Vietnamese Culture • By Hải Vân Lê •
Vietnamese Swear Words 😡 Your Complete Guide (As Told By Native Speakers)
It’s time to get nasty and learn those all important Vietnamese Swear Words!
An essential lesson in any language learners journey!
Ideally we won’t be using them much but just understanding how curse words are used in other languages can help ones understanding of a language and culture propel to new levels.
Although the Vietnamese language is considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn, it is surprising that many foreigners master the Vietnamese Swear Words fast!
How is that so?
Because, as with any language, Vietnamese Swear Words are increasingly used in daily conversations to emphasise the emotions of speakers or exaggerate a story in an amusing way.
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ | Do be sure to proceed with caution when using the following phrases, especially in formal contexts or when talking with older people.
You don’t want to lose friends or be deemed “vô học.”
Vietnamese Swear Words |
Vietnamese Swear Words | Vãi…
Vietnamese Swear Words | Đéo
Vietnamese Swear Words |
Vietnamese Swear Words | Đồ vô học
Vietnamese Swear Words | Cút mẹ mày đi
Vietnamese Swear Words | FAQ’s
Vietnamese Swear Words // Đụ má & Địt mẹ
The most popular and insulting swear word in Vietnamese is “Địt mẹ.”
It has the same meaning and intensity as f*** in English.
To make this Vietnamese Swear Word sound less intense, so that it can be used in daily chit-chat, Vietnamese youngsters have switched to a less extreme version “Đụ má”
- “má” is another way to say “mẹ”, both meaning “mother”
- “đụ” is equivalent to “địt”, meaning “having sex / f*cking”.
“Đụ” is pronounced as the word “do” but you drop the tone.
“Má” sounds like “mah” but you raise your tone.
It is often used alongside pronouns such as “mày” or “mi” (which means “you”) to insult the person.
More commonly though, it has the same meaning as “OMG”, “mother f*cker”, “damn it”, etc. It will all depend on the connotation and the feeling that the speaker wants to express.
TOP TIP | The above Vietnamese curse words can be abbreviated as “đm” in chat.
Vietnamese Swear Words // Vãi…
Vãi is quite a versatile swear word in Vietnamese because it can preceed a number of options:
- Vãi cứt
- Vãi nồi
- Vãi lúa
- Vãi lều
- Vãi lìn
And drumroll for the most violent of them all… 🥁
vãi lồn
“Vãi” means “to ejacul*te” or “to spurt”.
It is usually used alongside:
- cứt (sh*t)
- nồi (pan)
- lúa (paddy)
- lều (tent)
- lìn (a less extreme synonym of “lồn”)
Those words are randomly picked just to show just exactly how versatile “vãi” can be.
The most extreme version, “lồn” means vagin* in Vietnamese and it used to express someone’s surprise.
It’s worth noting “vãi” is not always meant as a swear word, or to insult someone. It can actually be used as a compliment bizarrely enough!
FOR EXAMPLE | “đẹp vãi nồi” means “incredibly beautiful”.
Some common phrases with “vãi” are:
- Mệt vãi – I’m done/worn out
- Khó vãi – Such a f*cking hard question!
- Ngu vãi – Such an asshole / extremely stupid person!
Vietnamese Swear Words // Đéo
When you do not want to say “no” in a friendly way, you can use “đéo”.
If you want to go a tad stronger – “I don’t f*cking care” is the same as “Tôi đéo quan tâm” where “tôi” is I, and “quan tâm” is “care”.
Again, it can be used as a single word to mean “Hell no” or before a verb like in the previous example.
It is an impolite way to say no and is usually used when you are angry about something.
Vietnamese Swear Words // Con đĩ & Thằng chó đẻ
Con đĩ means bitch and Thằng chó đẻ means son of a bitch – these are HARSH! Tread carefully.
You’re about to discover why…
When you find out that your spouse is having a secret affair and you want to insult the woman or the man, you can say “con đĩ chó”, “thằng chó” or “thằng mặt lồn” which essentially translates to “son of a bitch”.
Being a third person in a relationship is considered unacceptable in Vietnam, especially when you are a woman because it is immoral.
SECOND WARNING | Those phrases are rarely used in an amusing way so please be super careful when using them.
If you hear it on the street, or whilst watching Vietnamese TV – there’s likely some bad things going down!!
Learn Vietnamese on TV // Watch Nhập Gia Tùy Tục Nhập gia tùy tục (or When in Rome, do as the Romans do) is a new TV show brought to you by Vietnam television, broadcasted every Friday at 8.30 pm on VTV3.Vietnamese Swear Words // Đồ vô học
The very first swear word in Vietnamese we mentioned above, “đồ vô học” refers to someone who is uneducated.
To be considered “uneducated” means that the person must have shown some form of inappropriate behaviour.
This can include uttering Vietnamese swear words in public during conversations with the elderly, or perhaps the person was fighting in public with another individual.
Either way these events are considered đồ vô học, and you really don’t want to be labelled with that tag in Vietnam!
Be careful when using all these swear words in Vietnamese. Using them too much may have you deemed as “đồ vô học” or “vô văn hóa”.
Many Vietnamese people would show surprise if a foreigner uses local curse words often, equally many will find it unacceptable too!
Vietnamese Swear Words // Cút mẹ mày đi
If someone annoys you so much (such as a scammer pestering you in the street), you can say “Cút!”.
A more intense version would be “Cút mẹ mày đi!”.
Those phrases have the same meaning as “Get the f*ck out!” or “Piss off!”.
Some new foreigners to Vietnam get scammed by street vendors, so if you have had enough of this terrible experience, you can say “đi đi” in a firm way.
If “đi đi” does not work, you may want to try “Cút!”.
Not all swear words have to be bad!
Although we hope you don’t have to use any of these, the last one is an example of how sometimes, swearing in a language can actually be a very useful tool to have!
Learning how to swear can also unlock cultural doors you never expected!
Now we’ve taught you some of the most used Vietnamese swear words… let’s crank it up a notch.
It’s time to check out:
- Over 50 Chinese Swear Words
- 15+ Japanese Swear Words
- 10 commonly spoken Korean Swear Words
Don’t say we haven’t got your back!
Vietnamese Swear Words // FAQ’s
How do you say p!ss off in Vietnamese?
The best translation for p!ss off in Vietnamese would be Cút, or a stronger version would be Cút mẹ mày đi.
How can I say no in an unfriendly way in Vietnamese?
If someone is bothering you with a request and you want to be firmer than just saying NO, you can use Đéo.
Additionally, we can extend that by using Tôi đéo quan tâm which means I don’t f*cking care.
What is a rude Vietnamese swear word?
The Vietnamese curse word vãi lồn is one of the most cutting swear words but should be used with caution.
What does Thằng chó đẻ mean?
Thằng chó đẻ can be translated as son of a b!tch.
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2 comments
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My Vietnamese needs to improve clearly, never heard of one of these yet 😲
It all takes time, we hope you won’t need to use these anyway!
