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 |
The phrase is used to affirm romantic feelings. Unlike English, which uses the generic "I" and "you", Vietnamese requires the speaker to choose pronouns that specify their relationship to the listener.
What does it mean word for word?
The core of these phrases is the word yêu, which means "to love" in the context of affection or romance.
Which one should you use?
The different forms are chosen based on the gender and relative perceived age of the people speaking. While anh yêu em is a standard romantic expression, em yêu anh is its counterpart. tớ yêu cậu is a version, and mình yêu bạn is used in an impersonal way. For a humorous effect, you can use the slang ngộ ái nị.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ngộ ái nị is a humorous slang term.
How does it change in a sentence?
In romantic contexts, the pronouns used for "I" and "you" change based on gender and relative perceived age. For example, in the phrase anh yêu em, the pronouns anh and em literally mean "older brother" and "younger sibling" respectively.
Did you know?
- While romantic, the pronoun tớ used in 'i love you' among friends originally meant 'servant'.
Examples in context
- Anh yêu em rất nhiều.I love you very much.This sentence uses anh yêu em to express a high degree of affection.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 shows a person being unable to say em yêu anh due to shyness.Tatoeba #4274425 by phuc, translation #3384262 by petersmr
- Em yêu anh!I love you.This sentence provides a simple example of using em yêu anh.Tatoeba #405410 by sysko, translation #1434 by awael58
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Minh and Lan are walking in a park at sunset.
- MinhAnh yêu em.I love you.
- LanEm cũng yêu anh.I love you too.
- MinhAnh sẽ luôn ở bên em.I will always be by your side.
- LanEm biết mà.I know.
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.
