Basic Greeting in Vietnamese Customs

After reading and researching in books and on the internet, there are a few information relevant to today's greeting in Vietnamese customs. Hence, this is where this site comes in handy so tell your friends so you can stay up with the current trends.

Hehe...sorry I need words. Today's article will be over some of the basic Vietnamese's greetings, past and current, since there are still a lot of people still do the traditional greetings and it does not hurt if you know it yourself.

In an everyday situation, the most basic Vietnamese's greeting when meeting someone is shaking their hands and slightly nod. The handshake is use more today than the past due to Western influence. Men are more willing to shake hands with you than women, it is less likely if the ladies are from the rural areas. For Vietnamese women, when it comes to shaking their hands, only do it when they offer their hand first. What do you do when it is a person that is a figure of authority or official? When you do a handshake with this type of person, use both of your hands (so it seems like you are clasping with both.)

Please take a bow...

For an elder, the best way to greet the person that is older than you is a small bow and smile. By simply bowing a little bit shows a sign of respect to the person and if you want to get some extra points from them, cross your arms while you take the bow. If you do not like to cross your arms then clasp both of your hands together above the waist, this also works with a smile. (So if you happy and you know it clap your hands. * Clap* Clap*)

This greeting is an old tradition in Viet Nam, there are not a lot of people especially the younger generation (such as those that are raise and born in the U.S.) and those in major cities are still doing it so it is not common to see it. When you see someone that is doing this greeting, it means that the person comes from a traditional family, which can means a lot. The most common is shaking hands but like in China, always shake the person with the most authority or seniority first (especially when doing business).

In the end, why do the Vietnamese people greet with a bow or a nod? What does the bow actually mean? If you remember from a previous Chinese article, you will remember that the head is the most sacred thing on a person's body. By bowing to the person shows that you are giving them the highest respect you can give possible. The head represents the family. its ancestry, and its person's spirit. The only people who are allow to touch another person's head is their family members.

Keep this in mind when you greet a child as well. Whatever you do, refrain from patting the child's head. This is why in Asian movies, the highest insult the a person can give is one of the character will make someone crawl between his legs. This insult is not only degrading but trample the family's respect, pride, and offend the whole ancestors, not to mention bring shame and disgrace to the family's name.

One similarity between the Chinese and Vietnamese... Well a lot of places in Asia is please refrain from touching the opposite sex like a pat on the back or a touch on the arm. A handshake should be the most contact toward the opposite. Vietnamese people tend to not show a lot or any public display of affection, not even if they are related, so please keep that in mind. This custom is slowly changing with the younger generation but from 30s and up, please be respectful.

Who is Mr. Nguyen, please, stand up...

So what do you do after you are done saying hi? Well, the next step is introducing yourself, simple right? For you, yes since a lot of Vietnamese are familiar with American's names but you might be confused on what to call the other person when he introduces himself. In Viet Nam, people say their last name first, middle name second, and first name last. For example, my first name is Hoang-Anh, middle name is Vu, and last name is Nguyen right? With this time I'm sure you will realize that the person who is writing this article is not Dat. Hi! Anyway, so on with the article. The correct way to say my name in Viet Nam is Nguyen Vu Hoang-Anh, same goes for Dat; it would be Nguyen Vu Dat. Yes, we are related...I'm his sister.

Another way to put it is if you want to know what the call the person you just met would be the last word, which would be he's first name. Why would you need to know the person's first name when in most countries you would say the last name, like Mr. Nguyen? To simply put it, it is because about half of Vietnam has the last name Nguyen, so if you say Mr. Nguyen there are thousands or millions of Mr. Nguyen. That is also the reason why people call other's by their first name right away, but along with their name is a title like Mr., Miss, or Mrs... The same goes if that person has a profession like doctor, teacher, nurse, professor, etc. The person will be known as Doctor Bob or Teacher Bob. You would addresses the title and then his name. There will be another article on names, maybe after reading this one you can figure out which Nguyen is related.

That is it for the basic greetings for the night. And, if you like to understand more, don't hestitate to get a copy of Vietnam - Culture Smart! book. Bye and good luck.

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