South-Eastern Asia
Video Chat with People from Vietnam
From Hanoi's Old Quarter to the motorbike rush of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is long and narrow, and the differences between north, center and south make great conversation. Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An, Hai Phong and Can Tho each have their own accent and specialties. The whole country is on Indochina Time (UTC+7), shared with Thailand, so 9 PM in Vietnam is afternoon in Europe and morning in New York.
Vietnamese is tonal and written in the Latin alphabet with accent marks, which makes words easier to look up than you might expect. English is common among people who work in tourism, tech and international business, and plenty of people enjoy a chance to practice it. Good topics: phở (northern and southern styles differ), bánh mì, bún chả, café culture, football fever when the national team plays, V-pop, Tết (Lunar New Year), and trips to Ha Long Bay, the Ha Giang loop or the Mekong Delta. Our Vietnamese phrase guide helps with tones.
Vietnam at a glance
| Flag | 🇻🇳 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
| Capital | Hanoi |
| Region | Asia · South-Eastern Asia |
| Official language | Vietnamese |
| Currency | Vietnamese đồng (₫, VND) |
| Calling code | +84 |
| Time zone | Indochina Time (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh) |
How to say hello
A few words of Vietnamese make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Xin chào! | sin chow | Hello! |
| Vietnamese | Chào bạn! | chow bahn | Hi! (friendly, to someone around your age) |
| Vietnamese | Bạn khỏe không? | bahn kweh khohng | How are you? |
| Vietnamese | Rất vui được gặp bạn | zuht vooy duhk gup bahn | Nice to meet you |
Tips for chatting with people from Vietnam
- Vietnamese uses relationship words instead of one neutral 'you'. 'Bạn' (friend) is the safe choice with someone around your own age.
- Ask whether they're from the north, center or south; accents, food and even the way phở is served change along the way.
- Typing Vietnamese without accent marks is common in casual messages, so don't worry if your keyboard can't add them.
- Coffee is a great opener: ask how they take theirs, whether iced with condensed milk or Hanoi-style egg coffee.
Only meet people from Vietnam
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Vietnam, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Vietnam and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Vietnam, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Vietnam are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Vietnam borders 3 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: