How To Say I Love You In Vietnamese Language — Useful Romantic Phrases

Do you want to learn saying I Love You in Vietnamese to your Vietnamese partner or to your friends? Be careful! Because the Vietnamese culture is different from the Western cultures, you may create some misunderstanding if you do not use appropriate phrases. That is why today I’m going to show you how to express your love to different people properly in the Vietnamese culture.

Saying I Love You In Vietnamese To Your Partner

If you have a Vietnamese partner, congratulations! She or he can help you learn the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture frequently. Imagine one day you can impress your Vietnamese lover by saying “I love you” in Vietnamese. I’m sure your partner will feel so touched when you say that. It doesn’t mean she or he cannot feel the love when you say it in English, but people usually feel it more when you speak in their native language.

In this case, “I Love You” in English can be translated into the following Vietnamese phrases:

Say “Anh yêu em” to a woman if you are a man.

Say “Em yêu anh” to a man if you are a woman.

If you have read my article about How to say Hello in Vietnamese, you would have known that we have many pronouns in Vietnamese. “Anh” is just one of the pronouns used for “a man” and “Em” is also just one of the pronouns used for “a woman”. In Vietnamese culture, when in a relationship, a man prefers to be called “Anh” to mean that he can protect his woman.

How To Say I Love You In Vietnamese To Your Family Members?

“Love” is translated as “Yêu” in Vietnamese. So, to say I Love You to your family members, you can combine the word “yêu” with the pronouns to call your mom, dad, brothers, and sisters. For example:

“Con yêu bố” — to say to your dad in Vietnamese Northern accent. You can replace “bố” with “ba” if you want to say it in the Southern accent.

“Con yêu mẹ” — to say to your mom in Vietnamese Northern accent. You can replace “mẹ” with “má” if you want to say it in the Southern accent.

“Em yêu chị” — to say to your older sister.

“Em yêu anh” — to say to your older brother.

“Chị yêu em” — to say to your younger sister or brother, if you are a female.

“Anh yêu em” — to say to your younger sister or brother, if you are a male.

“Con yêu bà” or “Cháu yêu bà” — to say to your grandma.

Do Vietnamese People Say I Love You To Friends?

If you guys are at the same age and you like him or her but both of you are not in a relationship yet, there are many different ways to express your love.

“Tôi yêu bạn” or “Tôi yêu cậu”

“Tớ yêu bạn” or “Tớ yêu cậu”

“Mình yêu bạn” or “Mình yêu cậu”

So you can use “tôi”, “tớ”, or “mình” to call yourself, and use “bạn” or “cậu” to call your ‘friend’.

There is an informal way to say “I love you” to your friend, which is “Tao yêu mày”. You should only say that when both of you are very close.

If you guys are just regular friends and don’t have any romantic feelings towards each other, don’t use the word “yêu”. Instead, use the word “quý”, “mến” or “thích” instead. For instance:

“Tớ quý bạn”

“Tao quý mày”

“Tôi mến bạn”

“Tớ thích cậu”

More Romantic Phrases In Vietnamese To Learn

There are many alternative ways to say sweet things to your loved one. The list of common Vietnamese romantic phrases is listed below:

I like you

Male speaker: Anh thích em.

Female speaker: Em thích anh.

I like you very much

Male speaker: Anh thích em nhiều lắm.

Female speaker: Em thích anh nhiều lắm.

I love you so much or I love you very much

Male speaker: Anh yêu em rất nhiều.

Female speaker: Em yêu anh rất nhiều.

I love you too

Male speaker: Anh cũng yêu em.

Female speaker: Em cũng yêu anh.

I love you more

Male speaker: Anh yêu em nhiều hơn.

Female speaker: Em yêu anh nhiều hơn.

I miss you

Male speaker: Anh nhớ em.

Female speaker: Em nhớ anh.

I have got a crush on you

Male speaker: Anh có tình cảm với em. You can also say “Anh cảm nắng em”.

Female speaker: Em có tình cảm với anh. You can also say “Em cảm nắng anh”.

I’m in love with you

Male speaker: Anh yêu em mất rồi.

Female speaker: Em yêu anh mất rồi.

What To Call Someone You Love In Vietnamese

There are many ways to call someone you love in the Vietnamese language. There is no rule for calling your lover. It is up to you to call him or her in the way both of you like to do. For example:

My dear, Honey, Darling, Sweet Heart

Anh yêu (to call the man) & Em yêu (to call the woman)

Mình — it means that you consider your lover as yourself

Boyfriend & Girlfriend

“Bạn trai” is used to call the boyfriend. “Bạn gái” is used to call the girlfriend.

My Partner, Wife, Husband

If you have got married, you can call your wife or husband “Bạn đời”. This phrase is literally translated as “A lifetime friend”. You can also use the word “Vợ” to call your wife (if any) and “Chồng” to call your husband (if any).

Vietnamese people also call their husband or wife “Nhà”. “Nhà” means “a house” or “home”. So, it sounds sweet when you consider your husband or wife your “home” where you will be back after a long working day.

Friends With Benefits (FWB)

Friends With Benefits (FWB) is still quite new to the Vietnamese culture. You can call your partner “Người tình” or “Tình nhân” which sound like you just need that person to have some memorable nights rather than a formal relationship.

A Person Who Is In A Love Affair

A love affair is called “Ngoại tình” or “Bồ bịch” in Vietnamese. If a man has a love affair, people will say “Anh đó ngoại tình” or “Anh đó cặp bồ” (That man has a love affair). The woman who is in love with the man but is not his wife will be called “Bồ“. Kindly note that “Bồ” also means a friend in the Southern Vietnamese dialect.

Express Your Love In The Vietnamese Culture

Depending on where you stay in Vietnam, people have different ways to express their feelings to their lovers. For example, it seems to be more open in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City than in smaller cities or rural areas. General speaking, Vietnamese people don’t often express their love so much in public.

In a typical Vietnamese family, people don’t say “I love you” regularly. Instead, they will show that they care about their family members by questioning or giving advice, or buying gifts.

If you have a Vietnamese boyfriend or girlfriend, don’t say “I love you” to your regular friends in daily conversations. Your lover might think that you really “love” your friend because “love” means “yêu” in Vietnamese, and “yêu” is a serious phrase to express their love.

If you want to learn more about romantic Vietnamese phrases similar to “I love you” in Vietnamese or phrases for a date, check out the Ling App and learn from Vietnamese native speakers.

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/vi/i-love-you-in-vietnamese/