I'm engaged to a Vietnamese girl here in America, and while her family speaks English and has made it clear I don't need to learn the language, fact is I enjoy languages and like knowing what people say. I've picked up some basic vocabulary (eat, drink, speak, most pronouns, a couple adjectives), but I'm finding I don't quite know how to put much of it together to form something comprehensible. Here's what I've pieced together so far (apologies in advance for any spelling errors):

  • đươc - able to (e.g. cô noi đươc)
  • roi - already (e.g. ăn roi)
  • mươn - want to (e.g. mươn ăn)
  • sẽ - will? (e.g. sẽ ăn)
  • không - not (e.g. không ăn)


Not certain I'm on the mark with sẽ; it's been a while since I picked it up. I don't really know anything about tense or making requests (a student taught me lam ơn, but then my girlfriend later told me that that was slightly rude).

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!