How to Say “Do You Speak English?” in Vietnamese

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Bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
[ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ kɔ˧˦ nɔj˧˦ tiəŋ˧˦ ʔajŋ̟˧˧ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]word by word
To ask "do you speak English?" in Vietnamese, use Bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
This phrase is a question used to ask if someone is able to communicate in the English language.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is built from Bạn (you), the có… không structure (which functions as "do/does…?"), nói (speak) and tiếng Anh (English language).

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

To make the question more polite and natural when addressing strangers, you can replace Bạn with Anh if you are addressing a male or Chị if you are addressing a female.

How does it change in a sentence?

The structure có [verb] không? is the standard way to form a yes/no question in Vietnamese. In this phrase, không means "no" or "not" and serves as a question tag. Additionally, tiếng Anh translates to "English."

What mistakes should you avoid?

While omitting the có is common in casual speech, you should include the full có… không structure to ensure you are using a grammatically complete question form.

Did you know?

  • If you use Anh to address a man in this question, you are technically calling him 'elder brother'.
  • The word không used to mean 'empty' or 'nothing' before it became the standard way to say 'not' in Vietnamese.

Examples in context

  • Xin lỗi, bạn có nói tiếng Anh được không? Tôi cần thông tin về tour này.
    Excuse me, do you speak English? I need information about this tour.
  • Cho tôi hỏi, bạn có nói tiếng Anh không? Tên tôi là John và tôi mới đến từ Mỹ.
    Let me ask, do you speak English? My name is John, and I'm new here from the United States.
  • Xin lỗi, bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
    Excuse me, do you speak English?
  • Tôi muốn hỏi, bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
    I want to ask, do you speak English?

Example conversation

Tuấn meets Hương for the first time at a cafe.

  1. Tuấn

    Chào Hương, bạn có nói tiếng Anh không?
    Hi Hương, do you speak English?
  2. Hương

    Có, mình nói được một chút.
    Yes, I can speak a little.
  3. Tuấn

    Vậy thì tốt quá.
    That is great then.
  4. Hương

    Chúng ta hãy cùng luyện tập nhé.
    Let's practice together.

Sources

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Ryan Richard
Ryan RichardHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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