Bắc ↔ Nam 125 pairs
Everyday words that change between Hà Nội and Sài Gòn — same meaning, different word. Tap any word for its entry.
Community-contributed · pending regional review
| Bắc Northern | Nam Southern | English |
|---|---|---|
| anh cả | anh hai | The eldest brother — the Northern word; Southerners say anh hai |
| ba chỉ (thịt) | ba rọi (thịt) | Pork belly (meat) |
| buồn | nhột | Ticklish — a Northern usage (buồn buồn: ticklish feeling); Southerners say nhột. Nationwide, buồn mainly means sad |
| buồn cười | mắc cười | Funny, laughable — the Northern word; Southerners say mắc cười |
| buồn nôn | mắc ói | Nauseous — the Northern word; Southerners say mắc ói |
| buồn đái | mắc đái | Needing to pee — the Northern word; Southerners say mắc đái |
| bà í | bả | She (personal pronoun) |
| bà ấy | bả | (pronoun) she (woman of higher social status, e.g., older) |
| bàn là | bàn ủi | A clothes iron — the Northern word; Southerners say bàn ủi |
| bán buôn | bán sỉ | To sell wholesale — the Northern word; Southerners say bán sỉ |
| bánh đa | bánh tráng | Rice paper; a rice cracker — the Northern word; Southerners say bánh tráng |
| bát | chén | A rice bowl — the everyday Northern word; Southerners call the same bowl chén |
| bé tí | nhỏ xíu | Tiny — the Northern word; Southerners say nhỏ xíu |
| béo | mập | Fat, plump (of a person or animal) — the Northern word; Southerners say mập |
| bên í | bển | That side, over there |
| bên ấy | bển | Over there, that side; also "your side/family" in polite talk — Northern and standard; Southern speech contracts it to bển |
| bí ngô | bí đỏ | A pumpkin — the Northern word; Southerners say bí đỏ |
| bóng | banh | A ball (as in soccer) — the Northern word; Southerners say banh |
| bóng điện | bóng đèn | A lightbulb — the Northern word; Southerners say bóng đèn |
| bảo | biểu | To tell someone to do something — the Northern word; Southerners say biểu |
| bẩn | dơ | Dirty, unclean — the Northern word; Southerners usually say dơ |
| bố | ba | Father, dad — the Northern word; Southerners say ba |
| bố mẹ | ba má | Mum and dad, one’s parents — the Northern pair; Southern families say ba má |
| bốc phét | nói dóc | To talk big, tell tall tales — the Northern word; Southerners say nói dóc |
| bổ | xẻ | To split, cut open (fruit, wood) — the Northern word; Southerners say xẻ |
| chiếc bánh mì | ổ bánh mì | A loaf of bánh mì — Northern speech counts bread with chiếc/cái; the South says ổ bánh mì |
| chè | trà | Tea, the drink or the plant — everyday Northern usage; in the South tea is trà, and chè there means a sweet dessert soup instead |
| chén trà | tách trà | A teacup — the Northern word; Southerners say tách trà |
| chăm | siêng | Hardworking, diligent — the Northern word; Southerners say siêng |
| chăn | mền | A blanket — the Northern word; in the South it’s mền |
| chậu | thau | A basin, washbowl — the Northern word; Southerners say thau |
| cáu | quạu | Irritated, grumpy — the Northern word; Southerners say quạu |
| cân | ký | A kilogram — the Northern word; Southerners say ký |
| cây bút | cây viết | Pen |
| cây cảnh | cây kiểng | An ornamental plant — the Northern word; Southerners say cây kiểng |
| có chửa | mang bầu | Pregnant — the Northern word; Southerners say mang bầu |
| cơm rang | cơm chiên | Fried rice |
| cốc | ly | A drinking glass or tumbler — the Northern word; Southerners say ly |
| cục tẩy | cục gôm | An eraser — the Northern word; Southerners say cục gôm |
| củ sắn | sắn | Cassava root — the Northern reading: the starchy boiled or steamed field crop the South calls khoai mì |
| củ đậu | củ sắn | Jicama — the Northern word for the crisp, sweet white tuber eaten raw; in the South it’s củ sắn, a name that in the North means cassava |
| dây chun | dây thun | A rubber band — the Northern word; Southerners say dây thun |
| dĩa | nĩa | A fork (utensil) — the Northern word; Southerners say nĩa |
| dại | khờ | Foolish, naive — the Northern word; Southerners say khờ |
| dứa | thơm | A pineapple — the Northern word; Southerners say thơm or khóm |
| ga giường | ra giường | A bed sheet — the Northern word (from French drap); Southerners say ra giường |
| giẫm | đạp | To step on — the Northern word; Southerners say đạp |
| giật | giựt | To snatch, yank; to startle (giật mình) — the standard spelling; Southern speech says giựt |
| gầy | ốm | Thin |
| hương | nhang | Incense — the Northern word; Southerners say nhang |
| hắt hơi | sổ mũi | To sneeze — the Northern word; Southerners say nhảy mũi. (Sổ mũi is a runny nose in both regions.) |
| hắt hơi | nhảy mũi | To sneeze — the Northern word; Southerners say nhảy mũi. (Sổ mũi is a runny nose in both regions.) |
| hồng xiêm | sabôchê | Sapodilla — the Northern word; Southerners say sa bô chê |
| hồng xiêm | sa bô chê | Sapodilla — the Northern word; Southerners say sa bô chê |
| khuyến mại | khuyến mãi | A sales promotion — the Northern spelling; the South (and most media) write khuyến mãi |
| kiêu | chảnh | Arrogant, stuck-up — the Northern word; Southerners say chảnh |
| kính râm | kính mát | Sunglasses — the Northern word; Southerners say kính mát |
| làm mối | làm mai | To matchmake — the Northern word; Southerners say làm mai |
| lạc | đậu phộng | A peanut — the Northern word; in the South peanuts are đậu phộng |
| lợn | heo | A pig — the Northern word; Southerners say heo. Compounds follow the split: thịt lợn in the North, thịt heo in the South |
| muôi | vá | A soup ladle — the Northern word; Southerners say vá |
| muộn | trễ | Late — the Northern word; Southerners say trễ |
| mách | méc | To tattle, tell on someone — the Northern word; Southerners say méc |
| mì chính | bột ngọt | MSG (seasoning) — the Northern word; Southerners say bột ngọt |
| mì ăn liền | mì gói | Instant noodles — the Northern word; Southerners say mì gói |
| mùi tàu | ngò gai | (noun) culantro; chadon beni (Eryngium foetidum) |
| mùi tây | ngò gai | Cilantro / culantro herb |
| mũ | nón | A hat or cap — the Northern word for hats in general; Southerners say nón, which in the North names only the conical leaf hat |
| mướp đắng | khổ qua | Bitter melon — the Northern word; Southerners say khổ qua |
| mắng | chửi | To scold, tell someone off — the Northern word; Southerners say la |
| mặc cả | trả giá | To bargain, haggle — the Northern word; Southerners say trả giá |
| mẹ | má | Mother, mom — the Northern word; Southerners say má |
| mồm | miệng | The mouth — the Northern word; Southerners say miệng |
| mộc nhĩ | nấm mèo | Wood ear mushroom — the Northern word; Southerners say nấm mèo |
| na | mãng cầu | (noun) sugar apple (Annona squamosa) |
| na (quả) | mãng cầu (trái) | Custard apple |
| nem rán | chả giò | Fried spring rolls — the Northern word; Southerners say chả giò |
| ngan | vịt xiêm | A Muscovy duck — the Northern word; Southerners say vịt xiêm |
| ngô | bắp | Corn, maize — the Northern word; Southerners say bắp |
| ngõ | hẻm | An alley, lane — the Northern word; Southerners say hẻm |
| ngượng | quê | Embarrassed — the Northern word; Southerners say quê |
| nói phét | nói xạo | To lie, fib, exaggerate — the Northern word; Southerners say nói xạo |
| phanh | thắng | A brake; to brake — the Northern word; Southerners say thắng |
| quả | trái | A fruit; the classifier for fruit — the Northern word; Southerners say trái |
| quất | tắc | A kumquat — the Northern word; Southerners say tắc |
| rau mùi | ngò rí | Coriander, cilantro — the Northern word; Southerners say ngò rí |
| ruốc | chà bông | Shredded dried meat floss — the Northern word; Southerners say chà bông |
| rán | chiên | To fry — the Northern word; Southerners say chiên |
| rẽ | quẹo | To turn (left or right) — the Northern word; Southerners say quẹo |
| rẽ phải | quẹo phải | To turn right |
| rẽ trái | quẹo trái | To turn left |
| săm xe | ruột xe | An inner tube (of a tyre) — the Northern word; Southerners say ruột xe |
| sắn | khoai mì | Cassava — the Northern word; Southerners say khoai mì |
| sắn | củ sắn | Cassava — the Northern word; Southerners say khoai mì |
| thi trượt | thi rớt | To fail an exam — the Northern word; Southerners say thi rớt |
| thái | xắt | To slice, cut up — the Northern word; Southerners say xắt |
| thìa | muỗng | A spoon — the Northern word; Southerners say muỗng |
| thạch sùng | thằn lằn | A house gecko — the Northern word; Southerners say thằn lằn |
| thảo nào | hèn chi | No wonder! — the Northern word; Southerners say hèn chi |
| thế à | vậy hả? | (interjection) really, truly |
| thế à? | vậy hả? | Really? is that so? |
| thối | thúi | Smelly, rotten — the Northern word; Southerners say thúi |
| thủng | lủng | Punctured, having a hole — the Northern word; Southerners say lủng |
| thừa | dư | Leftover, surplus — the Northern word; Southerners say dư |
| tàu hoả | xe lửa | A train — the Northern word; Southerners say xe lửa |
| tất | vớ | Socks — the Northern word; Southerners say vớ |
| tầng một | tầng trệt | The ground floor — the Northern word; Southerners say tầng trệt |
| tắc đường | kẹt xe | A traffic jam — the Northern word; Southerners say kẹt xe |
| vừng | mè | Sesame — the Northern word; Southerners say mè |
| xì dầu | nước tương | Soy sauce — the Northern word; Southerners say nước tương |
| áo phông | áo thun | A T-shirt — the Northern word; Southerners say áo thun |
| ô | dù | An umbrella — the Northern word; Southerners say dù |
| ô tô | xe hơi | A car, automobile — the usual Northern word (from French auto); Southerners say xe hơi |
| ông í | ổng | He (personal pronoun) |
| ông ấy | ổng | (pronoun) he (older or respected man) |
| đi ngoài | đi cầu | To go number two — the Northern word; Southerners say đi cầu |
| đánh rắm | địt | To fart — the Northern phrase; the Southern word địt is obscene in the North, a classic regional trap |
| đèo | chở | To carry someone on a bike or motorbike — the Northern word; Southerners say chở |
| đò | ghe | A passenger ferry or river boat — the Northern word; Southern rivers are full of ghe |
| đĩa | dĩa | Dish, disk |
| đắt | mắc | Expensive, high-priced — the Northern word; in the South things are mắc |
| đằng kia | đẳng | Over there — the Northern word; Southerners say đẳng |
| đệm | nệm | A mattress — the Northern word; Southerners say nệm |
| ảnh | hình | A photo, picture — the Northern word; Southerners say hình |
| ốm | bệnh | Sick, ill — the Northern meaning of ốm; in the South ốm means thin and a sick person is bệnh |
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