ベトナム語
betonamugo[be̞to̞na̠mɯ̟ɡo̞]
The Japanese word for the Vietnamese language is ベトナム語 (betonamugo).
ベトナム語 is used specifically when referring to the Vietnamese language. Depending on what you want to express about Vietnam, you might use related forms like ベトナムの for general adjectives, ベトナム人 for people or ベトナム系 to describe someone of Vietnamese ethnicity.
Meaning: language (name)
What does it mean word for word?
The term ベトナム語 is composed of ベトナム, which is the name of the country and the suffix 語 (go), which means language.
Which one should you use?
To distinguish between the language and people or descriptions, you must change the suffix. Use ベトナム語 for the language, but replace the language suffix with 人 to get ベトナム人 (Vietnamese person). If you want to use Vietnamese as a general adjective (for example, to say 'Vietnamese food'), use the particle の to form ベトナムの.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In Japanese, you can turn a country name into a language name by adding the suffix 語 (go) to the end of the country name, as seen in ベトナム語.
How do you pronounce it?
betonamugo
Did you know?
- While ベトナム語 is the modern term, you may find older texts using 安南語 (Annango) to refer to the Vietnamese language. This stems from the historical name for Vietnam, 安南 (Annam), which means 'pacified south'.
- The term ベトナム語 uses the suffix 語, which is a kanji character. This is the same character used in 物語 (monogatari), which means 'story', as both relate to the act of speaking or words.
- If you describe someone as ベトナム系 instead of ベトナム人, you are referring to their ethnic heritage rather than their nationality. This distinguishes a person of Vietnamese descent living elsewhere from a citizen of Vietnam.
Examples in context
- ベトナム語が分かるんですね。いいですね。So you know Vietnamese. Cool!This sentence is useful for acknowledging that someone understands the form ベトナム語.Tatoeba #9101669 by small_snow, translation #10179085 by DJ_Saidez
- 私の友達はベトナム人です。My friend is Vietnamese.
- 彼女はベトナム国籍です。She has Vietnamese nationality.
- 彼はベトナムの人だよ。He is a Vietnamese person.
- 彼女はベトナム系だ。She is of Vietnamese ethnicity.
- ベトナム語を勉強しています。Betonamu-go o benkyou shite imasu.I am studying Vietnamese.
- これはベトナム語で何と言いますか？Kore wa Betonamu-go de nan to iimasu ka?How do you say this in Vietnamese?
Example conversation
陽葵 asks 健太 about his language skills at a cafe.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さんはベトナム語が話せるんですか？Kenta-san wa Betonamu-go ga hanaseru n desu ka?Kenta, can you speak Vietnamese?
- 健太 Kentaはい、少しだけ話せます。Hai, sukoshi dake hanasemasu.Yes, I can speak a little.
- 陽葵 Himariベトナム語はとても難しそうですね。Betonamu-go wa totemo muzukashisou desu ne.Vietnamese looks very difficult.
- 健太 Kentaでも、とても面白い言葉ですよ。Demo, totemo omoshiroi kotoba desu yo.But it is a very interesting language.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “vietnamese” translations and entries ベトナム語, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
