The Vietnamese word Chao means hello when translated into English, but you shouldn’t use Chao alone when greeting somebody in Vietnamese.
The dialect has various rules about greeting others based on age, gender, and familiarity.
• You can say Xin Chao as a general greeting.
• Pronounce Xin Chao as sin jow.
• The word Chao means hello in English, but you would seldom use it alone.
• Adding Xin to the front of Chao means hello and makes the phrase more polite.
• Native Vietnamese speakers would typically reserve this for someone older or admired.
• Non-native speakers can use this phrasing to say hello.
• The most common place way to say hello is the Chao ban.
• Chao means hello in English.
• Ban is a casual way to say Chao anh or chaochi when speaking to older people.
• If it is an older male, use chaonh.
• If the person is an older female, use chaochi.
• Switch to Chao em for younger people.
• Pronounce Chao en as jow ehm.
• Pronounce Chao anh as jow ahn.
• Pronounce Chao chi as jow jee.
• Say hello or Chao and address someone by their first name.
• This another way to greet someone.
