Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA |
|---|---|
| thân mến | [tʰən˧˧ men˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tʰəŋ˧˧ men˦˧˥] (Huế, narrow) |
| thân ái | [tʰən˧˧ ʔaːj˧˦] (Hà Nội, narrow) [tʰəŋ˧˧ ʔaːj˨˩˦] (Huế, narrow) |
The phrase is used to describe someone who is loved or lovable. It is most commonly used as a salutation or a closing in letters and emails addressed to people with whom you have an established, friendly relationship.
What does it mean word for word?
The term thân mến is composed of two parts: thân, which literally refers to the body or a sense of closeness and intimacy and mến, which means to like or feel affection for someone.
Which one should you use?
While both terms mean dear or affectionate, thân ái is more formal than thân mến and is typically used in official correspondence or written messages sent from an organization to its members.
When do people say it?
For informal and friendly interactions, you can use Em to express affection towards someone younger or of the same age or Bạn to address a peer or someone of the same age in a friendly way regardless of gender.
Did you know?
- While thân mến is used in letters, Vietnamese speakers rarely use it in spoken conversation. They instead use kinship terms like em or anh to convey the same feeling of 'dear'.
- In very formal political or diplomatic contexts, thân ái is often used as a closing signature to signal solidarity and companionship among comrades.
- The word ái in thân ái is a Sino-Vietnamese derivative of the Chinese character for 'love'. It appears in many formal Vietnamese terms related to affection and care.
Examples in context
- Em ơiHey, dear
- Gửi người bạn thân mến của tôi,To my dear friend,
Example conversation
Mai is writing a letter to Minh.
- MaiMinh thân mến, cậu khỏe không?Dear Minh, how are you?
- MinhTớ khỏe, cảm ơn Mai.I am well, thank you Mai.
- MaiTớ rất nhớ cậu.I miss you very much.
- MinhTớ cũng nhớ cậu nhiều.I miss you a lot too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dear” translations and entries thân mến, thân ái, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries thân, thân mến, thân ái, ái, CC BY-SA 4.0.
