Help with Vietnamese Slang

[Mavericker]

Hello. I am interested in and am doing research on Vietnamese youth, street and college slang for a project I'm working on.

I'd like to know:

What are Vietnamese slang terms and expressions for:

tomboy
tough girl
tough woman
girl prone to fighting
woman prone to fighting
delinquent girl
delinquent boy?

Please let me know and please list as many slang terms and expressions as possible. Thank you.

[cyberstranger]

Hello. I am interested in and am doing research on Vietnamese youth, street and college slang for a project I'm working on.

I'd like to know:

What are Vietnamese slang terms and expressions for:

tomboy
tough girl
tough woman
girl prone to fighting
woman prone to fighting
delinquent girl
delinquent boy?

Please let me know and please list as many slang terms and expressions as possible. Thank you.

tomboy: con nhỏ đó như con trai (a boyish girl)
tough girl: con nhỏ đó thứ dữ, đáo để (Saigon and Hanoi dialects respectively)
tough woman: bà đó thứ dữ, đáo để (Saigon and Hanoi dialects respectively)
girl prone to fighting: con nhỏ dó thứ dữ, đáo để
woman prone to fighting: bà đó thứ dữ, đáo để
delinquent girl: con bé bụi đời
delinquent boy: thằng bé bụi đờị In brief bụi (dust)
I hope it helps.

[Mavericker]

Hello. I am interested in and am doing research on Vietnamese youth, street and college slang for a project I'm working on.

I'd like to know:

What are Vietnamese slang terms and expressions for:

tomboy
tough girl
tough woman
girl prone to fighting
woman prone to fighting
delinquent girl
delinquent boy?

Please let me know and please list as many slang terms and expressions as possible. Thank you.

tomboy: con nhỏ đó như con trai (a boyish girl)
tough girl: con nhỏ đó thứ dữ, đáo để (Saigon and Hanoi dialects respectively)
tough woman: bà đó thứ dữ, đáo để (Saigon and Hanoi dialects respectively)
girl prone to fighting: con nhỏ dó thứ dữ, đáo để
woman prone to fighting: bà đó thứ dữ, đáo để
delinquent girl: con bé bụi đời
delinquent boy: thằng bé bụi đờị In brief bụi (dust)
I hope it helps.[img]http://s7.rimg.info/a14f94e457dd08375b807157ca1b6888.
gif[/img]

Hello. Thank you for your help. What is Vietnamese slang for:

cool guy?
cool girl?

[cyberstranger]

cool guy: thằng nhỏ đó dễ thương,ngon mắt, coi đã mắt (Saigon dialect, literally feast-your-eyes), sướng mắt (Hanoi dialect, a-pleasure-for-your-eyes)
cool girl: con nhỏ đó dễ thương,ngon mắt, coi đã mắt, sướng mắt
For example, She's a cool girl- Con nhỏ đó dễ thương, ngon mắt, coi nó đã mắt, sướng mắt :yep:

[Tenebrarum]

What is Vietnamese slang for:
cool guy?
cool girl?

"Cool" doesn't have anything to do with "coi sướng mắt", "coi đã mắt" hay "dễ thương".

In fact, it doesn't have a Vietnamese equivalent (as for now). But c'mon, "cool" is not even clearly defined in English. You expect a slow-to-catch-up-with-the-world language like Vietnamese to have that?

Trust me, I'm a native who's actually living in Vietnam.

[mattygrime]

i live in vietnam at the moment and have made some great friends.

They try and teach me vietnamese slang to the bets of their ability...but there are two that they cant explain and i dont understand:

mieng nhon (sharp mouth)
'kin - kin' (thats what it sounds like dunno if thats how it spelt.)

I live in Saigon if that helps.

Any ideas?

PLease help!!

Matt

[Tenebrarum]

"Miệng nhọn", more often "mỏ nhọn", can be applied to someone who is talkative and sharp-tongued. If that someone is a very close friend of yours, you can even call them "Đồ mỏ nhọn!" playfully.

I can't figure out what that "kin-kin" actually is. How did your friends use it (in what circumstance/situation/context)?

[mattygrime]

ahh ok! thanks for making me understand mieng nhon haha!

erm...they call each other it, like a name call. I get the impression it may mean 'gay' or something along those lines but im not too sure!

hope it helps a little

[mattygrime]

or maybe small penis or something!

[Tenebrarum]

Sorry mate, I have no clue. Maybe it's "kinh kinh" (means 'somewhat gross'), but even so it makes no sense whatsoever.

Or maybe it's just something they invented themselves... In that case I can't help ye.

[Mavericker]

Thank you-is there a shorter way to say,

tomboy: con nhỏ đó như con trai (a boyish girl) ?

[mattygrime]

gota problem.

got a message from my mate but there are know diacratic marks on it. so im struggling. i get the hello part at the beginning but the rest of it means nothing to me! can anyone help? it says:

'chao matthew, toi van binh thuong. con ban the nao?'

thanks!

[Tenebrarum]

Your request should be in the discussion thread instead. I know the forum is dead but that doesn't mean it has no order. (But then, I'm no mod )

Anyway...

"Tôi vẫn bình thường. Còn bạn thế nào?"
(I still normal. About you how?)
---> I'm fine. And you?

[mattygrime]

cheers draven youre a star.

so can you use 'ba.n' as to mean 'you' aswell?

[Tenebrarum]

so can you use 'ba.n' as to mean 'you' aswell?

It depends on who you're talking to, of course.

Bạn means "friend", so you can only use it for strangers your age or younger, in a friendly, non-business context. Also, in TV programs and music stations for young people, the MCs use bạn (and the plural các bạn) when referring to the audiences.

No-one uses bạn to call their friends and buddies though. That sounds too cold and distant, as if you and your friend are two complete strangers being polite to each other.

[mattygrime]

so what would be the best form of 'you' to use with my friends if ba.n is a bit cold?

[Tenebrarum]

Okay I will write them pronouns in pair. Format: 1st.person - 2nd.person (I - you)

---------------- LEVEL ONE: FRIENDLY ----------------
#To a male friend: tui - ông

#To a female friend: 3 options
1) tui - bà <-------------- (friendliest, least polite)
2) tui - [her name] <------------- (more polite)
3) [your name] - [her name] <------------ (most polite, but may bear unwanted romantic implications)

#To a bunch of friends: tui - mọi người
(mọi người means everyone)

I assume you're in Saigon. If you're in Hanoi, use "tôi" instead of "tui".

---------------- LEVEL TWO: VERY FRIENDLY, VERY IMFORMAL ----------------
#To one friend: tao - mày

#To a bunch of friends: tao - tụi mày; tao - tụi bay

If you're in Hanoi, use "chúng" instead of "tụi".

Tao - mày is also the pronoun pair to use when talking to your enemy. So beware