Vietnamese Pronouns for "I" and "You" with Age Ranges

 

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Pronouns for "I" and "You" with Age Ranges

Who is speaking	Who is being spoken to	Age Range (Speaker)	Age Range (Listener)	"I" (Tôi) Variant	"You" (Bạn) Variant
Male (younger)	Male (older)	10–25	25–40	em	anh
Male (younger)	Female (older)	10–25	25–40	em	chị
Female (younger)	Male (older)	10–25	25–40	em	anh
Female (younger)	Female (older)	10–25	25–40	em	chị
Male (older)	Male or female (younger)	30–50	10–25	anh	em
Female (older)	Male or female (younger)	30–50	10–25	chị	em
Adult	Elderly person	20–50	60+	cháu	ông / bà
Adult	Child	20–50	3–12	cô / chú / bác	con / cháu
Same age (friendly / peers)	Friend (same gender/age)	10–30	10–30	tớ / mình	cậu / bạn
Formal / Neutral (safe choice)	Any age (formal, e.g. writing/email)	any	any	tôi	bạn

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✅ Notes:

• "Em" is used when talking to someone younger or yourself when you are younger.

• "Anh" is a respectful term for older males; "chị" for older females.

• "Cháu" is used when talking to elders.

• "Tớ/mình" and "cậu/bạn" are casual peer-level pronouns among friends or classmates.

• In professional or formal settings, stick with tôi (I) and bạn (you) unless a relationship is established.

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Pronouns: "I" & "You" by Age, Gender, and Relationship

#	Who are you?	Who are you talking to?	Your Age	Their Age	I (Tôi) variant	You (Bạn) variant	Greeting Example in Vietnamese	Meaning in English
1	Younger male/female	Older male	10–25	26–50	em	anh	Chào anh, em là Nam.	Hello brother, I’m Nam.
2	Younger male/female	Older female	10–25	26–50	em	chị	Chào chị, em tên là Linh.	Hello sister, my name is Linh.
3	Older male	Younger male/female	30–50	10–25	anh	em	Chào em, anh là Minh.	Hello (younger person), I’m Minh.
4	Older female	Younger male/female	30–50	10–25	chị	em	Chào em, chị tên là Hoa.	Hello (younger person), I’m Hoa.
5	Adult	Elderly man	20–50	60+	cháu	ông	Cháu chào ông ạ.	I greet you, grandfather.
6	Adult	Elderly woman	20–50	60+	cháu	bà	Cháu chào bà ạ.	I greet you, grandmother.
7	Adult female (e.g. teacher)	Child (boy/girl)	25–50	3–12	cô	con	Cô chào con.	Teacher greets you (child).
8	Adult male (e.g. teacher)	Child	25–50	3–12	chú	con	Chú chào con.	Uncle greets you (child).
9	Similar age (male/male)	Friend	15–30	15–30	tớ	cậu	Chào cậu, tớ là Quân.	Hi dude, I’m Quân.
10	Similar age (female/female)	Friend	15–30	15–30	mình	bạn	Chào bạn, mình tên là Trang.	Hi friend, my name is Trang.
11	Any gender (formal use)	Any age (formal use)	any	any	tôi	bạn	Chào bạn, tôi là nhân viên mới.	Hello, I am the new employee.

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🔎 Notes:

• Chào + pronoun is the most common polite way to greet.

• You must adjust "I" and "You" based on both age and social position (e.g. teacher, elder).

• Tôi and bạn are polite and safe in general situations like interviews or emails.

• Em means younger; anh/chị mean older brother/sister; cháu for speaking to elders; con for children.

• Teachers often call themselves cô (female) or chú/thầy (male).