Language/Vietnamese/Grammar/Personal-pronouns

Personal Pronouns in Vietnamese

Chào! Vietnamese Learners! 😃

➡ In today's lesson we will learn how to use Personal Pronouns in Vietnamese.

The whole difficulty for the beginner is to assimilate this notion of grammar. Indeed, in Vietnamese, there are several ways of saying I, you, he… We use a pronoun rather than another depending on the person we are talking to, in particular depending on their age and sex.

Things get complicated when you want to show the greatest politeness (which is more than recommended in Asian societies). In this case, other pronouns come into play to express themselves with the interlocutor, and depend on the rank and function of the latter in society.

But let's start with the simple things, with everyday pronouns.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Negation, Plurals, Past Tense Verbs & Adverbs.

Usual pronouns

First person singular

It is the "I", or even the "me".

• Tôi (tui) - This is the all-purpose pronoun. It is very impersonal but is perfectly suited when one has to communicate, for example, with an administration staff to carry out formalities. Example (to a police officer): Tôi có một bằng lái xe Pháp: I have a French driving license ( có  : to have).
• Anh - Use if you are male, and when talking to someone younger than you. Can be translated as "big brother".
• Chị - Use if you are a woman, and when talking to someone younger than yourself. Can be translated as "big sister".
• Em - When talking to a man or woman older than you. Can be translated as "little brother" or "little sister".
• Mình - With someone the same age as you. Example (to a person of the same age that you have just met): Mình là người Pháp: I am French.

At this point in the listing, you will notice that you will refer to yourself using equivalents of "big brother", "big sister", "little brother" or "little sister".

Indeed, in Asian societies, where the family circle is very important, respect and authority are obtained with age. So, you can imagine, it would be completely inappropriate to use Em if the person you're talking to is a much older person than you. Indeed, given the age difference, you cannot position yourself as his little brother or his little sister! For these cases, there are other pronouns:

• Cháu - When the person you are talking to might be the age of one of your parents.
• Con - When the person you're talking to might be the age of one of your grandparents.

The second person singular

We are interested here in "you", "you". The table below tells you which pronoun to use according to the sex and age of the person you're talking to. Obviously, you must then use the appropriate personal pronoun to refer to yourself in the conversation (see above). Don't panic, the examples follow after the table!

The interlocutor ...	Man	Women
... is younger	Em	Em
... at the same age	Bạn	Bạn
... is older	Anh	Chị
... is approximately between 50 and 70 years old	Chú	Cô
... is over 70 years old	Ông	Bà

The second person singular according to the sex and age of the interlocutor. The ages are given as an indication, there is obviously no rule that specifies the age from which we call ourselves chú or cô.

For example, to the hairdresser who seems to be the same age as you:

• Bạn có thể cắt tóc cho mình không?  : can you cut my hair? (có thể  : power, cho  : for)

At the restaurant, to the waitress who is older than you:

• Chị ơi! Cho em thanh toán  : give me the bill (cho is a verb here)

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➡ Note in the last example the word 'ơi' . Used as above, it allows to call a person. It is the equivalent of the vocative in Latin (but in simpler form).

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The third person singular

Easy, we simply add “ấy”. 

For example: 

• Anh ấy ăn một bát phở  : he eats a bowl of pho (ăn  : to eat). 

In this example, "he" therefore refers to a man who is older than you, about less than 50 years old.

## The first person plural There are two "we" in Vietnamese.

• Chúng ta  : it is the “us” when speaking to one's group. For example: Chúng ta ăn đi!  : let's go eat ! ( đi at the end of the sentence has value of imperative). You can also use chúng mình , which announces a friendlier, less formal sentence.
• Chúng tôi  : when talking about the group to someone outside the group. Chúng tôi tham quan Hà Nội  : we are visiting Hanoi.

For a more refined level of language ...

Vietnamese has many other personal pronouns. Some of them are no longer in use under the current communist regime, especially those previously used in the relationship between the king and his subjects. On the other hand, it can be useful one day to know the following pronouns:

• Ông / Bà - We have already met them above, but this time they no longer mean "grandfather" and "grandmother". They are to be used when you are conversing with an important personality, such as the dean of your university, the boss of your company or even (let's be crazy) the Prime Minister. They can be translated by "Mister" and "Madam", but in a willingly formal framework. Use tôi (tui) for the first person singular in such a context.
• Thầy - The pronoun to use when the student addresses the teacher, the teacher. Use em for the first person singular in this context.

During a first meeting with an older person, we can use the particle "ạ" to pay respect. For example: Chào chú / cô ạ . Here you greet in a very respectful way a person of around 50–70 years old. This particle is optional, you can just use Chào chú / cô . It all depends on the context and don't forget: we only have one chance to make a good first impression and nothing is truer in Asia!

In writing, if for example you have to write a letter, it is customary to pay your respects with the word "thưa" which corresponds to "dear". Example :

Thưa chú ạ,

Cháu hi vọng chú khỏe (…)

Dear Sir,

Hope you are doing well (hee vọng; hope)

(…)

"Thưa" can also be used orally. However, this is a particle that we would see more on the occasion of the opening of a fairly formal discourse:

Thưa các bà, thưa các ông,

(…)

Ladies and gentlemen,

(…)

Sources

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BBgx3SbTCo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzmBFcunHzg
• https://zestedesavoir.com/billets/2060/introduction-a-la-langue-vietnamienne
• https://wikipedia.org

Other Lessons

• Gender
• Articles
• Future Tense
• Tenses
• Questions
• Negation
• Nouns
• Plurals
• Conditional Mood