Đẹp Quá – How to Say Beautiful in Vietnamese?
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Like in English, there are a wide variety of ways to say “beautiful”, “cute”, “handsome”, “hot”. Such words may be appropriate or inappropriate depending whether the subject is a woman (Xinh quá for pretty) or a man (Đẹp trai quá for handsome) or whether it is meant romantically or non-romantically.
- Đẹp quá – beautiful
- Xinh quá – pretty
- Đẹp trai quá – handsome
- Dễ thương quá– cute
- Nóng Bỏng – hot/sexy
- Hót gơ – hot girl
- Hót boi – hot girl
- Tinh Tế – elegant
Đẹp quá – A Beautiful Woman in Vietnamese
Đẹp quá (pronounced like dep kwah) is meant for beautiful women. It can refer to both her physical appearance or personality. It is the highest standard of beauty and is used most commonly.
Much like “beauty” in English, đẹp quá can also be used to talk about beautiful things, like great works of art, beautiful music, beautiful scenery, or amazing architecture. For example: “This church has beautiful architecture” – “kiến trúc nhà thờ đẹp“.
However, đẹp quá cannot be used to refer to beautiful men (see below). If a man is called đẹp quá, then it implies that he is very effeminate or homosexual.
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Xinh quá – A Physically Attractive Woman in Vietnamese
Xinh quá (pronounced like sin kwah) – This beauty is used when referring to the physical beauty of a woman (i.e., pretty). It is distinguished from “Đẹp” in that it means the subject has a particular feminine beauty, not a general beauty.
For example, xinh quá can be used to compliment beautiful things and artworks, but the underlying sense is that they are beautiful in a feminine way. An old beautiful church would not be Xinh quá, but Đẹp quá. Likewise, a pretty spring dress with lots of flowers would be described as Xinh quá.
Đẹp trai quá – Handsome Man in Vietnamese
Đẹp trai (pronounced like dep chai) – this beauty can only be used when referring to men, much like the word handsome in English. It would be a little insulting to refer to a woman as đẹp trai.
Dễ thương quá – How to Say “Cute” in Vietnamese?
Dễ thương quá (pronounced ze t-wo-ung qua) means cute. Like its English equivalent, cute has connotations of being childish, innocent, and adorable. For example, kittens and cartoons can be dễ thương quá. Young children of either sex can be dễ thương quá.
It can be used for things, like jewelry and clothes, but there is an implication that such objects are girly and youthful. Old men, or somber works of art, cannot be dễ thương quá.
There is even an Vietized word that inherits from the English cute: “koo-teh” means cute.
Nóng Bỏng – Hot Women in Vietnam (or Men)
Nóng Bỏng is like burning hot or sexy. It can be used to refer to either sexy women or men. Both men and women use it to refer to sexually attractive members of the opposite sex.
Like in English, nóng bỏng shouldn’t be used in public or polite places — you might confide in your co-worker that you think so-and-so is Nóng Bỏng.
Hot Boys and Hot Girls in Vietnamese — Vietnam Likes it Hót!
The Vietnamese slang for a hot girl is hót gơ, pronounced like hot gu(rl) with a suppressed rl that is typical of a french u.
Likewise, the slang for a hot boy is hót boi.
Both of these slangs have the same meaning as nóng bỏng (sexy/hot) but are much less serious. The use of Vietized-English makes them much less serious and more joking.
Tinh Tế – An Elegant Woman in Vietnamese
Tinh tế is like the English equivalent of elegant or classy, generally reserved for women, but also luxurious items.
Tinh tế is not just about physical elegance, but also about the woman’s behaviour: i.e., classy, regal and lady-like.
So F**king Beautiful!
To be hip and cool and add extra emphasis to your declarations of beauty, you can replace Đẹp quá with Đẹp vãi đái – it is best translated as “You’re so f**king beautiful!” Read more about this beloved (and kinda rude) slang here: vãi đái.
READ MORE: Understand Vietnamese Dating Culture and how Vietnamese Women Differ from Western Women