# Chúng tôi: we (exclusive / inclusive) in Vietnamese

> Vietnamese splits "we" in two. Chúng tôi leaves out the person you're talking to: "my group and I, not you".

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chung-toi-ta/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**we (exclusive / inclusive)**

Pattern: `chúng tôi (not the listener) · chúng ta (with the listener) · chúng em (to a teacher)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: chung toi, chung ta

Vietnamese splits "we" in two. *Chúng tôi* leaves out the person you're talking to: "my group and I, not you". *Chúng ta* takes them in: "all of us, you included". A shop says *Chúng tôi mở cửa đến mười giờ* (we're open until ten); a teacher says *Hôm nay chúng ta học bài năm* (today we're all doing lesson five).

The address system shows here too. Students talking to a teacher, or younger people talking to older ones, say *chúng em*: "we, the younger ones". *Chúng mình* is a friendly "we", usually including the listener, though many speakers also use it for "my group and I".

In Saigon, *chúng tôi* and *chúng ta* belong to careful speech, announcements and writing. Among friends and family, people use *tụi*: *tụi tui* or *tụi em* (we, not you) and *tụi mình* (usually we, you included). In Hà Nội the casual word is *bọn*: *bọn tôi*, *bọn mình*.

The choice changes who's invited. *Tụi mình đi ăn nha* asks the listener along; *Tụi tui đi ăn nha* tells them you're going without them.

## A common mistake

✗ Chúng tôi đi ăn trưa đi.

✓ Chúng ta đi ăn trưa đi.

To include the person you're talking to, use *chúng ta*, or *tụi mình* in casual Saigon speech. *Chúng tôi* leaves them out.

## Examples

- Chúng tôi là người Úc. — We're Australian.
- Hôm nay chúng ta học bài năm. — Today we're doing lesson five.
- Cô ơi, chúng em làm xong rồi. — We've finished, teacher.
- Saigon: Tụi mình đi ăn phở nha? | Hà Nội: Bọn mình đi ăn phở nhé? — Shall we go and get phở?

## Words in this pattern

- [chúng ta](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/chung-ta/#s_chung_ta): we, with you
- [chúng tôi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/chung-toi/#s_chung_toi): we, not you

## Compare

- [mình: friendly I, we with you, and oneself](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/minh-i-we/): I (friendly) / we / oneself
- [Referring to yourself and your paper: chúng tôi, tác giả, bài viết này](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/authorial-chung-toi/): authorial we / this paper

Previous in Talking to and about people: [The neutral I and you: tôi, bạn, and when they sound cold](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/toi-i/)
Next in Talking to and about people: [You all, they: các anh, các chị ấy, họ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cac-plural-you/)

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