Xin Chào Việt Nam Part 1: Learning Numbers in Vietnamese Language

Hello everyone,

Maybe not many of you know that I used to stay in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for few years and was wondering about how I can adapt myself to live in a country with different language and culture with majority of them are practicing Buddhism. So, I come across with this idea to share about what are the earliest things that I learnt on the first year living in this country. 

So, the very first thing that I learn is NUMBER. Why number is very important? This is because we will use number everyday. You might need to mention your address number to your taxi or xe om driver, paying for your foods and many other daily activities which need you to deal with number.

So, lets start with basic ONE to TEN in English & Vietnamese. 

1 - Một pronounce as Mot

2 - Hai pronounce as Hye

3 - Ba pronounce as Ba

4 - Bốn pronounce as Bun

5 - Năm pronounce as Num

6 - Sáu pronounce as Saw

7 - Bảy Pronounce as Bai

8 - Tám pronounce as Tham

9 - Chín pronounce as Chin

10 - Mười pronounce as Mui

How about bigger numbers? It is very easy. You just need to mix the basic numbering above with below numbering guide. 

100 -  Một trăm pronouce as Mot Charm

1000 - Một nghìn pronounce as Mot Ngin

100, 000 - Một trăm nghìn  pronounce as Mot Charm Ngin

1,000,000 - Một triệu pronounce as Mot Chew

10,000,000 - Mười triệu pronounce as Mui Chew

1,000,000,000 - Một tỷ pronounce as Mot Tea

This is a very fun game actually. Example, if you want to say 2000, you just need to change 1000 - Một nghìn to Hai nghìn. So, you just need to remember the basic formula and you will master the whole numbering system in Vietnamese language. 

2000 - Hai nghìn

3000 - Ba nghìn

Oh ya, how about number ELEVEN to TWENTY? Since Eleven is a combination of TEN + ONE = ELEVEN, you will say it as below:

11 - Mười một

12 - Mười hai

13 - Mười ba .... continuously as the basic numbering guide above.

Let me give you another example. 

20 - Hai mười

21 - Hai mười một

22 - Hai Mười hai 

How about mixed figure such as 125,450?

It is still the same with basic rule as above. You will pronounce it as, Một trăm hai mười năm nghìn, bốn trăm năm mười

I know this is not easy, all you need is practice and more practice. Keep playing with the numbers and you will be an expert.