Vietnamese for Legal Work: Contract Terms, Bên A and Bên B, and Drafting Patterns

A Vietnamese partner emails you the contract with one line: 「Em gửi anh bản hợp đồng đã ký và đóng dấu. Anh kiểm tra giúp em nhé.」 You understand hợp đồng, and you can guess ký means sign. What you may not know is that đóng dấu means stamping the company seal, that em and anh are doing a lot of work in that sentence, and that the page you are about to open calls the two companies Bên A and Bên B instead of using their names.

Vietnamese contract language is easier to start on than many learners expect. There is no conjugation and no articles, and obligations are carried by a handful of short words: phải (must), được (may), không được (must not), có quyền (has the right to). The harder parts are the six tones, which turn thuê (rent) into thuế (tax), and a set of drafting habits, such as writing every amount twice and numbering clauses as Điều, khoản and điểm.

This article is for in-house counsel, lawyers, paralegals and commercial staff who read or draft contracts with Vietnamese counterparts, in Vietnam or abroad. You get the layout of a Vietnamese contract, four vocabulary tables that cover all 42 words of the practice set, five grammar points, two model dialogues and a practice plan. It describes language and is not legal advice. Whether a clause is enforceable is a question for your own lawyer.

• How a Vietnamese contract reads
• Vocabulary by stage of the contract
• Five grammar points for drafting and reading
• Two model dialogues
• How to practise
• Frequently asked questions
• Where to start

How a Vietnamese contract reads

A hợp đồng usually opens with a title and a reference number, then a short list of legal bases that begins with Căn cứ (based on), then the parties, then numbered articles. The table follows a typical sales contract. Titles and order change from one contract to the next.

The clauses and numbers in the table are examples invented for this article and do not come from a real contract. Notice how amounts are written: in digits with a dot as the thousands separator (1.500.000.000), and then in words after Bằng chữ. Vietnamese uses a dot for thousands and a comma for decimals, the reverse of English habits. If the digits and the words disagree, ask which one is meant before you sign.

Bên A and Bên B are labels for the two sides. The first paragraph says who is which, often with a note in brackets such as (Bên bán) for seller or (Bên mua) for buyer. Which party gets which label is up to the drafter, so read the opening before you read the duties. In conversation, nobody says Bên A to your face. You will hear anh, chị, or quý công ty (your company, formal) instead.

The signature block has its own phrase: Ký, ghi rõ họ tên và đóng dấu, meaning sign, write your full name clearly and stamp with the seal. Seal practice varies by company and contract, and the formal side is a legal question, so ask your lawyer. What you need as a learner is to recognise the phrase and to hear requests such as 「Anh nhớ đóng dấu giáp lai giúp em」, where đóng dấu giáp lai is a seal across the edges of the pages.

Tones that matter in legal Vietnamese

Every syllable carries one of six tones, shown by the accent mark. A wrong tone gives a different word, and several legal words have close neighbours. Learn the tone with the word, not afterwards.

The pairs above are good tests for a listening drill. If you can hear the difference between thuê and thuế, you can follow a conversation about a lease and a conversation about tax without mixing them up.

Vocabulary by stage of the contract

The four tables follow a contract from first draft to dispute. Each table gives the Vietnamese word, its meaning in English, an example sentence in contract or workplace language, and a translation. The meaning column uses the same gloss as the practice set. Sentences with Bên A and Bên B are clauses, while sentences with anh, chị or em are spoken.

The people and the paper

The second syllable of hợp đồng is spelled like the currency đồng, although the two are unrelated, so context matters. Notice the two words for sign: ký is the plain verb (Anh ký vào đây), while ký kết means to conclude a contract and is used for formal agreements between organisations. Chữ ký is the signature itself, and the form to remember is chữ ký and con dấu, signature and seal.

Rights, duties and risk

Nghĩa vụ is a duty you owe, while trách nhiệm is responsibility, and it appears in compounds such as trách nhiệm pháp lý (legal liability) and chịu trách nhiệm (to bear responsibility). Bảo đảm covers promises that something is true or will be done, so it fits the sense of warranty. Cam kết bồi thường is longer, but it signals a promise to cover another party against loss, which is the sense of indemnity.

Time, breach and money

Two payments are easy to confuse. Phạt vi phạm is a penalty agreed in advance for a breach, while bồi thường thiệt hại is compensation for actual loss. Contracts often list them in separate clauses, and the wording tells you whether they replace each other or add up. For ending a contract, you will also meet thanh lý hợp đồng, the formal winding up of a contract once the work is done, which is a different thing from terminating it for breach.

Disputes

Dispute clauses in Vietnamese contracts often run in steps: first thương lượng (negotiation), then hòa giải (mediation), and only then trọng tài or tòa án. The clause on governing law and the clause on which court or arbitration centre decides are two separate choices, and in an international contract they may point to different countries.

Five grammar points for drafting and reading

The first two points cover the words that carry obligations and rights. The other three cover passives, conditions and numbering. Each ends with a typical learner mistake.

1. phải, có nghĩa vụ, được, có quyền, không được

Obligation is expressed by phải (must) or có nghĩa vụ (has the duty to). Permission and rights use được (may) or có quyền (has the right to). Prohibition uses không được. Subject first, then the modal, then the verb: Bên B phải thanh toán.

• Bên B phải thanh toán trong vòng 30 ngày kể từ ngày nhận hàng.
• Bên A có quyền đơn phương chấm dứt hợp đồng khi Bên B vi phạm nghiêm trọng.
• Bên B không được chuyển nhượng quyền cho bên thứ ba khi chưa có chấp thuận của Bên A.

Typical mistake: using cần (need) where the contract says phải. Cần is softer, closer to should, while phải is a duty. Another trap is được, which is both a modal (may) and a passive marker, so read it with the verb that follows. In Bên B được chuyển nhượng quyền khi có chấp thuận của Bên A, được means may (Party B may assign its rights with consent). In Bên B được bồi thường, it marks a passive (Party B is compensated).

2. bị and được: adverse and favourable passives

Vietnamese passives use two words. Bị marks something unwelcome to the subject, as in bị phạt (be fined), and được marks something favourable, as in được bồi thường (be compensated). Contracts rely on this contrast to show who gains and who loses without naming anyone.

• Bên vi phạm bị phạt theo tỷ lệ quy định tại Điều 7.
• Bên bị thiệt hại được bồi thường theo quy định của hợp đồng.
• Hợp đồng bị chấm dứt khi một bên vi phạm nghiêm trọng.

Typical mistake: using được for everything because it is the word taught first. A sentence like Bên B được phạt sounds as if the penalty were a favour. Choose bị for anything unwelcome, and you will read contract sentences correctly.

3. nếu … thì, trong trường hợp, trừ trường hợp: conditions and exceptions

Conditions open with nếu (if) or trong trường hợp (in the case that), and the consequence follows with thì (then). Exceptions use trừ trường hợp (except where), ngoại trừ, or với điều kiện (on condition that). The exception often arrives after the main rule.

• Nếu Bên B thanh toán chậm thì Bên B phải chịu lãi trên số tiền chậm.
• Trong trường hợp bất khả kháng, bên bị ảnh hưởng phải thông báo cho bên kia.
• Bên B không được tiết lộ thông tin, trừ trường hợp pháp luật yêu cầu.

Typical mistake: dropping thì, which English speakers find unnecessary. In a contract, thì marks where the condition ends and the consequence starts, and without it a long sentence can be hard to parse. Another is missing a trừ trường hợp at the end of a prohibition, which changes the rule.

4. Numbers, dates and numbering: Điều, khoản, điểm

Vietnamese contracts number text in three levels: Điều (article), khoản (paragraph, numbered 1, 2, 3), and điểm (point, lettered a, b, c). A reference reads Điều 5, khoản 2, điểm a. Dates are written ngày 15 tháng 3 năm 2025, with the day first. Amounts are given in digits and in words, and copies are written 02 (hai) bản.

• Theo quy định tại Điều 5, khoản 2, điểm a, Bên B phải thông báo bằng văn bản.
• Hợp đồng được lập thành 02 (hai) bản, mỗi bên giữ 01 (một) bản.
• Tổng giá trị hợp đồng là 250.000.000 đồng (Bằng chữ: hai trăm năm mươi triệu đồng).

Typical mistake: reading 250.000.000 as a decimal because of the dots. In Vietnamese the dot separates thousands, so this is two hundred and fifty million. Say it as hai trăm năm mươi triệu, and check it against the words after Bằng chữ.

5. Defining and referring back: Bên A, nêu trên, theo quy định tại

After the parties are defined, the contract points back with hai bên (both parties), các bên (the parties), bên kia (the other party), and with phrases such as nêu trên (stated above), nói trên (mentioned above), nêu tại Điều 3 (stated in Article 3), and theo quy định tại Điều 5 (as provided in Article 5). Hợp đồng này means this contract.

• Các khoản thanh toán nêu trên được thực hiện bằng chuyển khoản.
• Bên A và Bên B cùng cam kết thực hiện đúng các điều khoản của Hợp đồng này.
• Hàng hóa nêu tại Điều 1 được giao theo lịch trình ở Phụ lục 2.

Typical mistake: replacing Bên A with the company name halfway through the contract. In a draft, keep the label consistent, because switching between Bên A and the company name makes it unclear whether the same party is meant.

Two model dialogues

Checking a signed contract by phone

You are in-house counsel at a foreign company in Hanoi, and Ms Hương from the partner firm calls about the contract she has just emailed. She uses em for herself and anh for you, while you use tôi and chị. Read both parts aloud.

Closing out a contract: acceptance and settlement

A supplier, Ms Lan, calls at the end of a fit-out project. Vietnamese contracts often finish with two documents: biên bản nghiệm thu (acceptance record) and biên bản thanh lý hợp đồng (record of contract settlement). Ms Lan again uses em and calls you anh.

How to practise

Start by playing the contract set in Falling Stars or Pop It until you can see a word and say its tone out loud. Then go back to the tables and read each example sentence aloud. Pay extra attention to the tone pairs earlier in the article, because thuê and thuế will turn up in the same meeting.

For listening, choose an episode in the Vietnamese podcasts, listen one sentence at a time and write it down. The tones and the final particles such as ạ and nhé are what new learners tend to miss. For a longer route, see the courses, and use the vocabulary test to find your starting point.

A real alternative outside WELE: Vietnam has two free legal text sites, vbpl.vn, the national database of legal documents run by the Ministry of Justice, and thuvienphapluat.vn, a commercial portal that offers many texts for free. Reading the Civil Code (Bộ luật Dân sự) there shows where words such as nghĩa vụ and bồi thường thiệt hại come from. For grammar, Binh Nhu Ngo's Vietnamese: An Essential Grammar is a clear reference. These sources help with wording and do not replace legal advice. To test your general level, the VPT mock test on WELE shows where you stand, although it measures general Vietnamese, not legal Vietnamese.

If your work touches property or running a business, read Vietnamese for real estate and Vietnamese for business owners. The other professions are listed at Vietnamese by profession and on the legal work page.

Frequently asked questions

Which party am I, Bên A or Bên B?

The opening paragraph of the contract says. It usually writes the label in capitals before the company name, with a short role in brackets, for example BÊN A (Bên bán). There is no fixed rule about whether buyer or seller is Bên A, so note your label on the first page before you read the duties.

Are Vietnamese contracts often bilingual?

Contracts between a Vietnamese and a foreign company are often written in both languages. A bilingual contract normally has a clause stating which version prevails if the two differ, and it is worth finding that clause first. Which version a court would follow is a legal question for your lawyer.

Why does everyone ask me to đóng dấu?

Vietnamese companies have a registered seal, and many contracts ask for the signature and the seal together, as in Ký, ghi rõ họ tên và đóng dấu. Whether a contract needs a seal to be valid is a legal question, so ask a Vietnamese lawyer. As a learner, recognise the phrase and expect the request.

Do I need all six tones to read contracts?

Reading needs only the marks, which are printed, but speaking and listening need the tones. Aim to learn each word with its tone. A pair such as thuê and thuế is the best reason, since one means rent and the other means tax.

Can I use machine translation for a Vietnamese contract?

It is fine for a first read. Pronouns, particles and the contrast between bị and được can lose shade in translation, and a clause about liability, termination or disputes should be read in the original and checked with a lawyer.

Where to start

Today, play one round of Falling Stars, then take a real contract and underline every phải, được and không được to see what each side must do and may do.