Ways to say it
| Vietnamese | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| anh yêu em | [ʔajŋ̟˧˧ ʔiəw˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɛɲ˧˧ ʔiw˧˧ ʔɛm˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
|
| e.g. | ||
| em yêu anh | [ʔɛm˧˧ ʔiəw˧˧ ʔajŋ̟˧˧] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ʔɛm˧˧ ʔiw˧˧ ʔɛɲ˧˧] (Huế, narrow) |
|
| tớ yêu cậu | [təː˧˦ ʔiəw˧˧ kəw˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) | |
| mình yêu bạn | [mïŋ˨˩ ʔiəw˧˧ ʔɓaːn˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, word by word, narrow) | impersonal |
| ngộ ái nị | [ŋo˧˨ʔ ʔaːj˧˦ ni˧˨ʔ] (Hà Nội, narrow) [ŋow˨˩ʔ ʔaːj˨˩˦ nɪj˨˩ʔ] (Huế, narrow) |
humorous, slang |
These phrases are used to affirm romantic feelings. The specific words used for "I" and "you" change depending on the gender and relative age of the speakers, or whether the expression is meant to be playful, neutral or slang.
Which one should you use?
The romantic forms are gender-specific based on the direction of the pronouns: anh yêu em is used when a man says "I love you" to a woman, while em yêu anh is used when a woman says "I love you" to a man. For a non-romantic or general sense of love, such as in songs or literature, the impersonal phrase mình yêu bạn is used. For a humorous or playful effect, the slang ngộ ái nị can be used.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase ngộ ái nị is considered slang and is used in humorous or playful contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the romantic context of anh yêu em and em yêu anh, the pronouns anh (older brother) and em (younger sibling) function as "I" and "you" according to a gendered age hierarchy. In the impersonal phrase mình yêu bạn, neutral pronouns are used to express a more general sense of love.
Did you know?
- In the past, some Vietnamese couples with children would refer to each other as thầy em and đẻ em, meaning 'father of the little one' and 'mother of the little one'.
- The word for 'I' in the phrase tớ yêu cậu originally meant 'servant'.
Examples in context
- Anh yêu em rất nhiều.I love you very much.This sentence shows how to express the intensity of the phrase anh yêu em.Tatoeba #8999759 by dotheduyet1999, translation #400410 by sysko
- Cô ấy ngại ngùng nên không thể nói "Em yêu anh".She is shy so she cannot say "I love you".This sentence illustrates a situation where someone is too shy to use the phrase em yêu anh.Tatoeba #4274425 by phuc, translation #3384262 by petersmr
- Em yêu anh!I love you.This is a direct example of using the phrase em yêu anh.Tatoeba #405410 by sysko, translation #1434 by awael58
- Anh yêu em mãi mãi.I will love you forever.
- Tôi yêu mến gia đình của bạn.I love and cherish your family.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is having a romantic dinner by the beach.
- HùngAnh yêu em.I love you.
- HươngEm cũng yêu anh.I love you too.
- HùngHôm nay em rất đẹp.You look beautiful today.
- HươngCảm ơn anh, Hùng.Thank you, Hung.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “I love you” translations and entries anh yêu em, em yêu anh, ngộ ái nị, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (tớ, yêu, cậu, mình, bạn) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries anh, cậu, em, tớ, yêu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
