When Entering a Restaurant When you first arrive at a restaurant or street food stall, you can start with these simple phrases:
“Xin chào”: Hello!
“Cho tôi bàn 2 người.”: A table for two, please
2. How to Order Food in Vietnamese (Most Important Part)
Instead of just pointing at the menu, try using this simple and effective structure:
“Cho tôi + quantity + unit + dish name + nha”
Examples:
“Cho tôi một tô phở bò.”: One bowl of beef pho, please
“Cho tôi hai ổ bánh mì.”: Two banh mi, please
“Cho tôi ba tô bún bò nha.”: Three bowls of bun bo, please
Numbers in Vietnamese:
Một: 1
Hai: 2
Ba: 3
Bốn: 4
Năm: 5
In Vietnamese, you usually need a unit word when ordering:
Phần: Portion
Tô: Bowl (pho, noodles)
Dĩa: Plate
Ly: Glass
Chai: Bottle
Lon: Can
Examples:
“Hai tô phở”: Two bowls of pho
“Một dĩa cơm chiên”: One plate of fried rice
“Ba ly trà đá”: Three glasses of iced tea
3. Making Special Requests
Vietnamese food is very flexible, so you can easily adjust your dish:
Ít cay / Không cay: Less spicy / No spicy
Ít đường / Không đường: Less sugar / No sugar
Ít đá / Không đá: Less ice / No ice
Không rau thơm: No herbs
Không hành: No onion
Không bột ngọt: No MSG
Tip: You can say the phrase and gently shake your head, people will understand quickly.
4. How to Call the Staff Politely
In Vietnam, snapping fingers or whistling is considered rude. Instead, raise your hand slightly and say:
“Em ơi!”: Most common (for younger staff)
“Anh ơi!” / “Chị ơi!”: For slightly older staff
“Cô ơi!” / “Chú ơi!”: For older people
5. Paying the Bill
When you’re done eating, you can say:
“Tính tiền nha!”: Check, please
“Cho tôi trả tiền”: I’d like to pay
“Gói mang về ạ.”: Takeaway / Please pack it to go
6. Popular Vietnamese Dishes You Should Know
To make ordering easier, remember these famous dishes:
Phở bò: Beef noodle soup
Bún bò: Hue-style beef noodle soup
Bún chả: Grilled pork with vermicelli
Bánh cuốn: Steamed rice rolls
Bánh xèo: Vietnamese crispy pancake
Gỏi cuốn: Fresh spring rolls
Trà đá: Iced tea
Cà phê sữa đá: Iced coffee with condensed milk
7. Tips for a Better Experience
Use your fingers to show numbers if pronunciation is difficult
Always smile: Vietnamese people are very welcoming
Carry cash: Street food vendors usually prefer cash
Learning these phrases is a great first step toward basic communication. However, to speak Vietnamese naturally and react quickly in real-life situations, you need a supportive environment and expert guidance.
Want to go beyond just ordering food? Join our Vietnamese Survival Course and learn essential phrases for real-life situations like shopping, transportation, and daily conversations. It’s designed especially for travelers who want a smoother, more local experience in Vietnam.
Are you learning Vietnamese and want to sound more natural like a native speaker? Be careful! Some sentences may be grammatically correct but can still sound rude or awkward to Vietnamese people. In this article, you’ll learn what you SHOULD and SHOULDN’T say in Vietnamese, so you don’t just speak correctly, but also speak politely and naturally.
Why did you start learning Vietnamese? Do you love your country, Vietnamese people, or do you want to communicate more easily?
But for whatever reason, HVAJ believes that the following reasons will make you excited about the language.
With little vocabulary, there is not much contact with Vietnamese language, it is difficult to distinguish sounds, punctuation marks, addressing systems...
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