Xin chào
[sin˧˧ t͡ɕaːw˨˩]
Xin chào is the way to say good afternoon in Vietnamese.
Meaning: greeting said in the afternoon (phrase)
Which one should you use?
In the morning, you say Chào buổi sáng (Good morning) instead of Chào buổi chiều.
Did you know?
- The word chào is a descendant of the Chinese character 朝, which originally meant to attend an emperor's audience.
- Vietnamese uses a complex system of pronouns based on age and gender, meaning the 'you' implied in xin chào changes depending on who is being greeted.
- While xin chào is the textbook phrase, in casual daily life, Vietnamese speakers often omit the xin and simply say chào followed by the person's title.
Example conversation
Minh and Chi meet at a cafe in the afternoon.
- MinhXin chào Chi, bạn khỏe không?Good afternoon Chi, how are you?
- ChiChào Minh, mình khỏe, cảm ơn bạn.Hello Minh, I am well, thank you.
- MinhBạn muốn uống cà phê không?Do you want to drink some coffee?
- ChiĐược chứ, mình thích lắm.Sure, I would love to.
Sources
- Pronunciation from the Wiktionary entry xin chào.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chào, xin, xin chào, CC BY-SA 4.0.
