Vietnamese for Absolute Beginners: Your First 50 Words

These 50 words will get you through basic interactions in Vietnam and give you a foundation for WELE dictation practice.

Greetings & Basics

1. Xin chào — Hello (formal)
2. Cảm ơn — Thank you
3. Xin lỗi — Sorry / Excuse me
4. Vâng / Dạ — Yes (North/South)
5. Không — No / Not
6. Tạm biệt — Goodbye
7. Xin — Please

Pronouns

8. Tôi — I (formal)
9. Bạn — You (same age friend)
10. Anh — You/He (older male)
11. Chị — You/She (older female)
12. Em — You/He/She (younger person)

Common Verbs

13. Là — To be
14. Có — To have / There is
15. Ăn — To eat
16. Uống — To drink
17. Đi — To go
18. Đến — To come / arrive
19. Muốn — To want
20. Biết — To know
21. Nói — To speak
22. Hiểu — To understand
23. Học — To study / learn
24. Làm — To do / make

Question Words

25. Gì — What
26. Ai — Who
27. Ở đâu — Where
28. Khi nào — When
29. Tại sao — Why
30. Bao nhiêu — How much/many

Numbers

31. Một — One
32. Hai — Two
33. Ba — Three
34. Bốn — Four
35. Năm — Five
36. Mười — Ten

Food & Drink

37. Cơm — Rice
38. Phở — Pho (noodle soup)
39. Nước — Water
40. Cà phê — Coffee
41. Trà — Tea
42. Bánh mì — Bread / Baguette sandwich

Useful Adjectives

43. Tốt — Good
44. Xấu — Bad
45. Lớn — Big
46. Nhỏ — Small
47. Nóng — Hot
48. Lạnh — Cold
49. Đẹp — Beautiful
50. Ngon — Delicious

How to Use This List

Don't memorize all 50 at once. Learn 5 per day. Say them out loud. When you encounter them in WELE dictation, you'll recognize them — and that recognition is where real learning begins.