Greeting with chào + the person

Chào means both hello and goodbye, and it takes the person you're greeting: Chào anh, Chào chị Lan, Chào em. Use the word you'd use for "you": anh or chị for someone a little older, em for someone younger, cô or chú for someone your parents' age. A bare Chào! sounds curt.

To someone clearly older or senior (your parents' age, a teacher, a boss), also put your own word in front, and often dạ: Dạ, em chào chị. Con chào chú. This is how to greet a teacher, a friend's parents or an older neighbour. The older person answers simply Chào em or Chào con. In Hà Nội, a younger person calls themselves cháu with people their parents' age: Cháu chào chú ạ. With friends or colleagues just a bit older, Chào anh alone is fine.

Cảm ơn (thank you) and xin lỗi (sorry, excuse me) take the person in the same way: Em cảm ơn anh. Xin lỗi chị.

Xin chào is mostly heard on signs, in speeches and on television. Face to face, people usually say chào and the person's word, though xin chào is fine with a stranger or a group when you don't know what to call them. Among young friends you'll also hear English "hi" and "bye".