Vietnamese superstitions: 15 beliefs and where they come from

Common Vietnamese superstitions include not sweeping the house during the first days of Tết, choosing a lucky first visitor for the new year and avoiding bananas before an exam. Many of them come from wordplay, ancestor worship or the lunar calendar, and how seriously people take them varies a lot from family to family.

Here are 15 you are likely to hear about, grouped by where they come from.

Beliefs around Tết

Tết, the Lunar New Year, is when superstitions are most visible, because people believe the first days set the tone for the whole year.

1. Don't sweep during the first days of Tết. Sweeping is thought to push good luck out of the house. Families clean thoroughly before the holiday so they can leave the broom alone.

2. The first visitor matters. The custom of xông đất (first-footing) holds that the first person to enter your home in the new year influences your luck. Families sometimes invite someone with a cheerful personality or a compatible birth year to be first.

3. Avoid arguments and crying. A quarrel on the first day is seen as a bad start that might repeat all year.

4. Don't break things. A broken bowl or glass at Tết is considered unlucky, so people are extra careful.

5. Don't lend or borrow money early in the year. Lending money at the start of the year is thought to send your fortune out the door.

For the dates of the next holiday, see when is Tết 2027. Tết 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6.

The Kitchen Gods

6. Send off Ông Táo. On the 23rd day of the last lunar month, many families honor the Kitchen Gods (Ông Táo), who are said to report to the Jade Emperor about the household's year. Releasing live carp into a river or pond is a common part of the custom, because the carp is believed to carry the gods to heaven. Before Tết 2027, this falls on January 30.

Beliefs that come from wordplay

Vietnamese has many words that sound alike, and some superstitions grow straight out of puns.

7. No bananas before an exam. Bananas (chuối) are linked to slipping, and trượt means both "slip" and "fail an exam."

8. No eggs before an exam either. An egg looks like a zero, the score nobody wants.

9. Number 4 can feel unlucky. In Sino-Vietnamese, tứ (four) sounds close to tử (death), so some people avoid it in phone numbers and license plates. Number 9, by contrast, is widely treated as lucky.

Beliefs about the spirit world

10. Ghost month calls for caution. The seventh lunar month is often called tháng cô hồn, the month of wandering spirits. Many people avoid big decisions, like buying a house or starting a business, and make offerings to spirits without families.

11. Don't stand chopsticks upright in rice. It looks like incense placed for the dead, so it is avoided at the table.

12. Three people in a photo. Some people believe the person standing in the middle of a three-person photo will have bad luck. It is often treated as a joke now, but you may still see people rearrange themselves.

Beliefs about animals

13. A stray dog brings wealth, a stray cat brings hardship. A well-known saying goes "Chó đến nhà thì sang, mèo đến nhà thì khó": a dog arriving at your home brings prosperity, a cat brings difficulty. Cat lovers, including the four cats of Duma Meow, would object. Fun related fact: Vietnam's zodiac has the Cat where China's has the Rabbit.

14. Owls and crows as bad omens. The call of an owl or crow near a house is traditionally linked to bad news.

Beliefs about compatibility

15. Age and birth year matter for big events. Families sometimes check the compatibility of birth years before a wedding, or pick a lucky date for a move, a wedding or a shop opening. This draws on the lunar calendar and the zodiac.

How seriously do people take them?

It depends on the person. Older relatives may follow these beliefs closely, while younger people might treat them as tradition or playful habit. Many people follow a few customs "just in case" without truly believing them. Our guide to Vietnamese culture and traditions you will notice first gives more background.

A respectful approach for visitors

If you are a guest during Tết or ghost month, follow your host's lead. Don't sweep, don't joke about death, and accept the customs as part of the experience. Nobody expects you to know them all, and a little curiosity is usually welcome.

When in doubt during Tết, keep things cheerful, keep the broom in the closet and ask your host what they do.