Vietnamese→English

Translate Vietnamese to English the way locals mean it.

Vietnamese speakers use kinship pronouns, particles, and understatement to signal closeness, politeness, hesitation, or irritation that a textbook translation can miss.

Going the other way? English to Vietnamese

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Vietnamese varieties

What locals actually say

Ừ, để em xem đã nhé.

Okay, let me look into it first.

Để em xem đã keeps the speaker from making a firm commitment, while nhé softens the postponement; em also presents the speaker as younger or lower-status than the listener.

Anh cứ bình tĩnh, có gì đâu mà căng.

Relax, it’s not that serious.

Có gì đâu mà căng minimizes the problem, and căng means tense or over-the-top here, not physically stretched.

Chị đến đâu rồi ạ?

Where are you now?

Đến đâu rồi asks about someone’s current location or progress, not only whether they have arrived somewhere; ạ adds respectful politeness toward chị.

Cho em xin số tài khoản để em bắn tiền nhé.

Send me your account number and I’ll transfer the money.

“Bắn tiền” is colloquial Vietnamese for transferring money, making the request sound casual and familiar.

Bạn đi thẳng qua ngã tư rồi rẽ phải, hàng thứ hai bên tay trái.

Go straight past the crossroads, turn right, and it’s the second shop on the left.

The sequence “đi thẳng... rồi rẽ...” is a common Vietnamese way to give step-by-step directions, while “bên tay trái” makes the landmark easy to follow.

Phở này phải cho thêm tí chanh mới dậy mùi.

This pho needs a squeeze of lime to bring out the flavour.

“Tí” is a colloquial diminutive meaning “a little,” and “dậy mùi” means that an ingredient brings out the dish’s aroma and flavour.

U bảo con tối nay về ăn cơm nhé, đừng la cà nữa.

Mum says to come home for dinner tonight and stop hanging around.

“U” is a Northern Vietnamese term for mother, especially familiar in Hanoi and surrounding areas; “con” marks the parent-to-child relationship.

Việc này để anh xử lý cho, em cứ gửi nốt phần còn lại nhé.

I’ll take care of this, so just send over the rest.

“Để anh... cho” presents the older male speaker as taking responsibility for the younger colleague, while “nốt” means the remaining part.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Vietnamese differs

Vietnamese. Choose kinship pronouns (anh/chị/em/bạn) matching the relationship implied by tone; Hanoi standard vocabulary by default; nhé/ạ particles by politeness level.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

Choosing Spanish (Peru) from 471 local variants

Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way