Can I have / let me: Cho tôi / cho em + noun or verb

Cho means "give" or "let", and cho followed by your own word for "me" is how you ask for things in a café, a shop or a restaurant: Cho em hai ly trà đá. Two iced teas, please (in Hà Nội, hai cốc). Use the word you call yourself with that person: em to someone older than you, tôi for a neutral or more formal tone, and cháu to someone much older, around your parents' age. Con is mainly for your own parents and family elders; it depends on the relationship.

Before a verb, it means "let me": Cho em coi (let me see), or Cho em hỏi chút (can I ask you something), the polite way to stop a stranger and ask the way. At the end of a meal, Cho anh tính tiền asks for the bill.

Cho em is a natural, polite way to ask in a shop or a café. Ạ at the end, or the person's word, makes it more respectful, and nha (in Hà Nội, nhé) makes it softer and friendlier: Cho em hai ly trà đá nha chị.

Xin adds respect. It isn't only for formal moments: it's part of everyday requests, and the two often go together: Cho em xin cái muỗng (could I have a spoon). Don't confuse this with cho as plain "give", where you do the giving: Em cho chị cái này. I'll give you this.

You'll also meet cho phép, "allow", in formal speech: Cho phép tôi giới thiệu …, allow me to introduce …