7 Benefits of Learning Vietnamese In 2024

Have you ever considered working in Vietnam? This year marks the 7th year since I started living in Da Nang City, and I think it’s a really good place to live for the following reasons:

It is safe; there’s no problem even when walking alone at night.
There are beautiful beaches and mountains nearby.
The food culture is healthy with lots of vegetables.
There is a good work-life balance, where family always comes first more than work.

Therefore, the number of foreigners immigrating to Da Nang seems to be increasing gradually in recent years. One of the common questions for foreigners living in Vietnam is whether we should study Vietnamese or not.

To be honest, I have not studied Vietnamese for a long time because I thought I could use English to communicate. However, I am currently focusing on studying Vietnamese. In this article, I will share my reasons why I decided to start studying Vietnamese.

I hope this article will be helpful for those who are wondering whether or not to start studying Vietnamese.

1.Communicate with local people #

Alt text — Benefits of learning Vietnamese - Communication

Alongside the high demand for English, the number of Vietnamese people who can speak English has been increasing. However, this trend is still mainly seen in the younger generation and urban areas, while the majority of people in the countryside still do not speak English.

While it may be possible to have a simple conversation in English, for more important discussions, speaking Vietnamese is still necessary. For instance, if you are married and need to converse with your in-laws who live in the countryside, like in my case where my family-in-law only speak Vietnamese, communicating with them in Vietnamese was challenging.

Without speaking Vietnamese, it becomes difficult to fully engage in the conversation and you may find yourself simply smiling and nodding. If you plan to live in Vietnam for a long time, it is highly recommended to start learning Vietnamese early on.

2.Build a close relationship #

Naturally, it’s possible to have a good relationship with Vietnamese people regardless of language, but they are more likely to open up to you if you speak Vietnamese.

If you only speak English, you may find it challenging to form deeper connections, and to truly bond, being able to communicate in Vietnamese is preferable.

In group settings or team building activities involving Vietnamese individuals, everyone converses in Vietnamese. Therefore, if you only speak English, you may feel isolated and unable to fully participate in the conversation.

I believe that being able to speak Vietnamese will allow me to integrate into the Vietnamese community more effectively.

3.Complete official procedures alone #

In Vietnam, almost all official procedures and documents are exchanged in Vietnamese. Some documents are written in English, but only a small percentage and most are still in Vietnamese.

Therefore, if you do not understand Vietnamese, you will face many difficulties.

For example, administrative procedures, licence renewals and medical examinations are often conducted in Vietnamese.

Of course, you can use Google Translate or get support from the back office if you belong to a company, but it is still a hassle.

Therefore, by learning Vietnamese, you will be able to do more things by yourself and have more freedom in your life in Vietnam.

4.Enjoy the Vietnamese contents more #

Understanding the language is the first step toward gaining insights into the culture. Being able to comprehend Vietnamese will provide you with a deeper understanding of Vietnamese culture, especially through podcasts, TV programs, films, and music.

Not only will you be able to appreciate Vietnamese content, but you will also be able to engage in conversations about and share your enjoyment of it with Vietnamese people.

I am confident that learning Vietnamese will enhance your experience and make your life in Vietnam more enjoyable.

5.Negotiate with Vietnamese people #

In Vietnam, there is a practice of charging foreigners higher fees, particularly in tourist areas and local markets, where pricing for foreigners and Vietnamese customers may vary.

For instance, some markets in tourist hotspots may not display fixed prices, which necessitates negotiation.

Foreign tourists are often perceived as being wealthier, so initial price quotes may reflect this assumption.

While it’s feasible to negotiate in English, it appears that more substantial discounts can be obtained by negotiating in Vietnamese.

Therefore, being able to speak Vietnamese can be advantageous for saving money while in the country.

6.Expand your job opportunities #

It would be true that not many foreigners living in Vietnam can speak Vietnamese. I believe that there are two main reasons for this:

We can manage well enough in English.
It is not easy to master Vietnamewse.

However, if you consider it from another perspective, the range of jobs you can pursue expands if you are proficient in Vietnamese. The number of countries engaged in business with Vietnam is increasing each year, so if you aspire to work in Vietnam in the future, it is definitely worth learning the language.

I personally don’t anticipate working at my current company indefinitely, so I would like to continue learning Vietnamese now in order to be able to work in the language in the future.

If you have any reservations about learning Vietnamese, I believe it’s important to look ahead to the next decade or so and build your Vietnamese skills while you still have the opportunity

7.Use Vietnamese in south-east asian countries #

Do you know that there are a significant number of Vietnamese speakers in several countries in Southeast Asia?

For example, some Cambodians and Laotians learn Vietnamese for income and various other reasons. Additionally, there are Vietnamese communities in Cambodia and Laos.

Therefore, if you have the chance to visit Cambodia or Laos, you should definitely try using Vietnamese. You might meet people you never thought you would meet.

Summary #

I think Vietnam is one of the largest growing countries in south-east asian countries and the presence will be larger year by years. So if you are considering living in Vietnam, let’s start learning Vietnamese!

About me #

Thank you so much for reading my contents! I hope you like my contents and follow me on Youtube:)

I am living in Vietnam, Danang.
Passionate mobile app/web developer.
After working in Japan for a couple of years, I moved to Vietnam, Da Nang.
I love tech, Vietnamese and contents creating

Qall’s Japanese Podcast #

For those who are learning Japanese, I am creating Japanese podcast videos with English subtitles. Hopefully you will like my contents, you can check my videos from the link below.