Choose the words for I and you first
Tôi yêu bạn is a neutral, literal way to say “I love you” in Vietnamese. Partners often use Anh yêu em or Em yêu anh, depending on how they address each other.
The word yêu means “love.” The words around it identify the two people, so choosing the right pronouns matters as much as knowing the verb.
| Expression | Choose it when… |
|---|---|
| Tôi yêu bạn | You are using tôi for yourself and bạn for the other person |
| Anh yêu em | You refer to yourself as anh and address the other person as em |
| Em yêu anh | You refer to yourself as em and address the other person as anh |
Why anh and em are not simply male and female
Anh comes from the term for an older brother, chị from older sister, and em from younger sibling. Vietnamese uses these relationship terms for addressing people and, in context, referring to yourself.
Em is not inherently female. The familiar couple examples are useful, but a universal “men say this, women say that” rule leaves out age and the terms the two people actually use.
Follow your existing way of addressing each other. If your relationship uses different terms, the anh/em pair is not automatically the right fit.
How to say I love you too
Add cũng before yêu, keeping the pronouns appropriate for the person replying:
- Replying as em to anh: Em cũng yêu anh.
- Replying as anh to em: Anh cũng yêu em.
Both mean “I love you too.” Do not simply repeat the other person’s pronouns: your reply is from your own point of view.
Writing and practising the phrase
Copy the Vietnamese spelling with its marks, including ô in Tôi, ê in yêu, and ũ in cũng. These are part of the written words.
Choose the matching audio card above and practise the complete expression. English approximations cannot fully represent Vietnamese pronunciation, so use the written phrase alongside listening rather than replacing it with English-sounding syllables.