Numbers 0 - 10

Vietnamese numbers are very easy to learn. This lesson is broken down into 6 sections that teach you from numbers 0 to millions. This would help you to digest Vietnamese numbers easily, and get to see how all the rules fall into place. First, let's look at Numbers 0 to 9

Going beyond 1-digit numbers is simple since Vietnamese numbers are made up based on basic mathematic rules. For example:

• 11 = 10 + 1 = mười một
• 19 = 10 + 9 = mười chín
• 22 = 2 x 10 + 2 = hai mươi hai
• 98 = 9 x 10 + 8 = chín mươi tám

In addition, there are only 5 other simple rules that you have to memorize.

Numbers 10, 20, 30, ...

• When number 2 to 9 are in the tens place, the number changes its tone from MƯỜI to MƯƠI.
• 10, 20, ..., 90 can also commonly be read as "number + chục"

Numbers 11, 21, 31, ...

• When 1 is the last digit in the numbers, except for number 11, its tone changes from MỘT to MỐT.
• In speaking, number 21 and above can be shortened by dropping the word mươi. For instance, 51 can be read as năm mươi mốt, or as năm mốt.

Numbers 14, 24, 34, ...

• When 4 is the last digit in the numbers, except for number 14, you can use either BỐN or TƯ to call it.

Numbers 15, 25, 35, ...

• When 5 is the last digit in the numbers, its tone changes from NĂM to LĂM.
• In Vietnamese, năm also has another meaning as "year". Therefore, 5 years would be read as "năm năm", 15 years would be "mười lăm năm"

Review Numbers 0-99

• Vietnamese numbers are made up based on basic mathematic rules
• In speaking, number 21 and above can be shortened by dropping the word mươi (e.g. 51 = năm mươi mốt = năm mốt).
• When number 2 to 9 are in the tens place, its changes tone from MƯỜI to MƯƠI.
• When 1 is the last digit in the numbers, except for number 11, its tone changes from MỘT to MỐT.
• When 4 is the last digit in the numbers, except for number 14, you can use either BỐN or TƯ to call it.
• When 5 is the last digit in the numbers, its tone changes from NĂM to LĂM.

Hundred in Vietnamese: 100, 200, 300, ...

To review, tens in Vietnamese is CHỤC. In this lesson, hundred in Vietnamese is TRĂM.

Basic mathematic rules, once again, are applied for numbers 100 and above:

• 110 = 100 + 10 = một trăm mười
• 211 = 2 x 100 + 11 = hai trăm mười một
• 515 = 5 x 100 + 15 = năm trăm mười lăm
• 999 = 9 x 100 + 99 = chín trăm chín chín

Hundred in Vietnamese: 101, 102, 103, ...

Number 0 in Vietnamese is KHÔNG. However, when 0 is in the Tens, it is read as LẺ.

Same rule can be apply for other numbers. For examples:

• 205 = hai trăm lẻ năm
• 507 = năm trăm lẻ bảy
• 801 = tám trăm lẻ một
• 909 = chín trăm lẻ chín

Please note that LẺ is used in the Southern dialect and LINH is used in the Northern dialect.

Thousand in Vietnamese

To review, in Vietnamese tens is CHỤC, and hundreds is TRĂM. In this lesson, we'll learn thousands is read as NGÀN

When 0 is in the Tens, it is read as LẺ. When 0 is in the Hundreds, it is read as KHÔNG.

Please note that NGÀN is used in the Southern dialect and NGHÌN is used in the Northern dialect.

Million & Billion in Vietnamese

To review, in Vietnamese tens is CHỤC, hundreds is TRĂM, and thousands is read as NGÀN In this lesson, we'll learn millions is read as TRIỆU and billions is read as TỶ.

Why do we have to learn up until millions? You might know that Vietnamese currency has lots of zeros. Therefore, you can reach billion easily, let's say when buying something expensive like a house in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Money & Currency

Before traveling to Vietnam, it is important to get familiar with Vietnamese Money and Currency. Việt Nam ĐỒNG is the Vietnamese currency, often represented as VNĐ or đ. Dollar in Vietnamese is ĐÔ. For instance, US dollar would be read as "đô Mỹ".

Some conversions (as of Dec 2019) for comparison are:

• 1 USD / đô Mỹ = ~23,000 VNĐ
• 1 EUR / Ơ-rô = ~25,500 VNĐ
• 1 GBP / bảng Anh= ~30,500 VNĐ
• 1 CAD / đô Canada = ~17,500 VNĐ
• 1 AUD / đô Úc = ~16,000 VNĐ

Conversation Notes:

When talking about Vietnamese money, the locals often:

• omit the word NGÀN when the number is more than thousands. E.g. 100,000 = một trăm
• use CHỤC for Tens Thousands. E.g 50,000 = năm chục
• use the word RƯỠI for half, especially when handling money. E.g. 250,000 = hai trăm rưỡi / 1,500,000 = một triệu rưỡi
• omit the word MỘT when it comes to 1 thousand, 1 million. E.g. 120,000 = trăm hai chục / 1,500,000 = triệu rưỡi
• omit saying all the zeros. E.g 2,200,000 = hai triệu hai (instead of hai triệu hai trăm)

Asking "How much" in Vietnamese

After knowing how to count and say Vietnamese money, let's learn how to ask how much something costs in Vietnamese with the 2 simple phrases below:

New Words:

• cái này ⇢ this one (used for something near)
• cái đó ⇢ that one (used for something further)
• bao nhiêu ⇢ how much; how many
• tiền ⇢ money

Sample Dialogue:

You: Chị ơi, cái này bao nhiêu tiền?

Seller: Cái này bốn trăm (=400,000đ).

You: Cái đó bao nhiêu tiền?

Seller: Cái đó ba trăm (=300,000đ).

Note: To call someone and get their attention, use "pronoun + ơi". For instance: chị ơi, cô ơi, anh ơi, etc.

Basic Bargaining in Vietnamese

It is properly a good idea to learn how to bargain in Vietnam, as it may come to be useful during your trip. There are 2 sentence patterns that you can use to bargain when shopping in Vietnam, especially at the market, where prices are not displayed.

New Words:

• được không? ⇢ can? / possible?
• bớt ⇢ to reduce

The responses to the question with "được không" are:

• (Affirmative) Được
• (Negative) Không được

Sample Dialogue:

You: Chị ơi, cái này bao nhiêu tiền?

Seller: Cái này bốn trăm (=400,000đ).

You: Hai trăm được không chị?

Seller: Không được.

You: Bớt cho em năm mươi được không? (= discount 50,000đ)

Seller: Thôi cũng được.

Basic Math Equations in Vietnamese

No numbers lesson is complete with some math equations. Here are some basic Vietnamese calculations in case you need to help some sellers with quick calculations!

New words

• cộng ⇢ plus
• trừ ⇢ minus
• nhân ⇢ times; multiplied by
• chia ⇢ divided by
• bằng ⇢ equals
• là ⇢ is

Sample sentences

• 1+2=3 ⇢ một cộng hai bằng ba
• 9+3=12 ⇢ chín cộng ba bằng mười hai
• 2×5=10 ⇢ hai nhân năm là mười
• 20÷2=10 ⇢ hai mươi chia hai là mười