LinguaBeyond anh and chị
anh and chị work for people close to your own age – a few years, not a generation. For someone your parents' age, or your grandparents' age, Vietnamese reaches further into the family tree: cô, chú, bác, ông, bà.
| Word | Family meaning | Whom you address with it |
|---|---|---|
| cô | father's younger sister | a woman about your parents' age; any female teacher |
| thầy | master, teacher | a male teacher, whatever his age |
| chú | father's younger brother | a man about your parents' age |
| bác | a parent's older brother or sister | a man or woman clearly older than your parents |
| ông | grandfather | an old man; also a formal sir |
| bà | grandmother | an old woman; also a formal madam |
| cháu | grandchild, niece, nephew | how the young person calls himself back |
cô and thầy at school
In a Vietnamese classroom the teacher is cô if she is a woman and thầy if he is a man, and the student is em – a forty-year-old evening student included. Here the words are not about age at all: they are about the role.
Em chào cô ạ.Hello. (a student to a female teacher)
The pairing rule again
Every word you have met comes with a partner. Choose the word for the OTHER person and the word for yourself is already decided – you never pick the two independently.
| You call them | They call you | Who these two are |
|---|---|---|
| anh | em | a man a little older and a younger person |
| chị | em | a woman a little older and a younger person |
| cô | em | a female teacher and her student |
| thầy | em | a male teacher and his student |
| chú | cháu | a man your parents' age and a much younger person |
| bác | cháu | someone older than your parents and a much younger person |
| ông | cháu | an old man and a young person |
| bà | cháu | an old woman and a young person |
cháu is the em of the older brackets. With chú, bác, ông and bà you call yourself cháu, not em – it literally means grandchild, niece, nephew, and it is what a young person says to anyone of the parent or grandparent generation.
Cháu chào bác ạ.Hello. (a young person to someone older than their parents)
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| cô | a woman of your parents' generation; a female teacher | Em hỏi cô một câu ạ. May I ask you a question? |
| thầy | a male teacher | Thầy dạy tiếng Việt rất hay. You teach Vietnamese very well. |
| chú | a man of your parents' generation | Chú là bạn của bố cháu. You are a friend of my father. |
| bác | someone older than your parents | Bác đi đâu đấy ạ? Where are you going? |
| ông | grandfather; an old man | Ông ngồi đây ạ. Please sit here. |
| bà | grandmother; an old woman | Bà kể chuyện rất hay. You tell stories beautifully. |
| cháu | I, me (a young person to an older one) | Cháu là học sinh ạ. I am a student. |
| ạ | the politeness particle at the end of a sentence | Vâng, em hiểu rồi ạ. Yes, I understand now. |
| lớn tuổi | advanced in years, elderly | Người lớn tuổi thì gọi là bác. An elderly person is addressed as bác. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 4
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
How does a student address a female teacher?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.