Making Out In Vietnamese doc

8 Making Out in Vietnamese Chu chéo—“father’s younger brother,” is used to address younger men.. In a more formal greeting, you should use one of the following forms of address: Chào 6ng

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Introduction [ Whats Up?

2 Got a Minute?

3 Look at That!

4 Coming and Going

5 Eat, Drink, Be Merry!

6 I Like It

7 Curses and lnsults

8 Party Talk

9 Getting Serious I0 Lovers’ Language

46

52

63

66 8]

86

Introduction

Making Out in Vietnamese is your guide to the trendy, upbeat, and colloquial Vietnamese spoken on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City

In eleven easy chapters,-this book will introduce you to the simple language you need to meet people, eat out, shop—even paint the town red or fall in love There are no long-winded exercises, no complex rules, no verb drills! Whether you are

a novice in Vietnamese or already have some working knowl- edge of the language, this book will put hundreds of handy expressions at your fingertips

Making Out in Vietnamese goes a step beyond textbook Vietnamese Besides teaching you what to say in your day-to- day dealings, it also tells you what expressions are too risqué

to handle This is the first,book to candidly print some of the sharpest insults on the Vietnamese scene, insults that would easily throw a New York or London taxi driver

As language lives, breathes, and changes with the times, it remains in every sense a mirror of a culture Making Out in Vietnamese captures the living language of a country that is only now opening to the West: in Ho Chi Minh City you might take a sip of three-lizard liquor while listening to nhac rap— Vietnamese rap music The words and phrases used by Vietnam's younger generation gives us a glimpse into the everyday life of an old, rich culture attuning itself to the mod- ern world

The standard southern dialect used throughout the book, although different from the Hanoi dialect, is readily under- stood throughout Vietnam

6 Making Out in Vietnamese

Hanoi, for example, says bwit (bwéet) for “bus,” while Ho

Chi Minh City says béet

Hanoi says chuk (chéok) “a little,” Ho Chi-Minh City says

chút (chóot)

These dialectal variations—often quite minor—have been

compared to the variations between British and American

English

INFORMATION

The Vietnamese language, a Mon-Khmer (Austroasiatic) lan-

guage with many Chinese elements, is the official language of

Vietnam (the Socialist Republic of Vietnam)

Grammatically, Vietnamese is relatively simple—the word

order (Subject-Verb-Object) is similar to that of English

Unlike German or French the nouns are not marked for gen-

der Verbs also remain completely invariable—they are not

marked for tense (e.g past and present tense):

Tôi là (toh-ee làh}—] am

Anh là (ahnh làh}—You are

Ảnh là (ảdhnh làh)—He ¡s

Cổ là (cỏh làh)—She is

Chúng tôi là (chóong toh-ee làh)}—WNWs are

Các anh là (cáhc ahnh làh) You are

Cac anh là (cáhc dhnh làh)—They are

In the subsequent chapters, Vietnamese script is placed next

to the English text The phonetic transcription adopted, is

devised to reflect the closest English equivalent to a particular

speech sound in Vietnamese This is placed below the

Vietnamese script for easy referencing Where necessary, a

hyphen (-) is included to aid pronunciation and avoid any con-

I Téi (tohi)—the formal word for “I.”

Tao (tow)—the informal word, used mainly among friends and people of the same age group

YOU (Polite forms) Ong (ohng)—“Mr.” is the form of address used in speaking

to men one’s own age and up, particularly with casual acquain- tances

Ba (bah)—‘Mrs.” is used for middle-aged or older women, and for married women

Cô (koh}— “Miss” is used for single, unmarried women, or women younger than the speaker

YOU (Informal forms)

Anh (ahnh}—older brother, is used to address friends and men of a “similar” social status with oneself

Chi (chee)—"older sister,” is used for close women friends

and women of a similar social status as oneself

Bac (bdhc)—"father’s elder brother,” is used to speak of eld-

erly men one knows well, or elderly men of any social status.

8 Making Out in Vietnamese

Chu (chéo)—“father’s younger brother,” is used to address

younger men

Em (em}—‘younger sibling,” can be used for men and

women younger than oneself

May (méh)}—a casual “you,” to be used only with close

friends

HE, SHE, IT

Ong Ay/éng (ohng éh/éhng)— “he,” “him” (formal)

Bà 4y/Ba (bah éh/bah)—“‘she,” “her” (formal)

Anh ây/Ảnh (anh éh/dhnh)—“he,” “him” (informal),

Chi 4y/Chi (chee éh/chée)—‘she,” “her” (informal)

No (ndo)—“him” or “her” is casual, but in many cases seen

as a pejorative—handle with care It can, however, be used

barge

freely as “it” to refer to inanimate objects

WE

Chúng tôi (chóong toh-ee}—”we,” “us” are used when the

speaker is excluding (in the action/event) those being

addressed,

Chúng ta (chéong tah)—‘we,” “us” are used when the

speaker is including (in the action/event) those being

addressed

YOU, THEY

Place cac (cdhc) before any of “you,” “he,” and “she” forms

TONES

In standard Southern Vietnamese there are five tones, in

Northern Vietnamese six The tones are musical pitches with

which words are pronounced A word can be repeated with

any one of five tones to indicate five different meanings:

Introduction 9

Ca—-said with a high-rising tone, means “fish.”

Ca—said with a flat, mid-level tone, means “sing.”

Ca—said with a low-falling tone, means “eggplant.”

Cd—said with a mid-rising tone, means “all.”

Ca—said with a low-rising tone, means “whole.”

The tones are marked by accents on vowels:

é—the high-rising tone Begin pronouncing the vowel at a fair-

ly high pitch, and then raise the pitch sharply

a—the mid-level tone This has no tone mark Pronounce the

vowel flatly

d—the low-broken tone Begin pronouncing the vowel at a fairly low pitch, and then lower the pitch further before stopping abruptly

@—the low-falling tone Begin pronouncing the vowel at a fair-

ly low pitch, and then let the pitch fall even lower

a—the low-rising tone Begin pronouncing the vowel at a fair-

ly low pitch, and then lower the pitch even further before

raising it sharply

ã—the high-broken tone Begin pronouncing the vowel at a

fairly high pitch, and then raise the pitch sharply before stop- ping abruptly

a) high-rising tone b) mid-level tone

c) low-broken tone

PY = d) low-falling tone e) low-rising tone f) high-broken tone

10 Making Out in Vietnamese

Getting the tones right can be tough at first but do not be dis-

couraged! You will find that people can easily understand what

you are saying just by the context: If you say ba (daddy) to a

woman, instead of ba (madam), she would know what you

mean The diagram on page 9 will help you visualize the tones

PRONUNCIATION

The Vietnamese alphabet has 29 letters: a, 4, 4, b, c, d, d, e, ê,

gh, i, k, l,m, n, 0, 6,07, p,q, 5, t, u, u,v, x, y

Vietnamese consonants are written as a single letter or a clus-

ter of two or three letters, as follows: b, c, ch, d, đ, g, gh, gi,

h, k, kh, l, m, n, ng, ngh, nh, p, ph, qu, r, s, t, th, tr, v, x

The following are vowels in Vietnamese: a, 4, 4, e, é, i/y, 0, 6,

ơ, u, ư Vowels can be also be grouped together to form a

cluster

The following tables represent vowels and consonants in

Vietnamese with the English phonetic equivalent

dog good

Zoo hate loch lock meet nip

finger banyan phony

Chdo (like the Italian Ciao!) is the most common Vietnamese

greeting and can be used both to say hello or good-bye In a

more formal greeting, you should use one of the following forms

of address:

Chào 6ng (chéw ohng)—for men older than oneself, middle

age and up

Chao ba (chow bah)—for older women

Chao cé (chow coh)—for younger women

Chao anh (chéw ahnh)—for younger men

Chao em (chéw em)—to a younger person

Traditionally the Vietnamese people do not use different greetings for different parts of the day But with the arrival of English speakers, you may occasionally hear the following

Chòw boo-oh-ee chee-èh-oo Good afternoon

Good evening Chào buổi tôi

Chòw boo-oh-ee tóh-ee How do you do, Hân hạnh gặp ông/bà

Sir/Madam, how are you? Ông/Bà có khỏe không?

Ohng/Bah kaw kaw-eh kohng? Tél khỏe, cám ơn

Tohl kdw-eh, káhm uhn

I'm fine, thank you

CASUAL GREETINGS

Có chuyện gì mới không?

Kaw choo-ee-ehn 2 múh-ee

Anything new?

kohng?

Kohng

Kohng kaw choo-ee-ehn 2 múh-ee

14 Making Out in Vietnamese

Kahm uhn!

Bấy lâu nay mày ở dâu?

Béh loh neh mèh uh doh?

Oo, loh lam róh-ee!

Peter/Mary sao roi?

Tao đi chơi thôi

Tow dee chuh-ee toh-ee

The way Vietnamese people respond to Yes/No questions is not exactly the same as in English You can get one-word

replies to a Yes/No question in a similar fashion to English: Yes Vang

Vung

U (can be seen as brusque)

Uh

Da (polite) Zah

Không

Khohng

Dạ không (polite) Zah kohng

In addition, the Vietnamese often answer Yes/No questions by bouncing off the key word contained in the question

16 Making Out in Vietnamese

Do you like this film?

(key word: like)

Thường

Tuh-ùhng

Không thường

Kohng tuh-ùhng

Another thing to watch out for is that in Vietnamese negative

questions are answered differently In English, if you answer

“No” to the question “Don’t you like Saigon?” it means you

do not like the place In Vietnamese, however, if you reply

“Yes" to that question it means you do not like the place

Don’t you like Saigon? May khéng thich Sai Gon a?

Meéh kohng téech Shai Gawn ah?

—No (I don’t like Saigon.) Vâng (Tao không thích

—Yes (I do like Saigon.)

Saigon.) Vung (Tow kohng téech Shài-gàwn.)

Không (Tao thích Sàigòn.) Kohng (Tow téech Shài-gàwn.)

Tow kõong nghẽe vẹh

Thế cũng dược, được rồi

Téh köong duh-uhk, duh-uhk ròh-ee

18 Making Out in Vietnamese What’s Up? 19

This is a common phrase in Vietnamese! Sometimes it just means “lam

listening to you" and sometimes it is used to ask for clarification Non-

verbal cues will tell you!

Yeah, I know (groan)

I don’t think so

I'm not sure

Không c6 van dé

Kohng káw vún đè

Thiệt không? Thật không?

Tee-eht kohng? Tụt kohng?

Vay sao?

Veh show?

Biét rdi ma!

Bee-éht roh-ee mah!

Tao cũng doán vấy

Tow kdong daw-dhn veh

Như vấy là không đúng

Nhuh veh lah kohng déong

Không biết

Kohng bee-éht

Tao không nghĩ vậy

Tow kohng ngẽe vẹh

Tao không chắc

Tow kohng chák

There’s no way of knowing

| can't say for sure

Are you sure?

Tai sao vay?

Tai show veh?

Ý mày muốn nói gì?

20 Making Out in Vietnamese What's Up? 21

You don’t mean it, do you? May ndi dia, phai khdng? That’s wrong! Vậy là không phải

kh-ohng?

There are times when you want to make your point forcefully Here are That’s impossible! Không thê được

some words and phrases that will help you make a bigger impact Kohng téh duh-uhk

Exercise caution when using the negative ones!

Definitely! Chắc chan la thé (I've had enough!) Koo-ehn deei Bảw koo-ah

ny-ee-ehn

No way!/Stop joking! Không được dâu

(a strong refusal) Đừng có giỡn mặt

Kohng duh-uhk doh

Duhng kaw ziihn mat

Bây giờ được không?

Beh z-úh duh-uhk kohng?

Khi nao may di được?

Kee nòw méh dee duh-uhk?

Are you ready yet?

When will you do it?

How long will it take?

Tuần ti/Tuần sau

Too-ùn túh-ee/Too-ùn show

Mày chuẩn bị chưa?

Mèh choo-tin bee chuh-ah?

Khi nao thi may làm việc đó? Kee naw thée méh lahm vee-ehk daw?

Mất bao lâu?

Mút bow loh?

24 Making Out in Vietnamese

1 don’t know when

I don’t know at what time

Có thể một chút nữa

Kaw théh moht chéot nah-ah

Moét chút nữa

Moht chóot nữh-ah

Chưa phải bây giò: đầu, Chuh-ah fdi beh zith doh

Lan tdi/lan sau

Luin túh-ee/lùn show

Lần vừa qua

Lun vũh-ah koo-ah

Tao không biết khi nào

Tow kohng bee-éht kee nòw

Tao không biết lúc mấy giờ

Tow kohng bee-éht lóok méh zuh

GotaMinuteT 25

I don’t know

I don’t know yet

I’m not sure

What time’s fine for you?

Any time’s fine

You decide when

Right now

Let’s meet then

Let’s get going right now

Tao không biết

Tow kohng bee-éht

Bây giờ tao chưa biết

Beh zùh tow chuh-ah bee-éht

Tao không chắc

Tow kohng chák

May mudén luc nao?

Méh moo-6hn look now? Lúc nào cũng được

Lóok nòw köong duh-uhk

Mày quyết định lúc nao

Mèh kwee-éht dẹeny lóok now

Lién ngay bay gio

Lee-en ngeh beh zd

Chúng ta sẽ gặp sau

Chóong tah shẽ gap sau

Bắt dầu ngay bây giờ Bát dòh ngahy beh zùh

26 Making Out in Vietnamese

Don't worry, I'll do it

Have you done it yet?

I’ve done it

Đi được rồi

Dee duh-uhk ròh-ee

Tao sẽ nhanh lên

Tow shẽ ny-ahnh lehn

Tao sẽ làm việc đó sau

Tow shah lahm vee-ehk daw show

Hiột chút nữa tao sẽ làm

Tao làm xong rồi

Tow làhm song rùh-ee

Look at that there!

Look at this here!

28 Making Out in Vietnamese

Did you see it happen?

Did you see that thing?

Yes, | saw it

No, | didn’t see it

I can’t see it

l want to see it

| don’t want to see it

Did you see Peter?

Yes, | saw him

No, | didn’t see him

Are you gonna meet

Peter?

Mày có thấy cái gì xảy ra không?

Méh kaw théh kdi Z séh rah

kohng? | wanna see you!

Mày có thấy cái dó không?

Mèh káw tá-ee kái dáw kohng?

Có, tao có thấy

Káw, tow káw téh

Không, tao không thấy

Kohng, tow kohng téh

Tao không thê thấy được

Tow kohng téh téh duh-uhk

Tao muốn thấy nó

Tow moo-dhn téh naw

Tao không muốn thấy nó

Tow kohng moo-óhn téhnaw

Mày có thấy Peter không?

Đúng, tao sẽ di gặp nó

Déong, tow shé dee zap naw

Tao muốn gặp may!

Tow moo-óhn zạp méh!

Coming and Going 3Ï

Coming |

=

Come here

Come!

Can you come?

Don’t come here

Come with me

Let’s go together

I'll come

Pil come right away

I'll come later

He/She’s coming here

Đi vối tao

Dee vúh-ee tow

Đi chung vối nhau di

Dee choong vúh-ee ny-ow dee

| really wanna go!

I don’t wanna go

I really don't wanna go!

Đến dó di!

Déhn daw dee!

Được rồi, tạo di

Duh-uhk ròh-ee, tow dee

Tao không thể di được Tow kohng thẻh dee duh-uhk

Tao muốn di, Tow moo-óhn dee

Tao muốn đi đến Hà Nội

Tow moo-dhn dee déhn Hah Noh-ee

Chúng ta đi Hà Nội di Choong tah dee Hah Noh-ee dee

Tao rất muốn di đến do!

Tow rút moo-óhn dee đdéhn do!

Tao không muốn di

Tow kohng moo-óhn dee

Tao thật sự không muốn di Tow tut suh kohng moo-óhn dee

32 Making Out in Vietnamese

You're going there, right?

You went there, right?

Mày di đến đó phải không?

Mèh dee déhn daw fai kohng?

Mày đến đó rồi phải không?

/Mèh dee dáw ròh-ee fdi kohng?

Tao đi nè

Tow dee né

Tao không có di

Tow kohng kaw dee,

Tao có đi rồi

Tow káw dee ròh-ee

Tao không có đi

Tow kohng kaw dee

Đừng có đi!

Dùhng káw dee!

Khoan di da!

Kaw-ahn dee dah!

Tao phai di

Tow fai dee

Tao phai di ngay

Tow fai dee ngeh

May I go?

Shall we go?

He/She has left

They have left

Stay here!

Let’s go!

Let’s get outta here!

Coming and Going 33

Tao đì được không?

Tow dee duh-uhk kohng? Chúng ta nên đi chưa? Choong tah nehn dee chuh-ah?

Nó đi rỗi

Náw dee ròh-ee

Chúng nó đi rồi

Chóong náw dee ròh-ee

Ở lại đây đi!

Uh lai deh dee!

Đi đi!

Dee deel Chung ta di di!

Chéong tah dee dee!

You wanna eat?

| don’t wanna eat

I'm not very hungry

Tao đói bụng rồi!

Tow dáw-ee bọong ròh-ee!

Tao muốn ăn

Tow moo-óhn an

Mày muốn ăn không?

Mèh moo-óhn an kohng?

Tao không muốn ăn ' Tow kohng moo-6hn an

Tao không đói lắm

Have you eaten?

What you wanna eat?

You know how to use

chopsticks?

You wanna eat more?

I’m thirsty

| wanna drink something

What you wanna drink?

May an chufa?

Méh an chuh-ah?

Mày muốn ăn cái gì?

Mèh moo-óhn an kái ?? Mày cầm đũa dược không?

Tao khát nước, Tow kaht nuh-uhk

Tao muốn uống một chút

36 Making Out in Vietnamese

Tao muốn uống bia

Tow moo-dhn oo-dhng bée-ah

Tao muốn một chai bia

ba số ba

Tow moo-óhn mọht chai bee-ah bah sóh bah, Được mài

Ruh-uh-oo vahng daw

38 Making Out in Vietnamese

These are traditional medicinal liquors made wrth lizards, snakes, and

animal parts soak 1 them Some dnnk these potions as traditional

medicines, others as after-dinner digestives

Ugh! This tastes weird! Troi oi! Vi nay ky qua!

Trùh-ee uh-ee! Vẹe nèh kèe kwa!

I think something’s wrong Tao nghĩ thứ này bị hư rồi

huh ròh-ee

Thối quá di thôi!

Tóh-ee kwá dee toh-ee!

It smells really bad!

Hey! Try this! Ê! Thử cái nay di!

Eh! Tủh kái nèh dee!

Ê, Cái, này ngon thiệt!

Eh, Kái, nèh ngawn tee-ehtl

Hey, that looks tasty!

Gimme some of that food Cho tao ăn với

Chaw tow an vúh-ee

Eat, Drink, Be Merry! 39

Yeah, that’s enough

What’s this called?

Is this spicy?

It’s not spicy—don’t worry!

Are those chopsticks?

How do you hold them?

Gimme a fork!

Ha, di rdi

Heh, doo rdh-ee

Kái này gọi là cái gì!

Kái nàh-èh gw-ee làh kái 2? Cái này cay không?

Kói nèh keh kohng?

Không cay đâu——-dừng có loi Kohng keh doh—duhng kaw

law!

Cái này là đũa, phải không?

Kái nèh là déo-ah, fai

không?

Cầm đữa ra làm sao?

Kam déo-ah rah lahm show?

Cho tao cay nia di!

Chaw tow keh nee-ah dee!

40 Making Out in Vietnamese

Try some sautéed

caterpillars.* Tủh kawn shoh lan bọht`

nèh dee

*Caterpillars doused in flour and sautéed in lard

You should try some

curried cat meat

May nén thử món thịt mèo

xào cà-r!

Mèh nehn tủh máwn tẹet

mèo sòw kàh-ree

No thanks, I'm vegetarian Cam on, tao 4n chay

Káhm uhn, tow an cheh

Thử con sâu lăn bột này đi

| Like It

I like this

| don’t like this

| really like this

1 want [noun]

I don’t want [noun]

1 don’t need it

No, thanks

SoA

Tao thich cai nay

Tow téech kdi néh

Tao không thích cai nay Tow kohng téech kái nèh

Tao rất là thích cái này

Tow rút làh téech kái nèh

Tao mudn [noun]

Tow moo-6hn [noun] Tao không muốn [noun] Tow kohng moo-óhn [noun]

42 Making Out in Vietnamese

Tao muốn mua

Tow moo-6hn moo-u

Tao buồn ngư quá

Tow boo-dhn ngoo kwa

Tao chan qua

Tow chdhn kwa

Tao sé khùng mất

Tow shé kòong mút

Tao say rồi

Tow seh ròh-ee

Mày làm dược không?

Mèh làhm duh-úhk kohng?

Xin lỗi, tao không lâm dược

Seen lãwh-ee, tow kohng

lahm duh-uhk

Tao phải làm cho bằng dược Tow fai lahm chaw bang

duh-uhk

44 Making Out in Vietnamese

Tao hiểu

Tow hee-eh-oo

Tao hiểu rất rõ

Tow hee-eh-oo rit raw

Tao nghi la tao hiểu

Tow ngee làh tow hee-eh-oo

Tao không hiểu

Tow kohng hee-éh-oo

Tao không hiểu rõ cho lắm Tow kohng hee-éh-oo rdw

chaw láhm

Tao hoàn toàn không hiểu

Tow haw-àhn taw-àhn kohng hee-€h-oo -

Tao biết người đó

Tow bee-éht nguh-tih daw