He, she with a negative tone: hắn, y, ả

Hắn, y and ả all mean "he" or "she", with distance or contempt built in. They're the words a writer uses for someone the reader isn't meant to like: a thief, a cheat, a villain.

Hắn is the widest: "he", sometimes "she", in novels, stories and news. Hắn ta is a common longer form. In some novels it's simply how the narrator refers to the main character, with little scorn. Y is "he" in crime reports, for a male suspect: Tại cơ quan công an, y khai nhận … At the police station, he confessed … For a woman, the same reports use thị. Ả is "she" with a sneer, in stories and tabloid news.

So you'll mainly read these words, not hear them. In Saigon speech, scorn sounds different: thằng đó (that guy) and con đó (that woman) are blunt and rude, and thằng chả and con mẻ are the Southern versions, scornful or, between friends, teasing. In Huế and north-central provinces such as Nghệ An, hắn is an ordinary "he" or "she", without the edge.

Never use any of these for someone you respect: a dictionary may list hắn as plain "he", but it insults the person. For a neutral "he" or "she", use anh ấy or chị ấy (in Saigon, ảnh and chỉ), the person's family word, or their name.