Vietnamese Numbers: Counting from 1 to 1,000
Numbers are the fastest useful vocabulary you can learn in any language, and Vietnamese is no exception. With just ten words — one to ten — you can already ask a price, give your age, read a bus number and exchange phone numbers. Add a few simple building blocks and the same system carries you to one thousand: there are no irregular teens, no special words for twenty or thirty, and no separate counting words for people and things.
This guide teaches you to count from 1 to 1,000, with the correct spelling and tone for every word — and every number comes with its Telex keystrokes, so you can practise typing as you learn to count. If Telex is new to you, read our complete Telex guide first; if you know the 29 letters of the Vietnamese alphabet, start counting right now.
Numbers 1–10: your first ten words
Memorise these ten words and you own the whole system, because every bigger number is built from them. Each number has one fixed tone — change it and you change the word — so listen carefully, and use our guide to the six Vietnamese tones if you need a refresher.
| Number | Vietnamese | Tone | Type (Telex) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | một | nặng (low, cut off) | mootj |
| 2 | hai | ngang (level) | hai |
| 3 | ba | ngang (level) | ba |
| 4 | bốn | sắc (rising) | boons |
| 5 | năm | sắc (rising) | nawm |
| 6 | sáu | sắc (rising) | saus |
| 7 | bảy | hỏi (dipping) | bayr |
| 8 | tám | sắc (rising) | tams |
| 9 | chín | sắc (rising) | chins |
| 10 | mười | huyền (falling) | muowif |
A few of these words do double duty. Năm also means “year”, so “năm năm” can mean “five years” — context tells you which. Ba means “father” in the South, and mười is also the first half of every teen number, as you will see next.
11–19: just add “mười”
Vietnamese has no special words like “eleven” or “twelve”. The teens are simply mười (ten) plus the single digit — ten-one, ten-two, ten-three. Learn the pattern once and all nine teens follow:
- 11 — mười một — muowif mootj
- 12 — mười hai — muowif hai
- 13 — mười ba — muowif ba
- 14 — mười bốn — muowif boons
- 15 — mười lăm — muowif lawm
- 16 — mười sáu — muowif saus
- 17 — mười bảy — muowif bayr
- 18 — mười tám — muowif tams
- 19 — mười chín — muowif chins
Watch out for one small change: 15 is mười lăm, not “mười năm”. Whenever 5 comes after mười or mươi, it changes to lăm — the same rule applies to 25, 35, 45 and to 105 and 115. It is the only irregularity in the whole system, and it is completely regular once you know it.
The tens: 20, 30 … 90
The tens follow the same idea in reverse: digit plus mươi, the word for “tens” — twenty is “two tens”, thirty is “three tens”, and so on. Note that mươi is a different word from mười (ten): it has no tone mark and a different vowel, so say it carefully and type it as muowi, not muowif.
| Number | Vietnamese | Type (Telex) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | hai mươi | hai muowi |
| 30 | ba mươi | ba muowi |
| 40 | bốn mươi | boons muowi |
| 50 | năm mươi | nawm muowi |
| 60 | sáu mươi | saus muowi |
| 70 | bảy mươi | bayr muowi |
| 80 | tám mươi | tams muowi |
| 90 | chín mươi | chins muowi |
Once you know the tens, you know the first part of every two-digit number — only the final digit is left.
100, 200 … 900 and 1,000
Hundreds work exactly like tens: digit plus trăm. One hundred is một trăm, five hundred is năm trăm, nine hundred is chín trăm. Type trăm as trawm — the ă comes from the Telex key w after the a.
| Number | Vietnamese | Type (Telex) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | một trăm | mootj trawm |
| 200 | hai trăm | hai trawm |
| 300 | ba trăm | ba trawm |
| 400 | bốn trăm | boons trawm |
| 500 | năm trăm | nawm trawm |
| 600 | sáu trăm | saus trawm |
| 700 | bảy trăm | bayr trawm |
| 800 | tám trăm | tams trawm |
| 900 | chín trăm | chins trawm |
| 1,000 | một nghìn | mootj nghifn |
One thousand is một nghìn in the North and một ngàn in the South — same number, different regional word (type nghìn as nghifn, ngàn as ngafn). You will hear nghìn more often in Hanoi and ngàn more often in Ho Chi Minh City. The same pair continues upward: 10,000 is mười nghìn, 100,000 is một trăm nghìn, and 1,000,000 is một triệu (one million), the same word in both regions.
Building compound numbers
Now put the pieces together. Vietnamese numbers are read from the largest place to the smallest — hundreds, then tens, then ones — with no connecting word like “and”. So 250 is simply “two hundred, five tens”: hai trăm năm mươi.
- 21 — hai mươi mốt — hai muowi moots
- 25 — hai mươi lăm — hai muowi lawm
- 99 — chín mươi chín — chins muowi chins
- 101 — một trăm linh một — mootj trawm linh mootj
- 115 — một trăm mười lăm — mootj trawm muowif lawm
- 250 — hai trăm năm mươi — hai trawm nawm muowi
- 365 — ba trăm sáu mươi lăm — ba trawm saus muowi lawm
- 999 — chín trăm chín mươi chín — chins trawm chins muowi chins
Three rules cover every compound number. First, 1 becomes mốt after mươi — 21 is hai mươi mốt, not “hai mươi một” — but stays một after trăm, which is why 101 is một trăm linh một. Second, 5 becomes lăm after mươi or mười: 25 is hai mươi lăm and 115 is một trăm mười lăm, while it stays năm after trăm, as in 250, hai trăm năm mươi. Third, a zero in the tens place takes linh in the North or lẻ in the South before the final digit: 101 is một trăm linh một in Hanoi and một trăm lẻ một in Ho Chi Minh City (type linh as linh, lẻ as ler).
If you can build 999 — chín trăm chín mươi chín — you can build any number up to 1,000, because every other number uses the same three rules. Try a few on your own: 47, 83, 120, 406, 777. (Answers: bốn mươi bảy, tám mươi ba, một trăm hai mươi, bốn trăm linh sáu, bảy trăm bảy mươi bảy.)
Numbers in real life: ages, prices and phone numbers
In Vietnam, three situations come up every day. The first is age. Ask “How old are you?” with Bạn bao nhiều tuổi? (type: Banj bao nhieeuf tuoori) and answer with your age plus tuổi (years old): Tôi hai mươi lăm tuổi — “I am 25 years old” (type: Tooi hai muowi lawm tuoori). Tuổi always follows the number; its tone is hỏi, so type it as tuoori.
The second is money. Prices are usually spoken in thousands of đồng, the Vietnamese currency, and nghìn is often dropped in casual speech — a 20,000-đồng coffee may be quoted as hai mươi nghìn đồng (type: hai muowi nghifn ddoongf), or even just hai mươi nghìn. Ask “How much is it?” with Bao nhiều tiền? (type: Bao nhieeuf tieenf). For more everyday sentences like these, our list of 30 essential Vietnamese phrases has shopping and restaurant phrases ready to practise.
The third is phone numbers, which are read digit by digit, never grouped into tens or hundreds. Zero is không (type: khoong), so a number starting 0903 is read as không chín không ba…. Introduce your number with Số điện thoại của tôi là… — “My phone number is…” (type: Soos ddieenj thoaij cuar tooi laf) — then read the digits one at a time. The same reading works for room numbers too.
A counting and typing drill
Read each number out loud first, then type it in Telex. Say the words as you type — hearing, seeing and typing the same number together is what makes it stick. If the word on your screen matches the word on this page, your spelling and tones are both right.
- 7 — bảy — Type: bayr
- 10 — mười — Type: muowif
- 15 — mười lăm — Type: muowif lawm
- 21 — hai mươi mốt — Type: hai muowi moots
- 30 — ba mươi — Type: ba muowi
- 45 — bốn mươi lăm — Type: boons muowi lawm
- 99 — chín mươi chín — Type: chins muowi chins
- 100 — một trăm — Type: mootj trawm
- 101 — một trăm linh một — Type: mootj trawm linh mootj
- 250 — hai trăm năm mươi — Type: hai trawm nawm muowi
- 365 — ba trăm sáu mươi lăm — Type: ba trawm saus muowi lawm
- 1,000 — một nghìn — Type: mootj nghifn
When all twelve feel easy, try the Southern forms: 101 as một trăm lẻ một (mootj trawm ler mootj) and 1,000 as một ngàn (mootj ngafn).
Key takeaways
- Learn 1–10 by heart — một, hai, ba, bốn, năm, sáu, bảy, tám, chín, mười — and every bigger number is built from them.
- Teens are mười + digit; tens are digit + mươi; hundreds are digit + trăm.
- Two small changes to remember: 1 becomes mốt and 5 becomes lăm after mươi or mười — 21 is hai mươi mốt, 15 is mười lăm.
- A zero in the tens place takes linh in the North and lẻ in the South (101: một trăm linh một / một trăm lẻ một), and 1,000 is một nghìn (North) or một ngàn (South).
- Use numbers every day: ages with tuổi, prices in nghìn đồng, phone numbers digit by digit.
Frequently asked questions
How do you count to 10 in Vietnamese?
Một (1), hai (2), ba (3), bốn (4), năm (5), sáu (6), bảy (7), tám (8), chín (9), mười (10). Learn them with their tones — một is nặng, mười is huyền, bốn, năm, sáu, tám and chín are sắc, bảy is hỏi, hai and ba are level — and you have the building blocks for every number up to 1,000.
Why is 15 “mười lăm” and not “mười năm”?
When 5 follows mười or mươi, it changes to lăm: 15 is mười lăm, 25 is hai mươi lăm, 115 is một trăm mười lăm. Năm is still correct on its own and after trăm (505 is năm trăm linh năm) — the change only happens after mười and mươi.
What is the difference between “linh” and “lẻ”?
They mean the same thing — the zero in the tens place of a number like 101 or 205 — but linh is Northern and lẻ is Southern. One hundred and one is một trăm linh một in Hanoi and một trăm lẻ một in Ho Chi Minh City. Learn linh for the North, lẻ for the South, and recognise both.
How do you say 1,000 in Vietnamese?
Một nghìn in the North, một ngàn in the South. The pair continues upward: 10,000 is mười nghìn (or mười ngàn), 100,000 is một trăm nghìn, and 1,000,000 is một triệu, the same in both regions.
How do you read a Vietnamese phone number?
Digit by digit, with không for zero: a number starting 0903 is read as không chín không ba, then the rest one at a time. Never group digits into tens or hundreds — Vietnamese phone numbers are always read one digit at a time.
Ready to practise? Open our free typing trainer and type the numbers from the drill above until they feel automatic — then take the Vietnamese typing speed test and see how fast your fingers can count.
