new people who might not speak the same language, especially when it comes to matters of the heart and dating. Thank you for giving us the tools to add Vietnamese to our repertoire.
Interesting article! It’s always interesting to learn language idiosyncrasies for different cultures.
How romantic! I love these tips, and phrases.
Vietnamese is such a romantic language! would love to learn the basics!
This is so interesting. I wish there was audio so I could hear how to pronouce those words. I’m super curious now 🙂