Vietnamese counting is regular and easy to learn, with a handful of irregularities that appear early and often. What genuinely catches people out is the money: prices run into large numbers that get abbreviated in speech.
- Counting is regular with a few early irregularities
- Numbers group by thousand, as in English
- Prices are large and get abbreviated in everyday speech
- Numbers deserve a dedicated practice session
How counting works
Learn one to ten, after which the system is highly regular. Three things change form in ways worth memorising early: the word for one in the units position of larger numbers, the word for five in certain positions, and the word for ten in compounds. These appear constantly, so they are worth drilling rather than looking up each time.
Time and dates
Telling time is straightforward and closely parallels English, with words for half past and to the hour. Dates run smallest to largest and months are simply numbered rather than named, which removes twelve words you would otherwise have to memorise.
Money
This is where numbers become demanding. Prices run into hundreds of thousands or millions, and in speech people abbreviate, dropping the trailing zeros and naming only the significant figure. A learner who has drilled numbers to a hundred will still be lost at a market, so practise in the ranges you will actually hear.
Common mistakes
- Drilling numbers only up to a hundred, when prices run into millions
- Practising only saying numbers and never hearing them said
- Not learning the abbreviated forms used for prices in speech
Frequently asked questions
Why are Vietnamese prices such large numbers?
The currency has small units, so ordinary purchases run into thousands. In speech people drop the trailing zeros and name only the significant part, which is efficient for them and confusing for you until you learn the pattern.
Do I need to learn month names?
No, and this is a small gift: months are simply numbered. Twelve words you do not have to memorise, unlike almost every European language.
Why practise numbers separately?
Because they are said quickly and context cannot rescue you. In ordinary speech you can infer a missed word; with a price you cannot, and getting it wrong costs money rather than marks.
Are the irregular number forms difficult?
Not difficult, just unexpected. There are only a few and they appear constantly, so a single focused session fixes them permanently.