How to Say Thank You in Vietnamese: Cảm Ơn or Cám Ơn?
Cảm ơn and cám ơn both mean thank you. Hear them in a Southern and a Northern voice, see how they're built, and thank your family the Vietnamese way.
Two spellings, one thank you. Both are right: here's how each one sounds, and how they're built.
Listen to both
- cảm ơnthank youhỏi = ngãơn = ơng
- cám ơnthank youơn = ơng
Ranked by how often they're used in today's Vietnamese, cảm ơn is word no. 251 and cám ơn no. 333: both are everyday words.
Built the way you say it
Each line adds one piece. Read it aloud, then tap a card to compare: a consonant plays the way it is spelled at school (ph = “phờ”).
Syllable 1 · cảm
Syllable 2 · ơn
Spelled the Vietnamese school waya mờ am cờ am cam hỏi cảm — ơ nờ ơn
cảm ơnthank you
Every tone
The same letters without a tone (the root), then with each tone the spelling allows: some are words, some only possible syllables.
Syllable 1 · cảm
Syllable 2 · ơn
- cảm: the hook on top is the hỏi tone, the voice dips.
- ơn: an o with a horn, flat tone, close to the “u” of “fun”, then n.
One mark, another word
Alone, the first syllable changes meaning with its tone: cảm is “to feel”, cám is “bran”. Together with ơn, both mean thank you.
cambare syllable
- ngangcamorange
- huyềncàmnot a word
- sắccámbran
- hỏicảmto feel
- ngãcãmnot a word
- nặngcạmtrap, snare
Say it to your family
In Vietnamese, you name who speaks and who you thank: a child says con (child) and calls their mother má or mẹ.
Con cảm ơn má.“Thank you, Mom” (a child speaking).
Cảm ơn nhiều.“Thanks a lot.”
And to answer: không có gìyou're welcome, it's nothing.
Hear more everyday words in how to read Vietnamese.
Hear more names, dishes and everyday words built step by step: Vietnamese pronunciation tool.
Quick answers
Is it cảm ơn or cám ơn?
Both are right and mean the same thing. Cảm ơn is the more common spelling; cám ơn is very common too, especially in speech and in the South.
How do you pronounce cảm ơn?
Two syllables. Cảm takes the hỏi tone (the voice dips), ơn is flat: the ơ sounds like the “u” of “fun”. Listen on this page in a Southern or a Northern voice.
How do you answer thank you in Vietnamese?
Không có gì: “it's nothing”, the usual way to say you're welcome.
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