Must-learn list for foreigners
As for foreign visitors to Vietnam, a few key phrases in Vietnamese should be on your "must-learn" list with which you will find it very useful to get on well with the locals.
Speaking Vietnamese
Even if your pronunciation isn’t good, speaking Vietnamese words and phrases will always be appreciated, says Basavaraj Biradar, a scholar from India who is in Vietnam doing research for his doctoral thesis.
Biradar says he is very impressed by the Vietnamese language, which he previously thought was written in Chinese style characters. “It’s totally different from what I imagined before coming to Vietnam. The Vietnamese language is amazing, and Vietnamese people speak like they are singing a folksong,” he says.
The Indian visitor confides, “I started to learn just a few very simple Vietnamese words, and I found it worth a try.”
Sarah Smith, a tourist from Scotland, says, “It’s very convenient for me to say something in Vietnamese as a gesture of friendship.”
They are some Vietnamese words she finds it easy to say like Xin chao (Hello), Tam biet (Goodbye), Cam on (Thank you), Xin loi (Sorry), Co, dung roi (Yes), Khong (No), and Bao nhieu tien? (How much?).
With a smile, she says goodbye to me, “Hen gap lai!” (See you again!), then asks a street vender selling pineapples “Bao nhieu tien?”, eliciting a friendly response from the seller, her eyes alight with amazement.
Foreigners in Hanoi’s Old Quarter
Making a good bargain
Michael, a visitor from the US, says many travellers are afraid of being cheated when buying things in Vietnam, especially in the free market or at an outdoor shop on the pavement.
“I’ve learned a few things from shopping in Vietnam; you must always ask the price first as it’s not the same to different customers,” he says.
Michael recalls his experience of drinking beer with Vietnamese friends at a street corner. “The price we paid for a glass of beer is a lot different from what the guys next to me paid. I was shocked at first, and then I got used to it and now I can find my way around shopping in Vietnam,” he confides.
“The best policy is, you ask the price first and then make a hard bargain,” he adds.
Once I was surprised to see a foreign tourist buying things at a silk shop in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The unknown woman, perhaps from Japan or the Republic of Korea, asked the shopkeeper about the price in Vietnamese “Bao nhieu tien?” (How much?), then said “Dat qua!” (So expensive!), and tried to bargain for a lower price. She finally bought it at a reasonable price, and went away with a happy smile.
Of course, it will take time to learn the real prices of things, but bargaining is a “must” when goods have no price tags.
In Vietnam, tourists should not hesitate to ask any questions, when need be, even in Vietnamese as locals are very friendly and hospitable.