Insightful Tips for Vietnamese Localization Projects
The demands for Vietnamese localization have grown enormously in recent years as more and more companies choose to expand their business in Vietnam. Being among the fastest-growing economies in Asia, combined with a large population of 97 million people – over half of which are of working age – are two of the main factors that make Vietnam a potential target market for many companies that are going global.
After discussing with our team of in-house native Vietnamese translators, GTE Localize has listed tips and advice that we believe will help you avoid common mistakes when localizing your content for Vietnamese people.
What Advice For The Best Vietnamese Localization
Vietnam has attracted several international enterprises due to its spectacular progress over the past 30 years. Here are 5 notes to enter this potential market.
1. Personal Pronouns Are Important In Vietnamese Localization
The Vietnamese language consists of numerous personal pronouns that are only meaningful when used in the correct context. Also, using the right personal pronouns shows your respect for people of different ages or refers to their social status.
For example, when talking to an elderly, you are considered disrespectful if using “Tôi” or “Tao”. The pronoun you should use in this case is “Cháu”. Although “Tôi”, “Tao” or “Cháu” all means “I”, the two former pronouns are only appropriate to people around your age while the latter is used when talking to old people.
Due to this complexity, carefully choosing suitable personal pronouns when communicating with your target audiences in Vietnam is highly needed. In general, brands prefer to use formal pronouns when talking to clients – “Bạn”. However, to make sure the pronouns you use are appropriate and create a good impression on audiences, you should send your professional native linguists your audience’s profile and get recommendations from them.
Below is the table of singular Vietnamese pronouns for your reference when selecting pronouns for your Vietnamese localization projects:
| Vietnamese Pronoun | English equivalence | How to use it | |
| First-person | Tôi | I | – Refer to yourself (formal) |
| Tao | – Refer to yourself with close friends (informal) | ||
| Second person | Bạn | You | – Use for a person who is at the same age as you or your friends. |
| Em | – Miss, girl or boy (younger than you, informal) | ||
| Anh | – Mr. (older than you) | ||
| Chị | – Miss or Mrs. in formal address | ||
| Ông | – Mr., Sir., gentleman (formal) | ||
| Bà | – Mrs., Madam, lady (formal) | ||
| Mày | – Address between close friends (to use with “tao” – first-person) | ||
| Third-person | Em ấy | He | – Boy (younger than you) |
| Anh ấy | – Mr. (Older than you or slightly younger than you in the formal address) | ||
| Ông ấy | – Mr. (a person is older than you or of higher status) | ||
| Em ấy | She | – Girl (younger than you) | |
| Cô ấy | – Miss/Mrs. | ||
| Chị ấy | – Miss/Mrs. | ||
| Bà ấy | – Lady, Mrs, Madam (a person is older than you or of higher status) | ||
| Nó | It | – Thing in general |
2. Different Regional Writing Styles
The Vietnamese language used within Vietnam itself and Vietnamese communities around the world has some significant differences in terms of writing styles (mostly spelling and vocabulary).
Geographically, Vietnam can be divided into three main regions: Northern Vietnam, Central Vietnam, and Southern Vietnam whose people use distinct spelling as well as vocabulary in both written and oral communication.
Spelling – In general, Vietnamese people regardless of their location can understand the meaning of words that have some slight differences in spelling. However, the spelling used in Hanoi, Northern Vietnam is considered as the “standard” Vietnamese which is used by schools, course books, official materials, and the media. Therefore, most translated content into Vietnamese is in the Northern Vietnam spelling.
Below are examples of the differences in the spelling of words in three regions that you have to know when aiming at Vietnamese localization.
| Spelling in Northern Vietnam | Spelling in Central Vietnam | Spelling in Southern Vietnam | Meaning in English |
| Hành chính | Hành chính | Hành chánh | Administrative |
| Tài chính | Tài chính | Tài chánh | Finance |
Vocabulary – Unlike spelling, Vietnamese vocabulary in each region is significantly different from one another. In fact, even native speakers from different areas misuse words or misunderstand one another sometimes.
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- Same words but different meanings
| Words in Vietnamese | Meaning in Northern Vietnamese | Meaning in Central Vietnamese | Meaning in Southern Vietnamese |
| Quả mận | Plum | Plum | Java apple |
| Tầng 1 | First Floor | First Floor | Second Floor |
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- Different words for the same meanings
| Words in English | Northern Vietnamese | Central Vietnamese | Southern Vietnamese |
| Peanuts | Lạc | Đậu phụng, đậu lạc | Đậu phộng |
| Mom | Mẹ | Má, Mạ | Má |
| Sick | Ốm | Đau | Bịnh/Bệnh |
Due to the complexity of the Vietnamese dialects, companies when establishing a Vietnamese localization strategy should pay extra attention to choosing the right words for a better audience experience. For formal documents such as contracts and agreements, you should use Northern Vietnamese vocabulary as it is the standard language. However, for marketing materials, it is highly recommended that you customize your content and messages by using the dialects of the targeted locations to bring the audience a better experience and impression of your brand.
In general, we recommend you use professional Vietnamese translation services from a trusted localization agency or certified translators who understand the Vietnamese regional writing styles for the best outcome.
3. Capitalization System Is Complex When Handling Vietnamese Localization
In the Vietnamese language, the use of capitalization has a considerable effect on the meaning of words and it shows your company’s professionalism and understanding of the language and culture. The capitalization rules for the Vietnamese language are quite complex. Below are some of the most notable rules that you should pay extra attention to when localizing content into Vietnamese:
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- Capitalize the first letter of a term if it is a heading or if each word in the source language is capitalized. For example, Protected Health Information = Thông tin sức khỏe được bảo vệ.
- Capitalize the first letter of words or phrases indicating the type of agency or organization, functions, and fields of operation of agencies and organizations. For example, World Health Organization = Tổ chức Y tế Thế giới.
- Capitalize the first letter of each word if they are personal names, location names, etc. For example, New York, Hà Nội, Nguyễn Văn A.
With the specific rules that you must adapt to when running any Vietnamese localization project, Vietnamese proofreading translation seems to be an essential final step.
4. Word Expansion in Vietnamese Localization Text
When translating words from a foreign language into Vietnamese, the length of words is usually expanded to some extent. While the text expansion does not relate to the accuracy of the translation, it affects the layout and design, especially for high-visual content such as brochures, posters, or websites. Even if you use a professional template for poster you need to still consider what can happen after the localization process.
Take English to Vietnamese translation as an example. It is estimated that translated Vietnamese documents are likely to be 30-37% longer than their original in English. This is because the expression in Vietnamese is usually much longer and more detailed compared to English expressions.
If you want to keep the layout of the translation intact or you need to meet the character limits, then you should ask the translators to choose short words and sentence structures to meet the requirements. And in general, it is necessary to apply professional Desktop Publishing Services to handle the word expansion of Vietnamese localization and translation effectively.
5. Other Vietnamese Localization Details and Locale Specifics
Below is the checklist of Vietnamese localization details you should consider:
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- Facebook is the most popular social media site in Vietnam with a huge number of users. In fact, Vietnam was seventh among the countries with the highest number of Facebook users as of January 2022.
- Vietnamese people use the metric system of measurement (meters, kilometers, km/h, and Celsius).
- The date format is date-month-year.
- Both 24-hour and 12-hour clock notation is widely used. 24-hour notation is commonly used in transport timetables, legal documents, and television schedules, while 12-hour notation is mostly for daily conversation. When using the 12-hour clock, people have to add sáng (in the morning), trưa (noon), chiều (afternoon), tối (evening), or đêm (night) after the time. For example, 9 P.M = 9 giờ tối.
- The full name format is the family name followed by the given name.
- The address format is house number, street, ward, district, and city.
If you are planning on localizing your content not only in Vietnam but also in other Asian languages, download our whitepaper with insightful tips for localization into 10 Asian languages.
Wrap Up
The complexity of the Vietnamese language, along with its rich culture requires foreign companies to do proper research for a better chance of achieving a successful Vietnamese localization project. By following our recommended tips and insights, we hope you can establish a smart Vietnamese localization strategy that will help you make a splash in this potential market.
And if you have any Vietnamese localization or translation project, get a free call with our experts immediately to get the best quote with the best services!
