Order anything by pointing in Vietnamese
I would like, this one, how much, the bill: survive any counter or menu. Play the ten Vietnamese words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Vietnamese phrases in this lesson
- Cho tôi...cho TOY
- I would like...
- Cái nàyKAI nay
- This one
- Bao nhiêu tiền?bow NYEW tyen
- How much is it?
- Tính tiềntinh TYEN
- The bill, please
- Bằng thẻbung TEH
- By card
- Tiền mặttyen MUHT
- In cash
- NướcNUH-uhk
- Water
- Cà phêkah FEH
- Coffee
- Tràchah
- Tea
- BiaBEE-uh
- Beer
- Không bỏ...khong BOH
- Without...
Literally "give me", and the standard polite way to order: "cho tôi một cà phê" (a coffee for me). Add "nhé" (nyeh) at the end to sound softer.
Cái is the classifier for objects, này means this. At a street stall, pointing and saying this covers ordering without naming the dish. "Cái kia" (KAI kee-uh) is that one, further away.
Bao nhiêu means how much, tiền means money. Prices are usually quoted in thousands, so "năm mươi" (fifty) at a stall means 50,000 dong.
Literally "calculate the money". Call the server with "em ơi" (em UH-ee) first. In casual places you often pay at the counter or when the food arrives.
Thẻ is card, bằng means with or by. Cards and QR payment apps are common in cities. Street stalls and rural areas remain largely cash.
Literally "face money". Notes look alike, so check 10,000 against 100,000 and 20,000 against 200,000 before handing them over.
Nước means water or any drink. Tap water is not reliably safe; bottled water is cheap everywhere. Ask for "nước suối" (NUH-uhk SWOY) for bottled, or "trà đá" (chah DAH), free iced tea at many stalls.
Brewed through a metal dripper, strong and usually iced. "Cà phê sữa đá" (kah FEH SHOO-uh DAH) is iced coffee with condensed milk, the national favorite. "Cà phê đen" is black.
Iced tea, trà đá (chah DAH), often comes free with a meal.
Cheap and everywhere, often served over ice. "Bia hơi" (BEE-uh huh-ee) is fresh draft beer poured on street corners in Hanoi for small change.
Literally "do not put in": "không bỏ đá" (no ice), "không bỏ đường" (no sugar), "không bỏ ớt" (no chili). Vendors also understand a shorter "không đá".