50 Most Common Vietnamese Verbs (with Examples)

Verbs are where language becomes action. If you learn fifty well-chosen Vietnamese verbs, you can describe almost every everyday situation: where you are, where you are going, what you are doing, what you want, what you think, what you say. And because Vietnamese verbs never change form — no conjugation, no past-tense endings, no agreement — learning a verb is as simple as learning a noun. This guide presents the fifty highest-frequency Vietnamese verbs grouped by what they do, each with a short example sentence showing how it actually works in context.

Why focus on the top 50 verbs?

Frequency analysis of spoken Vietnamese consistently shows that fewer than 100 verbs cover the majority of everyday speech. Master the top 50 and you will recognize and use the verbs in nearly every conversation you have in the first year. Vocabulary growth is exponential when you start from the right base — high-frequency words connect to everything, while obscure words leave you stranded.

These verbs also pair naturally with the four core tense and aspect particles — đã, đang, sẽ, rồi — covered in our guide to verb particles. Once both the verbs and the particles feel automatic, you have a complete sentence-building system.

What are the existence and "to be" verbs?

Vietnamese splits the English "to be" into different verbs depending on what follows. There is no single universal copula.

1. là — to be (linking nouns). Tôi là người Mỹ. (I am American.)
2. thì — to be (linking adjectives in certain patterns). Trời thì nóng. (The weather is hot.) Often optional in modern speech.
3. có — to have / there is. Tôi có hai con mèo. (I have two cats.) Có một quán cà phê gần đây. (There is a cafe nearby.)
4. không có — to not have / there is not. Tôi không có thời gian. (I don't have time.)
5. ở — to be located / to stay. Tôi ở Hà Nội. (I am in Hanoi.)
6. trở thành — to become. Em muốn trở thành bác sĩ. (I want to become a doctor.)

Note that with simple adjectival predicates ("I am tired", "she is happy"), Vietnamese often uses no copula at all: Tôi mệt (I tired), Cô ấy vui (she happy). The adjective behaves like a stative verb. This is one of the most economical features of Vietnamese grammar.

What are the motion verbs?

Motion verbs in Vietnamese are precise and frequent — you will use them every day, often combined to express direction and aspect.

7. đi — to go. Tôi đi học. (I go to school.) Probably the single highest-frequency verb in spoken Vietnamese.
8. đến — to come / arrive. Bạn đến lúc nào? (When did you arrive?)
9. về — to return / go home. Em về nhà. (I am going home.)
10. ra — to go out / exit. Anh ra ngoài. (He goes outside.)
11. vào — to enter / go in. Mời vào. (Please come in.)
12. lên — to go up. Lên tầng hai. (Go up to the second floor.)
13. xuống — to go down. Xuống xe. (Get off the vehicle.)
14. chạy — to run. Tôi chạy mỗi sáng. (I run every morning.)
15. đứng — to stand. Đứng dậy! (Stand up!)
16. ngồi — to sit. Mời ngồi. (Please sit.)

Vietnamese often stacks motion verbs to add direction or path. Đi vào = "go in"; đi ra = "go out"; chạy lên = "run up"; về nhà = "return home". This compositional pattern is productive — you can combine motion verbs creatively to describe specific movements.

What are the daily life verbs?

These are the verbs that describe what you do in a typical day — eat, drink, sleep, work, study, watch, listen.

17. ăn — to eat. Tôi ăn phở. (I eat pho.)
18. uống — to drink. Em uống cà phê. (I drink coffee.)
19. ngủ — to sleep. Tôi ngủ tám tiếng. (I sleep eight hours.)
20. làm — to do / make / work. Bạn làm gì? (What do you do?) One of the most versatile verbs.
21. học — to study / learn. Em học tiếng Việt. (I am studying Vietnamese.)
22. nghe — to listen / hear. Tôi nghe nhạc. (I listen to music.)
23. nói — to speak / say. Anh nói tiếng Anh không? (Do you speak English?)
24. đọc — to read. Em đang đọc sách. (I am reading a book.)
25. viết — to write. Tôi viết thư. (I am writing a letter.)
26. xem — to watch / see. Chúng tôi xem phim. (We are watching a movie.)
27. hiểu — to understand. Tôi không hiểu. (I don't understand.) Essential survival verb.
28. tắm — to bathe / shower. Em đang tắm. (I'm showering.)
29. nấu — to cook. Mẹ nấu cơm. (Mom is cooking rice.)

What are the mental and emotional verbs?

These verbs describe knowing, remembering, liking, wanting and feeling — the inner verbs that shape personal communication.

30. biết — to know. Tôi biết. (I know.) Used for both knowing facts and knowing people.
31. nhớ — to remember / miss. Em nhớ bạn. (I miss you.) Doubles as "remember" and "miss" depending on context.
32. quên — to forget. Tôi quên rồi. (I forgot.)
33. thích — to like. Bạn thích phở không? (Do you like pho?)
34. ghét — to hate. Tôi ghét trời mưa. (I hate rainy weather.)
35. yêu — to love. Anh yêu em. (I love you.) Reserved for romantic love and deep family love.
36. sợ — to fear / be afraid. Em sợ chó. (I'm afraid of dogs.)
37. muốn — to want. Tôi muốn đi du lịch. (I want to travel.)
38. cần — to need. Bạn cần gì? (What do you need?)
39. nghĩ — to think. Tôi nghĩ vậy. (I think so.)
40. tin — to believe. Em tin anh. (I believe you.)

What are the communication verbs?

Beyond the basic nói (speak), Vietnamese has a rich set of verbs for asking, answering, telling and the social activities of communication.

41. hỏi — to ask. Cho hỏi nhà vệ sinh ở đâu? (May I ask where the restroom is?)
42. trả lời — to answer / reply. Tôi sẽ trả lời sau. (I will answer later.)
43. kể — to tell (a story) / recount. Kể cho tôi nghe. (Tell me.)
44. cười — to laugh / smile. Tại sao bạn cười? (Why are you laughing?)
45. khóc — to cry. Em bé đang khóc. (The baby is crying.)
46. chào — to greet. Em chào cô. (I greet you, teacher.)
47. cảm ơn — to thank. Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều. (Thank you very much.)
48. xin lỗi — to apologize / say sorry. Xin lỗi anh. (Sorry, sir.)

What are the possession and exchange verbs?

This set covers giving, taking, buying, selling and the verbs of everyday exchanges.

49. đưa — to give / hand over. Đưa cho tôi. (Give it to me.)
50. lấy — to take / get. Tôi lấy cái này. (I'll take this one.)
51. mua — to buy. Em mua cà phê. (I am buying coffee.)
52. bán — to sell. Họ bán phở. (They sell pho.)
53. mang — to bring / carry. Bạn mang gì đến? (What did you bring?)
54. mượn — to borrow. Cho em mượn bút. (Lend me a pen.)
55. trả — to return / pay back. Em sẽ trả tiền. (I will pay.) Also "to pay" in the financial sense.
56. tìm — to look for / search. Tôi đang tìm chìa khoá. (I'm looking for my key.)

How are Vietnamese verbs different from English?

The single biggest grammatical feature of Vietnamese verbs is that they never change form. Compare:

The verb ăn (eat) and học (study) and đi (go) never change. Time is added through particles, person is shown through pronouns, and aspect is added through markers like đã and rồi. This means once you learn a Vietnamese verb, you know every form it has — there is no irregular conjugation, no "I am, you are, he is", no past participle to memorize. The verb stock you build directly translates into usable sentences without further morphological work.

How should you practice verbs?

The most effective verb practice combines four things:

1. Learn each verb inside a sentence. Never memorize a verb as a single word. The example sentences above give the verb a real context that helps it stick.
2. Pair each verb with the four particles. Take any verb — say ăn — and run it through all four time frames: Tôi ăn (present), Tôi đã ăn (past), Tôi đang ăn (in progress), Tôi sẽ ăn (future), Tôi ăn rồi (completed). This drill internalizes both the verb and the tense system simultaneously.
3. Group verbs by topic, not by alphabet. Studying daily-life verbs together (ăn, uống, ngủ, làm, học) is more memorable than studying random verbs alphabetically.
4. Use verbs in real conversation. A verb you have only read on a flashcard is half-learned. A verb you have used in a sentence with a native speaker is truly yours.

For real-time correction on verb usage and particle placement, working with a native teacher is the highest-leverage move you can make — see our guide on why learning with a native speaker matters.

How do verbs combine into full Vietnamese sentences?

A full Vietnamese sentence typically follows this pattern: Subject + (tense particle) + Verb + (object) + (location/time). The verb sits in the middle and is surrounded by the elements that give it context.

• Tôi đã ăn phở ở Hà Nội hôm qua. — I ate pho in Hanoi yesterday. (subject + đã + verb + object + location + time)
• Em đang học tiếng Việt với cô giáo. — I am studying Vietnamese with the teacher. (subject + đang + verb + object + with-phrase)
• Anh ấy sẽ đi Việt Nam năm sau. — He will go to Vietnam next year. (subject + sẽ + verb + place + time)

Notice the consistency: subject first, particle next, verb central, then the rest. Vietnamese word order is one of the friendliest features of the language for English speakers — SVO matches English, and the addition of particles is mechanical rather than complex.

What are some verbs that often come in pairs?

Vietnamese has a productive habit of stacking two verbs that work together — one verb describes the action, the other describes the direction, result or aspect. Recognizing these compounds prevents confusion when you see them in real text.

• đi về — go and return / go home. Tôi đi về quê. (I go back to my hometown.)
• đi ra — go out. Em đi ra ngoài chơi. (I'm going out to play.)
• đi vào — go in. Mời anh đi vào. (Please come in, sir.)
• chạy ra — run out. Con chó chạy ra cửa. (The dog ran out to the door.)
• mang đến — bring (here). Mang đến cho tôi. (Bring it to me.)
• mang đi — take (away). Mang đi giúp tôi. (Take it away for me.)
• nói chuyện — talk (literally "say story"). Chúng tôi nói chuyện cả đêm. (We talked all night.)
• làm việc — work (literally "do work"). Bạn làm việc ở đâu? (Where do you work?)

This compositional structure is one of Vietnamese's most productive features. Once you know the base verbs (đi, ra, vào, lên, xuống) you can compose a wide range of directional meanings without learning separate words.

How do imperatives and requests work with these verbs?

To form a command or request, Vietnamese typically uses the bare verb with no subject, often softened by politeness words. Unlike English, there is no "please" word that always fits — Vietnamese uses different softeners for different registers.

• Ăn đi! — Eat! (casual command; đi here is a softening particle, not the verb "go")
• Mời ăn. — Please eat. (literally "invite-eat"; mời is the most polite invitation form)
• Làm ơn cho tôi xem. — Please let me see. (làm ơn = "kindly")
• Xin lỗi, cho hỏi... — Excuse me, may I ask... (xin + cho for polite requests)
• Vui lòng đợi. — Please wait. (vui lòng is formal politeness, common in customer service)

The choice between mời, làm ơn, xin and vui lòng depends on the social context. Mời is warm and inviting; làm ơn is asking a favor; xin is humble; vui lòng is formal. Mixing them appropriately makes your Vietnamese sound natural rather than translated.

Ready to build a real Vietnamese vocabulary?

Fifty verbs is enough to describe almost any daily situation if you pair them with the right particles and pronouns. To go from list-memorization to real use, pair this guide with our guide to verb particles, our guide to classifiers, and our complete pronoun guide. Together they form a complete sentence-building toolkit.

Book a discounted trial lesson at Vietlingo and spend the session running these verbs through real conversations with a native teacher who can correct particle placement, pronoun choice and pronunciation in real time. Or browse our structured beginner courses by level to find a graded vocabulary path. Every verb you master in real use compounds — after fifty, the next fifty come twice as fast, and the door to real Vietnamese conversation opens wide.