Travelling in Vietnam.?

Question

My travel brochure says that the language spoken is English, Vietnamese and French. So, as a traveller could I get by on English or do I need to learn some Vietnamese and or French.

Thanks

Answer 1

i just spent 3 months travelling all of vietnam, and i did not need to use any other language other than english, i did not attempt to try the local language, you will be fine there, the people mostly are great, very helpfull, and kind people. i fount the people in the south were a little more friendly. i would travel there again

Answer 2

you can go to vietnam and speak english because in vietnam,english is very imprtant to master,french too.English and French are foreign language

Answer 3

Well depends where your going..

Mostly people tourism places and high classed places will know English.

But..if your going to a market or restaurant you will mostly need to know how to speak Vietnamese or at least know a bit. If you go to the market and if you ask for the prices they will mostly type the amount in a coulater

Answer 4

First i want to say welcome you to Vietnam!

I'm Vietnamese. All the answers above is true.

English is popular in vietnam. French is little.

Known Vietnamese maybe no need. But it's better to know some popular words like: hello, goodbye, thanks,...

Vietnamese people is very friendly, helpful, you will find that when you come to Viet nam.

I'm in Ho Chi Minh city, working for 5 star hotel RENAISSANCE HOTEL RIVERSIDE SAIGON, receptionist.

If you have any further question, just contact me! My name is TUAN.

Answer 5

Depends on where your going in Vietnam, If its up North then French Might be useful but seldom used. However if you stay in the parts of Vietnam that are considered touristy, (Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang) then you wil run into people that will speak English (Possibley very Broken, but english none the same)

You do not need to learn Vietnamese but I think it would be helpful for you and the Vietnamese you will be dealing and visiting with if you know the basics, like: Hello, Goodbye, Thankyou, No Thankyou.

Enjoy your Trip, Vietnam is a beautiful country and the people there are too.

Answer 6

English is spoken about everywhere in Vietnam.  Always nice to know some Vietnamese if you can.  Cheers C

Answer 7

Well you don't have to learn Vietnamese because people in Vietnam do speak English but learning some vietnamese can be an advantage and when i went to Vietnam not a lot of people there speak French only english and vietnamese

Answer 8

Vietnamese ... always useful to know some local language wherever you go.

English... some people speak limited english. I think as long as you use very simple and short sentences they will understand.

French... it's not true to say French is a language used in Vietnam.  60 years ago then maybe.

Answer 9

English will be fine, but picking up on some vietnamese would be an advantage..

Answer 10

dont worry about going through the fuss of learning vietnamese, just learn how to read vietnamese it will be very helpful how do i know this? because i am full vietnamese and i was born there and stayed at ho chi minh for a long time and i saw a lot of vietnamese things i'll give you a chart

1-10 1not a lot 10 a lot

vietnamese-8 if your vietnamese and you could speak vietnamese or read this language you would be fine but if you dont know this and you know english you will also be fine

english-5 i didnt really see much english when i was in vietnam but that was only when i was a kid but i'm pretty sure there are some english things you'll understand there plus vietnamese people also studied english thats a plus, it's popular but i was young so i had no idea what english was i was still a kid you cant blame me!

french-2 i saw very little things with french in vietnam so i cant really give and oppinion

Answer 11

if u travel alone, u need viet

Answer 12

In most of the main towns through out Vietnam, English is widely spoken. In the rural area's it's obviously at lot less. That said, you can certainly travel Vietnam and speak English only.

All travelers though should take the time to try and speak the local language, it will make your time there so much more enjoyable! Even if it's just the basic's!

Enjoy Vietnam

Answer 13

You need some flexibility. That and English will get you by.

If you happen to know a bit of French, don't be afraid to try it if you get stumped at some point along the way. I found it useful from time to time, especially with older people who didn't speak English (and a few not so older who didn't speak English but did know French!).

Answer 14

English is fine, I've been a few times. Some of the people do not speak english very well but you will be able to communicate easily. They are beautiful people and if someone doesnt understand you someone else will definetly try to help you