Learn the basic facts about names in Vietnamese
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Intro |
|---|
| Antoni: How do Vietnamese names work? |
| Nguyet: And what is special about Vietnamese names? |
| Antoni: At VietnamesePod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee didn’t hear clearly when their new teacher was introducing herself. He asks his friend, |
| "What is our teacher's name?" |
| Ben Lee: Giáo viên của chúng mình tên là gì? |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Giáo viên của chúng mình tên là gì? |
| Long Lương: Nguyễn Hoàng Hoa. |
| Antoni: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Giáo viên của chúng mình tên là gì? |
| Antoni: "What is our teacher's name?" |
| Long Lương: Nguyễn Hoàng Hoa. |
| Antoni: "It's Nguyễn Hoàng Hoa." |
Lesson focus |
| Antoni: A person's name is the most important word in the world for that individual. Just as a name is unique to the person who bears it, so are naming practices different from culture to culture. In Vietnamese, for instance, |
| Nguyet: Họ |
| Antoni: or the surname comes first, followed by |
| Nguyet: Tên đệm, |
| Antoni: the middle name and |
| Nguyet: Tên |
| Antoni: or the given name. Take, for example, the name |
| Nguyet: Phạm Văn Trãi |
| Antoni: Here, the family name is |
| Nguyet: Phạm |
| Antoni: followed by the middle name, |
| Nguyet: Văn |
| Antoni: and the given name, |
| Nguyet: Trãi |
| [Recall 1] |
| Antoni: Let’s take a closer look at the dialogue to learn more about how Vietnamese names work. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "What is our teacher's name?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nguyet as Ben Lee: Giáo viên của chúng mình tên là gì? |
| [Recall 2] |
| Antoni: Now, let’s take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Long Luong says "It's Nguyễn Hoàng Hoa?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nguyet as Long Luong: Nguyễn Hoàng Hoa. |
| Antoni: As mentioned, Vietnamese places the family name first, which in this case is |
| Nguyet: Nguyễn |
| Antoni: This is followed by the middle name, which is |
| Nguyet: Hoàng |
| Antoni: And, finally, the given name is placed last: |
| Nguyet: Hoa |
| Antoni: The teacher’s given name is also the Vietnamese word that means "flower." Knowing this gives you the idea that it is a lady’s name. In Vietnam, it’s not uncommon for females to be given names that personify beauty. Other common names for girls include |
| Nguyet: Đẹp |
| Antoni: which means "beautiful," |
| Nguyet: Hường |
| Antoni: which means "pink rose," and |
| Nguyet: Ngọc |
| Antoni: which means "jade." As for males, names are often associated with good qualities, such as in the name |
| Nguyet: An Dung |
| Antoni: which means "peaceful hero," and in the name |
| Nguyet: Chiến |
| Antoni: which means "warrior." |
| Antoni: In Western cultures, the name that appears last is what’s usually used to address a person. John Smith, for instance, would be referred to as Mr. Smith. In Vietnamese, the name that appears last is also what’s used to address a person, so that the teacher in the dialogue would be addressed as Miss Hoa, or |
| Nguyet: Cô Hoa. |
| Antoni: Women usually keep their maiden names upon marriage, but use their partner’s given name when introducing themselves. For instance, if a woman named |
| Nguyet: Huê Thị Lăng |
| Antoni: marries a man named |
| Nguyet: Chinh Văn Đỗ, |
| Antoni: she would introduce herself to others as Mrs. Đỗ. |
| [Summary] |
| Antoni: In this lesson, you learned that Vietnamese names work in a different way than that of Western cultures. In Vietnamese, the family name goes first, followed by the middle name, and then the given name. |
| Antoni: You also learned that Vietnamese parents give female children names that represent beauty and male children names that represent good personal qualities. Finally, you learned that Vietnamese people address each other according to the name that appears last, which technically is their given name. |
| Expansion |
| Antoni: In Western cultures, titles such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms. are used when addressing people. This is to show respect to the person being addressed. The same is true in Vietnamese. However, the manner in which such titles are used is much more complex. A younger Vietnamese would address an older man using the title |
| Nguyet: Ông, |
| Antoni: which is the equivalent of Mr. An older woman, on the other hand, would be addressed as |
| Nguyet: Bà |
| Antoni: People who are in the same age range would address one another as |
| Nguyet: Anh |
| Antoni: for males, and |
| Nguyet: Cô |
| Antoni: for females. Another term is used when addressing close friends, relatives, and people who are younger than the speaker. The word is |
| Nguyet: Em |
| Cultural Insight |
| Antoni: Catholics in Vietnam use a different approach for writing their names. When a Vietnamese is converted to Catholicism, they are given a saint’s name in addition to their Vietnamese name. Their new given name then appears before their family name, especially when used in formal religious contexts. Most of the names are derived from names of saints in the New Testament and are spelled phonetically. The name "Paul," for example, is |
| Nguyet: Phaolô |
| Antoni: in Vietnamese, and "Peter" is |
| Nguyet: Phêrô |
| Antoni: In many cases, names of Catholic saints are also used. There’s the name |
| Nguyet: A Lịch Sơn, |
| Antoni: which is derived from "Alexander," and the name |
| Nguyet: Biển Đức |
| Antoni: from the name "Benedict." |
Outro |
| Antoni: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Nguyet: Tạm biệt! |
| Antoni: See you soon! |
| Credits: Nguyet Nguyen (Vietnamese, Vinh Phuc), Antoni (English, synthetic voice) |
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