Vietnamese Grammar Bank
VIETNAMESE PRONOUNS
Vietnamese and English both have singular pronouns and plural pronouns.
However, Vietnamese pronouns are also classified according to the gender and positions of the 1st person (speaker) and the 2nd person (listener), which differs from English.
SINGULAR PRONOUNS || INTRODUCTION
First of all, have a look at this table summarising all the Vietnamese Singular Pronouns.
Don’t worry! We will analyse them all in the next chapters, and give you sentence examples along the way to show them in context.
| Singular Pronouns | |||
| Gender | 1st (I) | 2nd (You) | 3rd (He/She) |
| No gender | Tôi Mình | Bạn | Cháu ấy Em ấy |
| Con / Cháu, Em | |||
| Male | Ông Chú Anh | Ông ấy Chú ấy Anh ấy | |
| Female | Bà Cô Chị | Bà ấy Cô ấy Chị ấy | |
| Position (1st) | 1st (I) | Position (2nd) | 2nd (You) |
| Equal | Tôi Mình | Equal | Bạn |
| Lower | Con / Cháu | Higher | Ông / Chú Bà / Cô |
| Lower | Em | Higher | Anh / Chị |
| Higher | Anh / Chị | Lower | Em |
| Higher | Ông / Chú Bà / Cô | Lower | Con / Cháu |
SINGULAR || 1ST PERSON ”I”
When indicating “I” with no specific gender and you are at the same position level with the others, you can use:
| Tôi | I (formal) |
| Mình | I (casual) |
NOTE: “Mình” is used commonly in daily conversations.
For example:
| Tôi là David | I am David |
| Mình là học sinh | I am a student |
From this part, you can see the “I” is pronounced as family members in the Vietnamese language.
When indicating “I” with no specific gender and you are at a lower position level than the others, you can use:
| Con or Cháu | I (as a child/ a grandchild) |
| Em | I (as a younger brother/a younger sister) |
For example:
| Con là Lisa | I am Lisa |
| Cháu là bác sĩ | I am a doctor |
| Em làm việc | I work |
When indicating “I” with male-gender and you are at a higher position level than the others, you can use:
| Anh | I (as an older brother) |
| Chú | I (as an uncle) |
| Ông | I (as a very old man) |
For example:
| Anh là giáo viên | I am a teacher |
| Chú là ba của Lisa | I am Lisa’s father |
| Ông uống nước | I drink water |
When indicating “I” with female gender and you are at a higher position level than the others, you can use:
| Chị | I (as an older sister) |
| Cô | I (as an aunt) |
| Bà | I (as a very old woman) |
For example:
| Chị là giáo viên | I am a teacher |
| Cô là mẹ của Lisa | I am Lisa’s mother |
| Bà uống nước | I drink water |
SINGULAR || 2ND PERSON ”YOU”
When indicating “You” with no specific gender and “You” is at the same position level as yours, you can use:
| Bạn | You |
For example:
| Bạn là ai? | Who are you? |
| Bạn tên gì? | What is your name? |
From this part, you can see the “You” is pronounced as family members in the Vietnamese language.
When indicating “You” with no specific gender and “You” is at a lower position level than yours, you call:
| Con or Cháu | You (as a child/ a grandchild) |
| Em | You (as a younger brother/a younger sister) |
For example:
| Con là Lisa hả? | Are you Lisa? |
| Cháu là bác sĩ hả? | Are you a doctor |
| Em làm việc hả? | Do you work? |
When indicating “You” with male-gender and “You” is at a higher position level than yours, you call:
| Anh | You (as an older brother) |
| Chú | You (as an uncle) |
| Ông | You (as a very old man) |
For example:
| Anh là giáo viên hả? | Are you a teacher? |
| Chú là ba của Lisa hả? | Are you Lisa’s father? |
| Ông uống nước hả? | Do you drink water? |
When indicating “You” with female gender and “You” is at a higher position level than yours, you call:
| Chị | You (as an older sister) |
| Cô | You (as an aunt) |
| Bà | You (as a very old woman) |
For example:
| Chị là giáo viên? | Are you a teacher |
| Cô là mẹ của Lisa? | Are you Lisa’s mother |
| Bà uống nước? | Do you drink water? |
These are examples of saying “Hi” between people of different age-level and genders in Vietnamese language:
| Em chào chị ạ! | Hi (the younger says hi to older sister) |
| Cô chào con! | Hi (an aunt says hi to a child) |
| Bà chào cháu! | Hi (an old woman says hi to a child) |
SINGULAR || 3RD PERSON ”HE/SHE”
To form the 3rd person singular pronoun you will need to know the ones previously mentioned.
PATTERN
Pronoun + ấy
NOTE // Ấy indicates the word “that” in English.
You can not say con ấy but you can say cháu ấy.
For example:
| Cháu ấy là bác sĩ | He/she (general child) is a doctor |
| Em ấy lạnh | He/she (general young brother/sister) is cold |
| Bạn ấy vui vẻ | He/she (general friend) is happy |
| Anh ấy làm việc | He (general man) works |
View More Examples:
| Chị ấy ăn cơm | She (general lady) eats rice |
| Chú ấy đi học | He (general uncle) goes to school |
| Cô ấy là giáo viên | She (general aunt) is a teacher |
| Ông ấy ngủ | He (general old man) sleeps |
| Bà ấy thức | She (general old lady) is awake |
PLURAL PRONOUNS // INTRODUCTION
First have a look at this table summarising all Vietnamese Plural Pronouns. We will then analyse them all in the next chapters:
| Plural Pronouns | |||
| Gender | 1st (I) | 2nd (You) | 3rd (They) |
| No gender | Chúng tôi Chúng mình | Các bạn | Các cháu ấy Các em ấy |
| Chúng con/ Chúng cháu Chúng em | Các con Các cháu Các em | ||
| Male | Các ông Các chú Các anh | Các ông ấy Các chú ấy Các anh ấy | |
| Female | Các bà Các cô Các bhị | Các bà ấy Các cô ấy Các chị ấy | |
| Position (1st) | 1st (I) | Position (2nd) | 2nd (You) |
| Equal | Chúng tôi Chúng mình | Equal | Các bạn |
| Lower | Chúng con/ Chúng cháu | Higher | Các ông – Các bà Các chú – Các cô |
| Lower | Chúng em | Higher | Các anh – Các chị |
| Higher | Các anh – Các chị | Lower | Các em |
| Higher | Các ông – Các bà Các chú – Các cô | Lower | Các con / Các cháu |
PLURAL || 1ST GROUP ”WE”
When indicating “We” that is gender-neutral, you add “Chúng” before the 1st-person non-gender singular pronouns:
| Chúng tôi | We (formal) |
| Chúng mình | We (casual) |
| Chúng con/ Chúng cháu | We (as children/ grandchildren) |
| Chúng em | We (as younger brothers/younger sisters) |
When indicating “We” that is gender-specific, you add “Các” before the 1st-person gender-specific singular pronouns:
| Các anh | We (as older brothers) |
| Các chú | We (as uncles) |
| Các ông | We (as very old men) |
| Các chị | We (as older sisters) |
| Các cô | We (as aunties) |
| Các bà | We (as very old women) |
For example:
| Chúng mình là giáo viên | We are teachers |
| Các chú là giáo viên | We are teachers (as uncles) |
| Các anh là giáo viên | We are teachers (as older brothers) |
PLURAL || 2ND GROUP ”YOU”
You add “Các” before the 2nd-person singular pronouns:
| Các bạn | You |
| Các con / Các cháu | You (as children/ grandchildren) |
| Các em | You (as younger brothers/younger sisters) |
| Các anh | You (as older brothers) |
| Các chú | You (as uncles) |
| Các ông | You (as very old men) |
| Các chị | You (as older sisters) |
| Các cô | You (as aunties) |
| Các bà | You (as very old women) |
These are examples of saying “Hi” between people of different age-level and genders in Vietnamese language:
| Chúng em chào các chị ạ! | Hi (the youngers say hi to older sisters) |
| Các cô chào các con! | Hi (aunties say hi to children) |
| Các bà chào các cháu! | Hi (old women say hi to children) |
PLURAL || 3RD GROUP ”THEY”
| Họ | They |
For example:
| Họ là bác sĩ | They are doctors |
| Họ làm việc | They work |
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FAQs
How to say ”you” in Vietnamese?
When indicating “You” with no specific gender and “You” is at the same position level as yours, you can use: Bạn
When indicating “You” with no specific gender and “You” is at a lower position level than yours, you call:
Con or Cháu (as a child/ a grandchild)
Em (as a younger brother/a younger sister)
When indicating “You” with male-gender and “You” is at a higher position level than yours, you call:
Anh (as an older brother)
Chú (as an uncle)
Ông (as a very old man)
When indicating “You” with female gender and “You” is at a higher position level than yours, you call:
Chị (as an older sister)
Cô (as an aunt)
Bà (as a very old woman)
How to say ”I” in Vietnamese?
When indicating “I” with no specific gender and you are at the same position level with the others, you can use:
Tôi (formal)
Mình (casual)
When indicating “I” with no specific gender and you are at a lower position level than the others, you can use:
Con or Cháu (as a child/ a grandchild)
Em (as a younger brother/a younger sister)
When indicating “I” with male-gender and you are at a higher position level than the others, you can use:
Anh (as an older brother)
Chú (as an uncle)
Ông (as a very old man)
When indicating “I” with female gender and you are at a higher position level than the others, you can use:
Chị (as an older sister)
Cô (as an aunt)
Bà (as a very old woman)
How to say ‘he/she” in Vietnamese?
To form the 3rd person singular pronoun you will need to know how to say I and you already.
Pronoun + ấy
NOTE // Ấy indicates the word “that” in English.
You can not say con ấy but you can say cháu ấy.
For example:
Cháu ấy là bác sĩ. He/she (general child) is a doctor
Em ấy lạnh. He/she (general young brother/sister) is cold
Bạn ấy vui vẻ. He/she (general friend) is happy
Anh ấy làm việc. He (general man) works
How to say ”they” in Vietnamese?
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