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How do you refer to someone in Vietnamese?
Vietnamese names are generally arranged as follows: [FAMILY NAME] [middle name] [given name]. For example, NGUYEN Van Nam (male) or LE Thi Lam (female). The ‘family name’ (or ‘surname’) is inherited from one’s parents and shared with other members of the individual’s immediate family.
How do you use honorifics in Vietnamese?
Some of the most commonly used are:
- Em – Generally refers to anyone younger than you, but older than a child.
- Anh – Literally means ‘older brother’.
- Chú – Means ‘uncle’ and is used to address a male person whose age is similar or slightly younger than your father’s.
Are there honorifics in Vietnamese?
An honorific, or a pronoun, in Vietnamese when referring to a person acts as a way to define two peoples’ degree of relationship with one another. Examples of these pronouns include ‘chị’ older sister, ‘ông’ male elder and ‘chú’ younger uncle (younger brother of father/only used on father’s side).
What is the meaning of Nguyen?
Nguyen is the most common surname in Vietnam and among the top 100 last names in the United States, Australia, and France. Meaning “musical instrument” and actually rooted in Chinese, Nguyen is an interesting name that you’ll encounter throughout the world. Alternate spellings include Nyguyen, Ruan, Yuen, and Yuan.
How do you call Mr in Vietnam?
In formal situations you’d call them Mr or Ms Forename. For example, Ms Thảo (chị Thảo or cô Thảo depending who’s talking) or Mr Vũ (anh Vũ). In very formal situations you may use Ông or Bà instead, or you may include the person’s title like the late General Giáp (Đại tướng Giáp).
What do Vietnamese call aunts and uncle?
Like other Asian languages, Vietnamese has several terms for aunts and uncles. “Bác” is used to call the elder brothers and sisters of one’s father (an elder uncle’s wife is “bác gái”). The father’s younger brother is called chú, and younger sisters are “Cô or thím”.
What is a kun?
Kun (君【くん】) is generally used by people of senior status addressing or referring to those of junior status, or it can be used when referring to men in general, male children or male teenagers, or among male friends.
What EM means Vietnamese?
Kinship terms
Term | Reciprocal | Literal meaning |
---|---|---|
mẹ | con | mother |
anh | em | older brother |
chị | em | older sister |
em | anh or chị | younger sibling |
How do you address yourself in Vietnamese?
In Vietnamese, in order to address yourself, you need to first determine who you are talking to and the situation you are in. It is important in Vietnamese culture to address people correctly to show them your respect, especially when you are talking to older people. When you are talking to your mother or your father, there is no “you” word.
What do you call a Vietnamese person?
For business purposes, it is traditionally acceptable to call a Vietnamese person by the surname, together with a title, such as Director Pham or Chairman Nguyen.
How do you say we in Vietnamese?
Lastly, let’s see how we say we in Vietnamese: We = tụi / bọn/chúng + [the suitable word for ‘I’]. For example, a group of children talking to their teacher would refer to themselves as tụi em or bọn em. A group of senior students would use tụi anh in the place of we when talking to junior students.
Are all the Vietnamese words for the same thing interchangeable?
And the various words are not always interchangeable. The grammatical reasons for different Vietnamese words for the same word, say I, are, firstly, to express the difference in age, which is culturally a “big deal”; and secondly, to express the 2 genders.