Basic Vietnamese Vocabulary

FAMILY IN VIETNAMESE: ABUNDANT VOCABULARY – READY TO COMMUNICATE

Posted on by Adm_pro
12
Oct

Family has always been something we all cherish and are grateful for every time we remember. And of course, the Vietnamese family topic is always one of the first lessons when you start learning Vietnamese. Let’s find out in today’s article with Jellyfish!

1. Vocabulary about family in Vietnamese

  • Depending on where you are in Vietnam, each role in the family will have a different name. For example, the same word “father” is called differently in the North, the South, and the Central region.
  • Moreover the vocabulary with family in Vietnamese theme words will be used flexibly to suit each case. Alternatively, the use of these words is determined by each individual’s habits (usually maintained from a young age).

family in Vietnamese

Please refer to Jellyfish’s following table of family in Vietnamese-themed vocabulary:

EnglishVietnamese (Northern)Vietnamese (Southern & Central)Example
FamilyGia đìnhGia đìnhTôi rất yêu gia đình của mình (I love my family very much)
GrandfatherÔng ngoại/ ông nộiÔng ngoại/ Ông nộiÔng nội/ ông ngoại của tôi từng là bộ đội (My grandfather used to be in the army)
GrandmotherBà ngoại/ Bà nộiBà ngoại/ Bà nộiBà ngoại/ Bà nội của tôi rất thích cắm hoa (My grandmother loves to arrange flowers)
FatherBốBa/ Cha/ Tía
  • Bố tôi đang tưới cây ngoài vườn (My father is watering the plants in the garden)
  • Ba/ Cha/ Tía tui hay đón tôi đi học về (My father often picks me up from school)
MotherMẹMá/ Mạ/ U
  • Mẹ tôi thích nấu ăn hơn là đi ăn ở ngoài (My mother prefers cooking to eating out)
  • Má/ Mạ/ U tui thường  ăn sáng ngoài chợ (My mother often eats breakfast in the market)
ChildrenCon cáiCon cáiBố mẹ nào cũng mong muốn con cái mình trưởng thành, khỏe mạnh (Every parent wants their children to grow up and be healthy)
SonCon traiCon traiCon trai của ông ấy vừa lấy vợ (His son just got married)
DaughterCon gáiCon gáiGia đình ấy có 3 người con gái (The family has 3 daughters)
Husband/ WifeChồng/ VợChồng/ VợChồng của cô ấy đã làm ở công ty này được 3 năm (Her husband has been working for this firm for 3 years)
BrotherAnh trai/ Em trai

First son: Anh cả 

Anh trai/ Em trai

First son: Anh hai 

  • Anh trai tôi đang là sinh viên năm nhất (My brother is a freshman)
  • Em trai tôi thường đi ngủ vào 10 giờ tối (My brother often sleeps at 10 PM)
SisterChị gái/ Em gái

Con gái đầu: Chị cả

Chị gái/ Em gái

Con gái đầu: Chị hai

  • Hôm nay là sinh nhật của chị gái tôi (Today is my sister’s birthday)
  • Em gái tôi muốn nuôi 1 chú chó (My sister wants to adopt a dog)

mother in Vietnamese

See more: Numbers in vietnamese

2. Vocabulary about relatives in Vietnamese

In a parentage, there are many different roles/ relationships, from which there are different ways of addressing to show respect. Even if two people are the same age, the way they address each other will not be exactly the same. 

Cousin in Vietnamese

Please refer to the table below of Jellyfish:

EnglishVietnameseExample
Uncle 
  • Bác (Father’s brother/mother)
  • Chú (Father’s elder brother)
  • Cậu (Mother’s younger brother)
Bác tôi vừa đi du lịch Thái Lan (My uncle just visited to Thailand)
Aunt
  • Bác gái (Parents’ sister)
  • Cô (Father’s sister)
  • Dì (Mother’s sister)
  • Thím (Wife of father’s younger brother)
  • Mợ (Wife of mother’s brother)
  • Dì tôi kém mẹ tôi 5 tuổi (My aunt is 5 years younger than my mother)
  • Thím tôi làm thích ăn táo (My aunt enjoys eating apples)
Cousin
  • Anh họ (This person is male, older than you, your relative’s child)
  • Em họ (This person is younger than you, a child of your relative)
  • Chị họ (This person is female, older than you, your relative’s child)
  • Sở thích của anh họ tôi là chèo thuyền (My cousin‘s hobby is sailing)
  • Chị họ tôi thích chụp ảnh vào mỗi dịp sinh nhật (Every birthday, my cousin enjoys taking photographs).
Nephew      Cháu trai (Son of your brother/ sister)Cháu trai của tôi tên là Alex (My nephew’s name is Alex) 
Niece      Cháu gái (Daughter of brother/ sister)Cháu gái tôi rất thích chơi xếp hình (My niece loves to play jigsaw puzzles)
Father-in-law
  • Bố chồng (Husband’s father)
  • Bố vợ (Wife’s father)
Bố chồng/ Bố vợ tôi thích đánh cờ với hàng xóm (My father-in-law likes to play chess with the neighbors)
Mother-in-law
  • Mẹ chồng (Husband’s mother)
  • Mẹ vợ (Wife’s mother)
Mẹ chồng/ Mẹ vợ tôi nấu ăn rất ngon (My mother-in-law cooks very well)
Brother-in-law
  • Anh/em chồng  (Husband’s brother)
  • Anh/em vợ (Wife’s brother)
  • Anh rể và chồng tôi là anh em sinh đôi (My brother-in-law and my husband are twins)
  • Anh vợ tôi là bạn học của tôi hồi Đại học (My brother-in-law was my classmate in college)
Sister-in-law
  • Chị chồng (Husband’s elder sister)
  • Chị vợ (Wife’s elder sister)
  • Chị dâu (Brother’s wife)
  • Em dâu (younger brother’s wife)
  • Chị chồng tôi đan len rất giỏi (My sister-in-law is very good at knitting)
  • Em dâu và tôi có cùng sở thích ăn uống (My sister-in-law and I have the same taste in food)
Son-in-lawCon rể (Daughter’s husband)Ngày hôm qua, con rể tặng tôi một chai rượu vang (Yesterday, my son-in-law gave me a bottle of wine)
Daughter-in-lawCon dâu (Son’s wife)Con dâu và vợ tôi rất thường đi mua sắm vào cuối tuần (My daughter-in-law and wife usually go shopping at the weekend)

Note : These words in this table can all be used as pronouns.

See more: How many letters are there in vietnamese alphabet

The above article is all the family in Vietnamese vocabulary that Jellyfish has compiled for you. We hope that with this article, your Vietnamese vocabulary knowledge will have more new words, making the process of learning Vietnamese simpler than ever. If learning Vietnamese is difficult, don’t be worried because Jellyfish is there!

If you are looking for a comprehensive Vietnamese course that will help you communicate with native speakers naturally and better understand Vietnamese culture. Please refer to the special courses at Jellyfish:

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