Popular Vietnamese Insults

Insulting someone vocally or physically is not recommended in any culture but people still use swear words in daily conversation, especially when they are angry. There are many Vietnamese insults spoken by many native speakers not only when they are angry but also when they try to release stress or make fun of something.

I don’t encourage you to use the swear words introduced in this post when you talk with your friends but knowing them may help you when someone insults you in Vietnamese. I will also suggest some alternative Vietnamese phrases to use when you are angry.

Alert! The insults listed in the next section may make you feel uncomfortable. Please consider before continue reading!

Common Vietnamese Swear Words

Extremely Insulting Phrases

1. Đụ má, địt mẹ mày: Fuck your mother / Mother fucker

‘Đụ’ is spoken in the Central and the South Vietnamese dialects while ‘địt’ is spoken in the Northern dialect. Both of the words have the same meaning ‘fuck’ in English.

People in the South of Vietnam call their mom ‘má’ while people in the North call ‘mẹ’.

‘Mày’ means ‘you’ and it is used popularly in the North and the South of the country. If you want to say it in the Central accent, use the word ‘mi’ /mee/.

The phrases have similar meanings to ‘mother fucker’, ‘fuck you’ or ‘fuck your mother’.

2. Cặc, buồi: Penis

I don’t know why in almost all languages, people tend to use the name of genitals to swear and consider them as rude or bad. To me, they are just body parts like arms or legs, and they play many important roles in our daily life, don’t they?

Anyway, Vietnamese natives usually say ‘cặc‘ or ‘buồi’ either alone or with other words to swear. The phrases that have the words include but not limited to ‘cái con cặc ấy!’ (a dick) and ‘cái đầu buồi tao!’ (my dick’s head). They can be understood as ‘I will never do what you said’ or ‘what you said never happens’.

3. Lồn, lồn mẹ mày, ăn máu lồn: Vagina, your mom’s vagina, eat vagina’s blood

Female genital is also used to insult people in an extreme way. ‘Lồn’ is an informal name for the vagina. It is widely used nationwide to swear, especially by a number of young people.

People always get annoyed and offended when you say ‘lồn mẹ mày’ or ‘ăn máu lồn’ to them. Of course, we never want someone to mention our parents in a negative way or to ask us to do a disgusting thing. Right?

4. Đĩ, con đĩ, điếm, con điếm: Bitch!

All of the words have the same meaning, ‘a sex worker’. In Vietnamese culture, a sex worker (usually a woman) is not respected and many locals still look down on her. Therefore, people will use the words to call someone they hate or want to look down on.

5. Quần què: A sanitation pad or menstruation pants

‘Quần què’ is in the vocabulary of Southwestern Vietnamese language to call menstruation pants used in the past. They were originally called ‘quần hoè’.

In Vietnam country, they consider women’s periods as dirty or unlucky. ‘Quần què’ (abbreviation: ‘qq’) is used to denigrate the work of someone else or to say that the quality of something is bad.

Milder Swear Words

1. Vãi, vãi lồn, vãi nồi: To spurt, A spurting pussy

‘Vãi’ means ‘to spurt’ or ‘to ejaculate’. The Vietnamese phrases are used to increase the intensity of an adjective (as similar to ‘very’ in English) or are used when the speakers are surprised. For example, ‘đẹp vãi nồi’ means ‘very beautiful’.

2. Đéo: no

‘Đéo’ means ‘no’. It can be used before a verb or used as a single word. For example, ‘tao đéo ăn’ means ‘I won’t eat’.

3. Chó chết: a dead dog

‘Chó chết’ can be used as similar as ‘Damn it’ in English. It can be also used to imply someone, usually a person you hate, for example, ‘thằng chó chết’ (to call a male one).

4. Ngu thế!: You’re so stupid!

‘Ngu’ means ‘stupid’ while ‘thế’ doesn’t really mean anything in this Vietnamese phrase. You can also use ‘ngu’ alone or combine it with a pronoun to call someone such as ‘con ngu’ (to call a female one).

Teasing Banters

1. Dở hơi, điên: crazy

If you want to tease someone and want to say that they’re crazy, you can say ‘dở hơi’ or ‘điên’. It depends on the context and the person you talk with to make them angry or not. Sometimes, they don’t feel hurt when you say the phrases.

2. Chết tiệt: damn it

‘Chết tiệt’ has a similar meaning as ‘chó chết’ but it is less rude. Actors say this Vietnamese phrase sometimes when they have to act like a bad person who wants to swear.

When Do Vietnamese Use Curse Words?

When Vietnamese locals are angry or painful, some of them will use Vietnamese curse words. Somehow, Vietnamese swear words can help release the pain or the angriness.

Some young Vietnamese think that they sound cooler when they add swear phrases into their sentences. However, this is considered rude especially when they talk with elder people or at a public place.

Extremely Vietnamese bad words are spoken to insult as well. Some people will use bad words to describe people whom they hate or feel jealous of.

In any case, I don’t really recommend you to try the Vietnamese insulting vocabulary as they hurt listeners and make you look bad in front of other people. Instead, I encourage you to use the alternative sentences introduced in the next section when you are angry.

Alternative Vietnamese Phrases To Use When You’re Angry

1. Tôi đang bực: I am angry.

2. Tôi không đồng ý với bạn: I don’t agree with you.

3. Không bao giờ: Never!

4. Đủ rồi đó!: That’s enough!

5. Bạn đang không lắng nghe tôi: You are not listening to me.

6. Thôi đi!: Stop!

7. Cái gì?: What?

8. Tôi không hài lòng với bạn: I’m not pleased with you.

9. Tôi không muốn nói chuyện với bạn: I don’t want to talk to you.

10. Hãy để tôi yên!: Leave me alone!

I hope that you can find a suitable Vietnamese expression to use when you are either angry or painful, so you don’t need to use the swear words introduced in this blog post. If you want to learn more Vietnamese phrases and sentences, make sure you check out the Ling app and practice what you learn every day.

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/vi/popular-vietnamese-insults/