# Dạ / vâng / ừ: yes (polite or casual) in Vietnamese

> Dạ is the polite way to say yes, or just to show you're listening, when you talk to someone older or someone you respect: a teacher, a customer, a…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/da-vang-yes/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**yes (polite or casual)**

Pattern: `Dạ, [reply] · Dạ. / Vâng. · Ừ, [reply] (to friends and younger people)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: polite · Medium: spoken

Typed without accents: da, vang, u

Situations: [At work](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/?use=work) · [Shops and services](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/?use=service)

Saigon: dạ | Hà Nội: vâng; dạ

Variants:

- ờ (casual yes, Southern speech)

*Dạ* is the polite way to say yes, or just to show you're listening, when you talk to someone older or someone you respect: a teacher, a customer, a friend's parents. *Dạ, em hiểu rồi.* Yes, I understand. When someone calls your name, *Dạ?* means "Yes?"

It also opens almost any polite reply, even a no: *Dạ, không.* No. *Dạ, em chưa ăn.* No, I haven't eaten yet. Starting with *dạ* makes the rest sound respectful, so in Saigon you'll hear it all day long.

In Hà Nội the polite yes is mostly *vâng*, often together as *dạ vâng*. Saigon speakers understand *vâng*, and you'll see it in books, but in conversation they mostly say *dạ*.

To friends your age, to younger people and to people you're very close to, the casual yes is *ừ*, or *ờ* in Saigon: *Ừ, mai gặp nha.* Yeah, see you tomorrow. Don't say *ừ* to someone older you're not close to; it sounds rude.

On its own, *dạ* can mean yes, but often it only means "I'm listening". To make the answer clear, add *có*, *rồi* or the verb: *Dạ, có.* *Dạ, rồi.*

## A common mistake

✗ Ừ, em hiểu rồi.

✓ Dạ, em hiểu rồi.

*Em* shows you're talking to someone older, and to someone older you're not close to, yes is *dạ*. *Ừ* is for friends, younger people and people you're very close to.

## Examples

- Saigon: Dạ, em hiểu rồi. | Hà Nội: Vâng, em hiểu rồi. — Yes, I understand.
- Dạ, không. Em cảm ơn chị. — No, thank you.
- Saigon: Dạ? Anh gọi em hả? | Hà Nội: Dạ? Anh gọi em à? — Yes? Did you call me?
- Saigon: Ừ, mai gặp nha. | Hà Nội: Ừ, mai gặp nhé. — Yeah, see you tomorrow.

## Words in this pattern

- [dạ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/da-yes/#lx_da): polite yes
- [dạ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/da-yes/#s_da_reply): polite reply
- [ừ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/u-yeah/#lx_u): casual yes
- [vâng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/vang-yes/#lx_vang): polite yes

## Compare

- [Polite ending to elders: … ạ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/a-polite/): (respectful ending)
- [Answering yes/no questions: có, không, or the verb again](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/yes-no-answers/): short yes/no answers

Previous in Asking questions: [Or in questions: A hay B?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hay-or-question/)
Next in Asking questions: [Question words stay where the answer goes: Anh đi đâu?, Ai đi?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/question-word-in-place/)

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