Vietnamese food words every menu reader should know

The Vietnamese food words that unlock most menus fall into three groups: the base (like bún for rice vermicelli, phở for flat rice noodles and cơm for rice), the protein (like bò for beef, gà for chicken and tôm for shrimp) and the cooking method (like nướng for grilled and chiên for fried). Dish names usually stack these together, so "bún bò nướng" is simply vermicelli with grilled beef.

Learn the words below and you'll be able to decode a surprising amount of any Vietnamese menu.

How dish names are built

Vietnamese dish names usually go base + protein + method or style:

• cơm gà nướng – rice + chicken + grilled
• bún thịt nướng – vermicelli + pork + grilled
• phở bò tái – phở + beef + rare

Once you see that pattern, menus get much less intimidating.

Noodles, rice and bread

• phở – flat rice noodles, and the soup made with them (fuh, with a questioning tone)
• bún – round rice vermicelli (boon)
• mì – wheat or egg noodles (mee)
• miến – glass noodles, often from mung bean or cassava starch
• hủ tiếu – thin rice noodles in Southern soups; see hủ tiếu
• cơm – cooked rice, and by extension "a meal"
• bánh mì – bread, and the famous sandwich

Bánh on its own is a broad word for cakes, breads, dumplings and many flour- or rice-based foods. Bánh xèo (crispy pancake), bánh cuốn (steamed rolls) and bánh flan (custard) are very different dishes.

Meat and protein

• bò – beef
• gà – chicken
• heo (South) / lợn (North) – pork
• thịt – meat; on its own often means pork
• vịt – duck
• trứng – egg
• đậu hũ (South) / đậu phụ (North) – tofu

Seafood

• tôm – shrimp
• cua – crab
• cá – fish
• mực – squid
• ốc – snails, a popular snack in the South
• nghêu – clams

Allergy note: seafood shows up in unexpected places, including fish sauce in most dipping sauces and dried shrimp in broths. If you have an allergy, ask directly.

Cooking methods

• nướng – grilled
• chiên (South) / rán (North) – fried
• xào – stir-fried
• hấp – steamed
• luộc – boiled
• kho – braised or simmered in a salty-sweet sauce
• quay – roasted (as in heo quay, crispy roast pork)

Dish types

• canh – a light, brothy soup served with a rice meal
• lẩu – hot pot
• gỏi (South) / nộm (North) – salad
• chả – a patty, sausage or loaf, often pork
• cháo – rice porridge
• chè – sweet dessert soups and puddings; see chè explained

Phở-specific words

• tái – rare beef slices that cook in the hot broth
• chín – well-done brisket
• nạm – flank
• gầu – fatty brisket
• gân – tendon
• bò viên – beef meatballs
• đặc biệt – "special," usually a combo of everything

Useful extras

• chay – vegetarian (but always ask about fish sauce)
• cay – spicy; không cay – not spicy
• đá – ice; trà đá – iced tea
• nước – water, broth or sauce depending on context
• thêm – extra, more
• khô – dry (noodles with broth on the side)

Ordering with these words

You can point and say the dish, then add a word or two:

• Cho tôi một tô phở bò tái. – One bowl of rare beef phở, please.
• Không hành. – No onions.
• Ít cay. – A little spicy.

For prices, the phrase is bao nhiêu (how much), covered in bao nhiêu.

Regional notes

North and South use different everyday words for a few staples: pork, tofu, fried and salad above are the big ones. Menus in the US often follow Southern usage because many restaurant families came from the South, but you'll see both.

Screenshot the cooking-method list and keep it on your phone; those seven words will tell you how almost any dish is prepared.