“So F**king Awesome!” in Vietnamese, and Other Slangs for Emphasis

Photo credit:  Yifei Chen

Vietnam’s young Millennials and Gen Z’ers are very inventive with language. As a foreigner, you can easily delight and impress Vietnamese speakers by learning their silly slangs that aren’t taught formally in school, but which dominate their spoken language.

Some of the most commonly used slangs include different ways of say “very” (i.e,. to emphasis something). “Very” is Vãi in Vietnamese, pronounced like veye-eye with a broken up-tone.

Just like in English, there are polite and rude ways to add more emphasis and get people’s attention. For example, you may say “That is very good” or “That is so f–king good!”

^{· Quá – generic way to say very, with an up-tone.}

^{· Vãi – cooler way to say very, with a broken up-tone.}

^{· Vãi chưởng – like “super very” – polite, okay to say with everyone.}

^{· Vãi đái – like “f**kin very” – rude and hip among youth, with an up-tone.}

How to say “Very” in Vietnamese

To add some cool emphasis to an adjective or descriptor, you just have to add vãi after the adjective. For example:

• Giỏi vãi – very good
• Xinh vãi – very nice
• Ngon vãi – delicious, very tasty
• Đẹp vãi – very beautiful

This is in contrast to English, where “very” or “super” are added before the adjective.

Vãi đái – So F**king Good in Vietnamese

Vãi đái is like “so very” or “extremely” or “so f**king X” — it is considered rude and should not be uttered in formal situations or in front of old people. However, if you are among people younger than you, or among close friends, it is a fun and much beloved slang.

Vãi đái literally translates to “it is so [adjective] that it makes me want to pee”, but a better English translation is “so f**king [adjective]”. It is pronounced like veye-eye die? with an up-tone on die?

To use vãi đái, add the expression after a descriptor or adjective.

• Em đẹp vãi đái – You are so frickin beautiful (said to a women)
• Anh đep trai vãi đái – You are so f**king handsome (said to a man)

Vãi chưởng – “Super” in Vietnamese

While vãi đái should not be used in the presence of elders or respectable persons, the polite way of adding emphasis is vãi chưởng, pronounced like veye-eye chew-ong. Like vãi đái, you can add it after an adjective to add extra emphasis.

Read more about Vietnamese adjectives here.