Vietnamese words with no English equivalent

1. Thương. Love with care in it. Parents thương their children, you thương a friend going through a hard time, and you feel thương for a stray dog in the rain. Depending on context it means love, compassion or pity. In the South, couples use it as an everyday word for love: Anh thương em sounds warmer and less dramatic than Anh yêu em. More on that in our guide to I love you in Vietnamese.

2. Nhớ. One word for both 'remember' and 'miss'. Vietnamese doesn't separate keeping something in mind from longing for it, and context tells you which.

3. Dỗi. To sulk on purpose, so the other person will win you back. It's affectionate, mostly between couples or from kids to parents, and the cure has its own word: dỗ, to coax or soothe.

4. Tủi thân. The lonely, hurt feeling of being left out or treated unfairly, with a touch of feeling sorry for yourself. A child not invited to a party feels tủi thân; so might you, far from home and eating alone while everyone else celebrates Tết with family.

5. Duyên. The invisible thread that brings people together. Two strangers who keep running into each other có duyên; a couple who split up hết duyên, their time together has run out. The word also means charm: someone who nói chuyện có duyên has a way of talking that makes people like them. Its opposite, vô duyên, is the go-to word for tactless or awkward behaviour, like asking a stranger their salary.

6. Hên and xui. Casual words for good and bad luck. Hên is more Southern (Northerners tend to say may), while xui is heard everywhere, and in Hanoi bad luck is also đen, black. You're hên when you get the last bánh mì and xui when it pours the minute you leave the house. Put together, hên xui means 'it's down to luck': ask whether a stall opens on a public holiday and that might be the answer you get.

7. Xin. To ask for something humbly, as a favour. It makes requests polite: Cho tôi xin một cái thìa (could I have a spoon) sounds far softer than Cho tôi một cái thìa. It also hides inside xin lỗi (sorry), xin phép (to ask permission) and xin chào (hello).

8. Mời. To invite, and also what you say when offering someone food, drink, a seat or the way in. At a family meal, younger people say mời to each elder before they start eating. Among friends, Hôm nay anh mời means the speaker is paying.

9. Ngại. A mix of shy, reluctant and not wanting to impose. It also covers 'can't be bothered', which makes it one of the most useful words for everyday excuses.

10. Nể. Respect so strong you'd find it hard to say no. You might go to a karaoke night you'd rather skip because you nể the colleague who invited you. Younger people also use it for pure admiration: Nể thật! is close to 'Respect!'

11. Khách sáo. Acting too politely, like a guest, with people who are close to you. Thanking a friend too formally or refusing food again and again is khách sáo, and the host will tell you to stop.

12. Quê. Your hometown, but more than that: the province your family comes from, where your grandparents lived and your ancestors are buried, even if you were born and raised in the city. Ask someone from Saigon where they're from and they may name a village hundreds of kilometres away. Before Tết, the cities empty out as people về quê, go back home.

Used as an adjective, quê can mean countrified or uncool, and in the South quê quá means 'how embarrassing'. Quê bạn ở đâu? is one of the first questions people ask each other, and you'll get it too.

13. Nhậu. Drinking with friends, always with food to go with it (mồi), usually beer, often for hours. Colleagues bond, old friends catch up, and there's a toast every few minutes. 'Going for drinks' doesn't capture the food, the noise or the gentle pressure to keep up.

14. Thèm. A craving, usually for one particular food. With a negative it flips: không thèm means 'can't even be bothered', as in someone who won't reply to your messages.

15. Sướng. Pleasure you feel in your body and your mood at once: the first sip of iced tea at noon, three days off, a comfortable life. Sướng quá! is close to 'This is the life!', and Sướng thế! to a friend means 'Lucky you!'

16. Khổ. The opposite: hardship, struggle, a tough life. It's also everyday sympathy. In the North, Khổ thân! means 'You poor thing!'

17. Ơi. The word that calls someone. Em ơi! gets a waiter's attention, Mẹ ơi! calls Mum, Trời ơi! calls on the heavens. Placed after a name or a pronoun, it's a warm 'hey'. When someone calls you with ơi, the polite reply is Dạ, and between friends it's simply Ơi!

18. Chịu. To bear, to accept, to give in. It describes what you can't stand, what a child refuses to do, and, said on its own, a shrug: Chịu! means 'No idea, I give up.'

19. Ế. Literally, goods that won't sell. A stall is ế on a slow day. Applied to people, it's a teasing word for someone who has been single for a while, and people often use it about themselves as a joke.

20. Phượt. Independent travel by motorbike, usually on a budget, with friends, off the tourist trail and with a lot of photos. The people who do it are dân phượt, and the Hà Giang loop in the far north is their classic route.

New words like these appear all the time, especially online. Our guide to Vietnamese slang covers the ones you'll hear from younger people.