Vietnamese

noun

Viet·​nam·​ese vē-ˌet-nə-ˈmēz 

ˌvyet-,

ˌvē-ət- 

ˌvēt-,

-na-,

-nä-,

-ˈmēs 

plural Vietnamese

1

: a native or inhabitant of Vietnam

2

: the language of the largest group in Vietnam and the official language of the country

Vietnamese adjective

Examples of Vietnamese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Celebrated by Chinese diasporas and other East Asian populations as well as the Vietnamese, the occasion is also largely considered the most important holiday of the year for these cultures. —Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2025

Apple plans to upgrade its AI features to support non-English languages this year, including Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. —Emily Forlini, PCMAG, 14 Jan. 2025

More than three years passed between President Richard Nixon’s opening peace initiative in 1969 and the agreement for which Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese General Le Duc Tho received the Nobel Peace Prize. —Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025

While pho and banh mi are easily identifiable as Vietnamese, there’s so much more to the fare than these two quintessential items. —Christina Liao, Vogue, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Vietnamese

• Vietnamese cinnamon
• Vietnamese potbellied pig

Kids Definition

Vietnamese

noun

Viet·​nam·​ese vē-ˌet-nə-ˈmēz  ˌvyet-  ˌvē-ət- 

ˌvēt-,

-na-,

-nä,

-ˈmēs

plural Vietnamese

1

: a person born or living in Vietnam

2

: the official language of Vietnam

Vietnamese adjective