Hello lovely student! I think as a tourist, one of the best feelings is when you land in a place and connect immediately with the locals. And it doesn’t need to be something huge, a little gesture like saying their language while ordering your coffee or greeting someone – it sure makes Vietnamese people open up a lot!
And to help you with that, I’ve prepared the 50 basic Vietnamese sentences for travel. With each sentence, you can feel more comfortable getting around – whether you’re ordering a coffee or simply saying hello.
But before we start, I want you to watch the first video lesson. Here I’ll show you how to use these basic Vietnamese sentences and how to practice them so they feel more natural:
Table of contents
- 01 —Opening
- 02 —Asking for help
- 03 —Buying & ordering
- 04 —Handling problems
- 05 —Movement & logistics
- 06 —Food survival
- 07 —Social closing & exit
Opening
Goal: Start speaking Vietnamese.
Greeting people
Being polite
Getting someone’s attention
Social conversation
Sentence Loop #1
Conversation #1
Asking for Help
Goal: Order what you want, understand the price, and pay without confusion.
Asking basic questions
Finding places
Checking a situation
Sentence Loop #2
Conversation #2
Conversation #3
Buying & Ordering
Goal: Order food, talk about prices, and pay confidently.
Ordering
Talking about price
Paying
Sentence Loop #3
Conversation #4
Conversation #5
Handling Problems
Goal: Stay calm and get help when you don’t understand or get lost.
When you don’t understand
Asking for help
Clarifying
Sentence Loop #4
Conversation #6
Movement & Logistics
Goal: Talk about location, timing, and meeting people without confusion.
Movement
Timing
Sentence Loop #5
Conversation #7
Food Survival
Goal: Order food exactly how you want it and avoid mistakes.
Ordering & preferences
Sentence Loop #6
Conversation #8
Social Closing & Exit
Goal: End conversations naturally.
Ending a conversation
Quick responses
Sentence Loop #7
Conversation #9
YOUR 3-MINUTE CONVERSATION
Now let’s see what you can actually do.
Using only the phrases in this guide, try to:
- Greet someone and start a conversation
- Say something simple about yourself
- Ask them a question
- Order a cup of coffee
If you can do that – You’ve just had your first real conversation in Vietnamese.
And that’s exactly the goal.
What’s next?
If you want to feel more confident pronouncing each Vietnamese word, make sure to check out my pronunciation course:
Say It So People Understand You.
This is the key when you want to avoid awkward situations like repeating yourself or receiving a confused stare from locals.
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