Time and days in Vietnamese
Now, later, tomorrow, what time it opens and one moment please. 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 10 Vietnamese phrases in this lesson
- Bây giờbay ZUH
- Now
- Lát nữalaht NUH-uh
- Later
- Hôm nayhohm NAI
- Today
- Ngày maingai MAI
- Tomorrow
- Tối naytoy NAI
- Tonight
- Khi nào?khee NOW
- When?
- Mấy giờ mở cửa?may zuh muh KUH-uh
- What time does it open?
- Chờ một chútchuh moht CHOOT
- One moment, please
- phútfoot
- Minutes
- tiếngTYENG
- Hours
Literally "this hour". "Ngay bây giờ" is right now. Plans are flexible, so a broad timeline works better than clock precision.
Literally "a moment more", the everyday later. "Lát nữa gặp" (see you later) is a common goodbye.
Hôm means day, nay means this. Yesterday is "hôm qua" (hohm KWAH).
Combine with the time of day: "sáng mai" (tomorrow morning), "chiều mai" (tomorrow afternoon).
Tối is evening, nay is this. Evenings are when the streets fill up with food stalls and plastic stools.
At the start of a question it asks about the future: "khi nào xe chạy?" (when does the bus leave?). "Bao giờ" (bow ZUH) means the same.
Mấy giờ is what hour. Swap in "đóng cửa" for closing time. Markets open very early, often before 6 in the morning.
What staff say when you need to wait. Northerners also say "đợi một chút" (duh-ee moht CHOOT). Answer "vâng" or "được" and wait.
Nouns never change after numbers: "năm phút" (five minutes), "mười phút" (ten minutes).
For how long something takes: "hai tiếng" (two hours). For the time on the clock, use giờ: "hai giờ" is two o'clock.