The Focus of this Lesson is on Introducing Another Person to your Friend.
Xin giới thiệu với cậu, đây là anh Nam, đồng nghiệp của tớ"
"Let me introduce to you. This is Mr Nam, my colleague."

Start with Xin giới thiệu which means "let me introduce." The next phrase với cậu means "to you." Please note that the pronoun cậu is being used because the speaker is talking with her friend. Therefore, cậu can be changed according to the person you are talking to. The whole phrase xin giới thiệu với cậu literally means "let me introduce to you."

Then start introducing the other person by saying Đây là + (title) + that person's name, which means "this is + (title) + that person's name." In Vietnamese, unless the person you are introducing is your friend or a person of the same age or younger, a title is often added before the name. The title can be anh (Mr/Brother), chị/cô (Ms/Aunt), chú/bác (Mr/Uncle - someone around your uncle's age), thầy (Teacher - male), cô (Teacher- female), giáo sư (professor) etc. In this lesson's dialogue, the title being added is anh. Đây là anh Nam ("This is Mr Nam/Brother Nam.")

Finally, add a phrase to explain your relationship with that person. In the dialogue, the phrase is đồng nghiệp của tớ which means "my colleague." Again, like the pronoun cậu, the pronoun tớ here is used because the two speakers are friends. It changes depending on whom you are talking to.

The whole structure is as follows:

Xin giới thiệu với + 2nd person pronoun, đây là + (title) + the person's name, + phrase explaining the relationship.

Introductions in Informal Situations

In a very informal situation, the word xin in the phrase xin giới thiệu can be removed.

The whole structure is:

Giới thiệu với + 2nd person pronoun, đây là + (title) + the person's name, + apposition (explaining the relationship).

For example:

1. Xin giới thiệu với anh, đây là Nga, bạn cùng lớp của em.
   "Let me introduce to you, this is Nga, my classmate." (Talking to a slightly older man)
2. Giới thiệu với cậu, đây là Minh, bạn trai của tớ.
   "Let me introduce to you, this is Minh, my boyfriend." (Talking to a friend)
3. Xin giới thiệu với chị, đây là thầy Tom, thầy giáo tiếng Anh của em.
   "Let me introduce to you, this is Teacher Tom, my English teacher."(Talking to a slightly older woman)
4. Xin giới thiệu với anh, đây là chú Bình, giám đốc công ty của tôi.
   "Let me introduce to you, this is Mr/Uncle Binh, my company's director." (Talking to a man in formal situation)

Cậu/tớ meaning "you/I" or "me" (cậu is "you" and tớ is "I/me") is a pair of pronouns used between friends or people of the same age. These phrases are equivalent to bạn/tớ (also meaning "you/I") as we already learned in the Absolute Beginner series.

For example:

1. Tớ sẽ gọi cho cậu tối nay.
   "I will call you tonight."
2. Cậu có muốn học tiếng Hàn cùng với tớ không?
   "Do you want to study Korean with me?"

Giới thiệu means "to introduce." This verb can be followed by a noun indicating a person or a thing and like the verb "to introduce" in English, giới thiệu is used to present someone to another person, to establish a relationship/acquaintance, to provide information about someone or something for the first time, or to present something new to the public. Some common phrases using giới thiệu are:

1. Giới thiệu bản thân: to introduce oneself
2. Giới thiệu đối tác làm ăn: to introduce a business partner
3. Giới thiệu sản phẩm: to introduce a product
4. Giới thiệu công ty: to introduce a company
5. Giới thiệu chung: general introduction, preface

Anh/em, equivalent to "I/me" and "you," is a pair of pronouns that is used in the following cases:

1. You (the first speaker) are talking with a slightly older man.

In this case, you call yourself em and call the man anh.

For example, you will address him as:

1. Em chào anh.
   "Hello brother."
2. Anh cho em đi nhờ nhé.
   "Can you give me a lift?"

2. A man is talking with a slightly younger man/woman.
In this case, the man (the first speaker) calls himself anh and calls the other person em.

For example, when an older man is talking with you, he may ask you:

1. Em cho anh đi nhờ nhé.
   "Can you give me a lift?"
2. Anh là Nam. Em tên là gì?
   "I am Nam. What's your name?"

3. The speakers are in a romantic relationship.

In this case, the man calls himself anh and is called anh by the woman.

The woman calls herself em and is called em by the man.

This way of addressing each other remains the same regardless of the age. In other words, the man is always anh even if he is younger or of the same age, and the woman is always em even if she is older or of the same age.

For example: Learn to say "I love you" in Vietnamese:

A woman would say: Em yêu anh.

A man would say: Anh yêu em.

Meeting Etiquette in Vietnam

Vietnamese people are generally open and quite informal even when meeting for the first time. Except for business, political and diplomatic meetings which obviously require a high level of formality, Vietnamese people are very flexible in addressing each other in daily life. The pronoun tôi, meaning "I/me" is not commonly used in daily conversation. When meeting for the first time, people often ask each other about age to choose the most suitable pronoun. In the dialogue, Mary and Nam meet each other for the first time, but they both know An, and An introduces them together, so they use anh/em instead of tôi.

Vietnamese people do not usually use gestures such as bowing or shaking hands (except in business and mostly between men) when they first meet, they just smile or give a little nod. Even when they are close, personal contact is not common. You will hardly ever see Vietnamese people hugging or kissing in public places or in front of other people. This is because Vietnamese people are not used to expressing emotions or feelings in public.