Words ranked by frequency from Vietnamese Wikipedia, grouped into proficiency levels. See also: browse all words by rank.
Words every beginner needs. High-frequency function words and basic vocabulary.
Everyday conversation vocabulary. Common nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
Reading comprehension vocabulary. Needed for news articles and general texts.
Academic and nuanced vocabulary. Specialized topics and formal registers.
Domain-specific and rare words. Technical, literary, and regional terms.
| # | word | frequency | definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2201 | giữ lại | 815 | Detain, stop the circulation of |
| 2202 | một chút | 815 | a little, a tiny bit, a short while, moment, instant |
| 2203 | đảm nhận | 815 | to assume, take on responsibility |
| 2204 | bản chất | 813 | by nature, in essence; essence, substance, nature |
| 2205 | chuyến đi | 813 | trip, voyage, journey |
| 2206 | đòn | 813 | (1) to strike, hit; blow, beating, thrashing (2) lever |
| 2207 | tin tức | 812 | data, news, tidings, intelligence |
| 2208 | tổn thương | 811 | to hurt, damage, wound, injure, harm |
| 2209 | bài báo | 810 | newspaper article |
| 2210 | cập nhật | 810 | to revise, update; up to date |
| 2211 | đồng hồ | 810 | clock, watch |
| 2212 | bia | 809 | (1) tombstone, stone, slab, stele; (2) target, bull’s eye; (3) beer |
| 2213 | vườn quốc gia | 808 | national park |
| 2214 | bao | 807 | (1) how much, many, so much, so many, some, any; (2) envelope, bag, pack, cas... |
| 2215 | bơi | 807 | to swim, row, paddle |
| 2216 | gói | 807 | packet, parcel, package; to pack, wrap, bundle |
| 2217 | man | 807 | (1) false; (2) savage, barbarian |
| 2218 | phiên | 807 | market day; session |
| 2219 | tài | 807 | skill, talent, gift; skilful, talented |
| 2220 | đối tác | 807 | partner |
| 2221 | nghỉ | 806 | to rest, relax |
| 2222 | nguyên tử | 806 | atom, atomic, nuclear |
| 2223 | quảng | 806 | about; wide, large |
| 2224 | vận hành | 806 | to move, revolve, operate, work, run |
| 2225 | đồng bằng | 806 | delta (of a river), plains, lowland |
| 2226 | lập tức | 805 | immediately, at once, right away |
| 2227 | đế quốc | 805 | empire; imperialist |
| 2228 | hoàn tất | 804 | to finish, complete, be completed; finished, complete |
| 2229 | phát sinh | 804 | to create, produce |
| 2230 | phản ánh | 804 | to recount, tell, inform |
| 2231 | thác | 804 | waterfall |
| 2232 | túi | 804 | pocket, bag |
| 2233 | cơn | 803 | attack, outburst, fit, bout; period, crises |
| 2234 | thoát khỏi | 801 | to escape, get out, break out |
| 2235 | căng thẳng | 800 | tense, tight, strained, stressed; tension, stress; to become tense, strained |
| 2236 | cơ cấu | 800 | mechanism, framework, structure |
| 2237 | lương thực | 800 | foods, rations, provisions |
| 2238 | nghiệm | 800 | consider |
| 2239 | đối đầu | 800 | to face, oppose, fight, struggle, confront; fight, struggle |
| 2240 | kiến thức | 799 | knowledge, learning |
| 2241 | lương | 799 | food, salary, wages |
| 2242 | nhân khẩu | 799 | population |
| 2243 | sản lượng | 799 | output, production, productivity, yield |
| 2244 | âm mưu | 799 | plot, conspiracy, scheme; to plot, conspire |
| 2245 | đứa | 799 | (indicates a person of lower status) |
| 2246 | chỉnh | 798 | (1) right, straight; to correct (2) to be set, arranged |
| 2247 | cực kỳ | 798 | extremely, very |
| 2248 | nhĩ | 798 | ear |
| 2249 | nấu | 798 | to cook, boil |
| 2250 | buôn bán | 797 | commerce, trade; to trade, do or carry out business |
| 2251 | vi phạm | 797 | to transgress, violate; violation |
| 2252 | Đan Mạch | 797 | Denmark, Danish |
| 2253 | di truyền | 796 | hereditary |
| 2254 | trí | 796 | mind, spirit |
| 2255 | xét | 796 | to examine, judge, pass judgment, consider |
| 2256 | mãi | 795 | (for) a long time, always for ever, for good, unceasingly, continually; to co... |
| 2257 | cháu | 794 | grandchild, grandson, granddaughter, nephew, niece, my child |
| 2258 | hiến | 794 | (1) to offer, devote, consecrate; (2) constitution |
| 2259 | kháng chiến | 794 | to resist (an invader); resistance |
| 2260 | rối loạn | 794 | confused, troubled, disordered; disturbance, disorder; abnormal |
| 2261 | thủ lĩnh | 794 | leader |
| 2262 | mỗi ngày | 793 | each day, everyday |
| 2263 | Triều Tiên | 792 | Korea |
| 2264 | độc đáo | 792 | extraordinary, unique |
| 2265 | lớn lên | 791 | to grow up |
| 2266 | nhắm | 791 | to aim at, target; to train; to close, shut (one’s eyes) |
| 2267 | kể cả | 790 | (even) including, included, inclusive |
| 2268 | nghi lễ | 790 | rites, rituals, ceremony ceremonies, protocols |
| 2269 | sự | 790 | deed, act, action event, occurrence, (classifier for actions, states) |
| 2270 | voi | 790 | elephant |
| 2271 | khi đó | 789 | when that happens, when that occurs, then |
| 2272 | nhà ở | 789 | dwelling |
| 2273 | thép | 789 | steel, iron |
| 2274 | chiếm đóng | 787 | to occupy (territory); occupation |
| 2275 | thiên hà | 787 | galaxy, the Milky way |
| 2276 | hợp pháp | 786 | legal, legitimate, lawful |
| 2277 | lũ | 786 | torrential rain, downpour, flood |
| 2278 | dấu | 785 | mark, sign, signal, (tone) mark, stamp, track, print, trace, tone, seal |
| 2279 | leo | 785 | to climb, creep |
| 2280 | ngân sách | 785 | budget, estimate |
| 2281 | công suất | 784 | power (of motor), output capacity, capacity |
| 2282 | ấm | 784 | (1) (pleasantly) warm; (2) teapot, coffeepot, kettle; (3) [CL for containers]... |
| 2283 | lam | 783 | (1) temple, (2) dark blue, indigo blue |
| 2284 | lan | 781 | to spread |
| 2285 | giàu | 779 | to be wealthy, rich |
| 2286 | khía cạnh | 779 | angle, aspect, regard |
| 2287 | đặc tính | 779 | attribute, characteristic, particularity; special; especially, particularly |
| 2288 | trong lúc | 778 | which, while |
| 2289 | đậu | 777 | (1) bean; (2) to pass an examination; (3) to park (a car), perch, set (bird) |
| 2290 | gai | 776 | (Bot) flax |
| 2291 | hữu | 776 | (1) to have, own; (2) right; (3) friend |
| 2292 | tước | 776 | (1) title (of nobility); (2) to strip, remove |
| 2293 | bắt buộc | 775 | to force, compel, require; compulsory, mandatory, obligatory, required |
| 2294 | giải pháp | 775 | solution (to a problem) |
| 2295 | khủng hoảng | 775 | crisis, emergency, critical moment, turning point |
| 2296 | Lào | 774 | Laos |
| 2297 | ít hơn | 774 | less than |
| 2298 | đâu | 772 | where, here, this; at all (negation marker) |
| 2299 | lịch | 771 | calendar, agenda; to pass, experiment |
| 2300 | thắng lợi | 771 | victory, success |