Translate English to Vietnamese
Vietnamese is spoken by about 85 million people in Vietnam and several million more in diaspora communities across the United States, Australia, France, and Canada. As Vietnam's economy grows and international trade increases, the need to translate between English and Vietnamese comes up in everything from supplier emails and product labels to travel planning and family messages. Paste your text above to get started.
Common English to Vietnamese translations
| English | Vietnamese | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello | Xin chào | sin chow | ||
| Good morning | Chào buổi sáng | chow boo-oy sahng | ||
| Thank you | Cảm ơn | kahm uhn | ||
| Please | Làm ơn | lahm uhn | ||
| How much is this? | Cái này bao nhiêu? | kai nay bow nyew | ||
| Where is the bathroom? | Nhà vệ sinh ở đâu? | nyah vay sing uh dow | ||
| I do not understand | Tôi không hiểu | toy kong hyew | ||
| Can you help me? | Bạn có thể giúp tôi không? | ban kaw teh zoop toy kong | ||
| I would like coffee | Tôi muốn cà phê | toy moo-on kah feh | ||
| The bill, please | Tính tiền giùm | tin tee-en zoom | ||
| Nice to meet you | Rất vui được gặp bạn | rat voo-ee duhk gap ban | ||
| Goodbye | Tạm biệt | tam bee-et | ||
| I need a doctor | Tôi cần bác sĩ | toy kan bahk see | ||
| Excuse me | Xin lỗi | sin loy |
Tips for English to Vietnamese translation
Vietnamese is a tonal language with six tones in the northern dialect and five in the southern. The word ma can mean ghost, mother, horse, rice seedling, tomb, or but, depending on the tone. Tone marks appear as diacritics above or below vowels and are not optional decorations. Removing them changes words into completely different meanings or nonsense.
Vietnamese grammar is simpler than many European languages in some ways. There are no verb conjugations, no grammatical gender, and no plural endings. The sentence structure follows subject-verb-object, the same as English, which makes word-for-word reading relatively straightforward. Time is expressed through context words like đã (already, past), đang (currently), and sẽ (will).
Classifiers are required when counting things in Vietnamese, similar to Chinese. You cannot say “two books.” You must say hai cuốn sách (two volume book). Different nouns require different classifiers: con for animals, cái for most objects, chiếc for vehicles and paired items. The translator handles these automatically, but knowing they exist helps you verify output.
Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet (called chữ Quốc ngữ) with additional diacritics for tones and modified vowels. This makes it one of the few Southeast Asian languages readable without learning a new script. However, the diacritics are essential: bàn (table), ban (you, in some contexts), and bấn (dirty) are three different words. Make sure your text preserves these marks when copying.
About the Vietnamese language
Vietnamese belongs to the Austroasiatic language family, making it distantly related to Khmer (Cambodian). Despite centuries of Chinese cultural influence, Vietnamese is not related to Chinese, though it has borrowed a large portion of its vocabulary from Classical Chinese. These Sino-Vietnamese words are used especially in formal, academic, and technical contexts.
The modern Vietnamese writing system was developed by Portuguese and French missionaries in the 17th century using Latin letters with diacritical marks. It replaced the older Chinese-based script (chữ Nôm) and became the standard writing system during the colonial period. Today, Vietnam has a literacy rate above 95%, partly because the Latin-based alphabet is easier to learn than the character systems used in neighboring countries.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No sign-up, no payment, no daily limits.
Yes. The output includes all necessary diacritics for tones and vowels. These marks are part of correct Vietnamese spelling.
Yes. Click the speaker icon next to any Vietnamese phrase. Tones are much easier to learn by listening than by reading descriptions.
The translator outputs standard written Vietnamese, which is the same across all regions. Pronunciation differs between north and south, but the written language is uniform.
For everyday emails and casual messages, it works well. For legal, medical, or government documents, always use a professional Vietnamese translator.
Vietnamese uses diacritics for two purposes: marking the six tones and modifying vowel sounds. Both are required for correct spelling and meaning. Without them, the text becomes ambiguous.
This page is for English to Vietnamese. Visit our Vietnamese to English translation page.
No. Vietnamese is Austroasiatic, not Sino-Tibetan. It has borrowed heavily from Chinese vocabulary (about 60% of formal words), but the grammar and core vocabulary are different.
Yes. Nothing is saved or shared. All processing is real-time.
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