easy1000words / Vietnamese guides / Slang, texting and swear words
Vietnamese swear words, explained
The Vietnamese swear words you'll hear, from trời ơi to the đ-words: what each literally means, how strong it is from 1 to 3, and how people text them.
- 39 phrases to hear
- 6 min read
- Updated November 1, 2026
Strong language. This guide explains swear words and insults so you understand what you hear.
- chửi thềto swear, to curse
- ối giời ơioh my god! (Northern)
- chết chaoh crap!
Spend a week in Vietnam and you'll hear plenty of swearing: from the rider next to you at a red light, from the football crowd at the corner café, from teenagers on TikTok. This guide explains what those words literally mean and how strong each one is, so you understand what you're hearing.
Every word gets a strength from 1 to 3. 1 is mild, roughly damn: fine between friends. 2 is rude: normal among mates, offensive in front of elders or strangers. 3 is very offensive: the f-word and worse, and aimed at someone, it starts fights.
Honest advice: learn to recognise these, not to use them. A foreigner swearing in Vietnamese gets a laugh from close friends and a very different reaction from everyone else.
How Vietnamese swearing works
To swear is chửi thề or nói tục; chửi on its own means to scold or curse someone out. Most Vietnamese swearing draws on three things: sex (địt, đụ), crude words for genitals (lồn, cặc) and family.
Family is the big one. Parents and ancestors matter a great deal in Vietnam, so cursing someone's mother, father or forebears is the classic way to make it personal. That's why mẹ (mother) and má (mum, Southern) turn up in so many of the words below.
Region matters too. Northerners say địt where Southerners say đụ, and many swears come in a Hanoi and a Saigon version. For more on the divide, see Northern vs Southern Vietnamese.
- chửi thềto swear, to curseAlso nói tục or chửi bậy. Anh ấy hay chửi thề = he swears a lot.
Practise it in the app, free
Mild exclamations (strength 1)
These are the ones you can say almost anywhere. They're more oh no or dammit than real swearing, and you'll hear most of them from every age group. If you want to vent in Vietnamese, this is the safe shelf.
Trời ơi is the one to learn first: it covers traffic, prices, heat and bad news, and nobody will raise an eyebrow.
- trời ơioh my god!Literally 'oh heaven'. Fine with anyone, anywhere.
- ối giời ơioh my god! (Northern)The dramatic Hanoi version of trời ơi.
- má ơijeez! (literally 'oh mum')Southern. Northerners say mẹ ơi.
- chết chaoh crap!Mostly Southern. Chết = dead, cha = father, but nobody hears it literally.
- khỉ giódammit, dratLiterally 'monkey wind'. Mild and a bit old-fashioned.
- chết tiệtdamn, damnedThe 'damn' of dubbed films, mostly about things: cái máy chết tiệt.
- vãi chưởngholy cow!A cleaned-up vãi, safe in front of most people.
Rude but everyday (strength 2)
This is the swearing of friends, students and workmates. Among people your age it's normal. In front of parents, teachers or customers it sounds coarse.
Several of these are softened versions of strength 3 words, which is why they sit a notch lower. Đù is a blunted đụ, and vãi is cut down from much cruder phrases.
- vãiholy shit; damn (as in 'damn good')Huge with young people: đẹp vãi = damn gorgeous. Online: vl.
- đùshit, damnSouthern, a softened đụ. Á đù! = Whoa, shit!
- bỏ mẹoh shit (Northern)Uses mẹ (mother). Fine among friends, rude in front of elders.
- chết mẹoh shit (Southern)The Southern counterpart of bỏ mẹ.
- mẹ kiếpdamn it, fuckMostly Northern, muttered when things go wrong. Kiếp = a lifetime.
- đù máfucking hellSouthern, a slightly softened đụ má. Also đậu má.
The đ-words (strength 3)
These are the words a Vietnamese TV channel would bleep. Địt (North) and đụ (South) both mean fuck. Lồn is the vulgar word for a woman's genitals, as strong as the c-word, and cặc is the equivalent for a man's. Đéo is a vulgar không (not), so it turns any sentence crude.
As exclamations, not aimed at anyone, they're very vulgar but not yet an insult. You'll hear them in heated arguments, gaming streams and films for adults. Never in front of elders, at work or with people you don't know well.
- đéofucking not, no fucking wayNorthern. Đéo biết = I don't fucking know. Softer: đếch.
- địt mẹfuck! (Northern)Literally 'fuck mother'. Texted đm or dm.
- đụ máfuck! (Southern)Same meaning, Southern words: đụ = fuck, má = mum.
- vãi lồnholy fucking shitVery vulgar, built on lồn. Online: vl or vcl.
Aimed at someone (strength 3)
Add mày (you, rude) and a swear becomes an attack on a person. Mày alone isn't a swear word: between best friends it's normal, but from a stranger it's already a provocation, and with these phrases it's a declaration of war.
These are the phrases that end friendships and start fights, and the literal meanings explain why: they call someone an animal or curse their parents and ancestors. If you hear one aimed at you, the right move is to leave. For everyday insults that don't use swear words, like đồ ngu or mất dạy, see Vietnamese insults.
- con chóbitch, dogCalling someone a dog. Online it's often cờ hó.
- thằng chóson of a bitch (to a man)Thằng is the contemptuous word for a guy.
- đồ khốn nạnyou bastard, scumbagMuch stronger than đồ khốn. For a real betrayal.
- tổ sư bố màyfuck you (Northern)Curses your father and ancestors. Milder: tiên sư.
- mả cha màygoddamn you (Southern)Curses your father's grave. Old-school but brutal.
- địt mẹ màyfuck you (Northern)Texted đmm. Among the worst things to say to someone.
- đụ má màyfuck you (Southern)The Southern equivalent of địt mẹ mày.
- cút mẹ mày đifuck offMẹ mày turns cút (get out) into a full 'fuck off'.
Swearing in texts and comments
Online, swear words shrink to initials. They're quicker to type and slip past comment filters, and they've become so common that young people barely notice them. Older readers do. They read exactly as strong as the full words: đm in a comment is fuck in full. The Vietnamese teencode guide covers the clean abbreviations.
- Đm, trễ r.Fuck, I'm late.đm = địt mẹ (North) or đụ má (South). Also dm.
- Đẹp vl!Damn gorgeous!vl = vãi lồn, a crude intensifier. Also vcl, vkl.
- Hỏng cmnr.It's totally screwed.cmnr = con mẹ nó rồi: totally, completely.
- Clgt??What the fuck??clgt = cái lồn gì thế.
- Đ quan tâm.Don't give a fuck.đ = đéo.
- Mệt sml.I'm completely wrecked.sml = sấp mặt lờ, with lờ standing in for lồn.
- Đcm, sao lại thế?What the fuck, why?đcm = địt con mẹ. Very strong.
Softened swears and stand-ins
Like fudge or shoot in English, Vietnamese has stand-ins that sound almost like the real thing. They're still not for your boss, but they won't shock anyone your age, and people often use them to be funny.
Đậu xanh rau má is the favourite: it keeps the rhythm of đụ má but swaps in two harmless vegetables, so it usually gets a laugh.
- đậu xanh rau máfudge! (literally 'mung beans, pennywort')A food-shaped stand-in for đụ má.
- đệchdamn, shitA softened đù or địt.
- đếchnot a damn (bit)A softer đéo: đếch biết = no damn idea.
- đờ mờf***!Just the letters đm read aloud.
- bỏ xừoh crapNorthern, a gentler bỏ mẹ.
- cờ hódog (softened)A jokey respelling of chó. Still rude.
Practise these 6 in the app, free
Tip The app's Insults & swear words phrasebook (18+) has each of these recorded with its strength, so you can recognise them by ear.
Questions
What does đm mean in Vietnamese?
Đm is the written short form of địt mẹ (Northern) or đụ má (Southern), literally fuck mother. Alone, it's an exclamation like fuck! Aimed at someone, as đm mày or đmm, it's one of the worst insults there is. Strength 3 either way.
Is vãi a swear word?
Yes, a mid-strength one (2). It's cut down from cruder phrases, and young people use it constantly for wow or so (đẹp vãi = damn gorgeous). Older people find it coarse. Cleaner options: quá, ghê, or the jokey vãi chưởng.
What does đù mean?
Đù is a Southern, softened đụ (fuck), used like shit! or damn! Á đù is a surprised whoa! It's strength 2: common among young people, rude in front of elders.
What is the worst swear word in Vietnamese?
It depends on the target more than the word. Cursing someone's mother directly (địt mẹ mày, đụ má mày) or their ancestors (tổ sư bố mày) is the most offensive. Lồn and cặc are the crudest single words.
Should foreigners swear in Vietnamese?
Among close friends, a mild trời ơi or chết cha will get a laugh. Stronger words from a foreigner can sound aggressive or crude, and in traffic or with strangers they can escalate things fast. Understanding them is useful. Using them rarely is.