# Mình: I (friendly) / we / oneself in Vietnamese (A1)

> Mình is a soft, friendly "I". Friends of about the same age use it, often with bạn for "you", and it's common in messages and among young people: Mình…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/minh-i-we/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**I (friendly) / we / oneself**

Pattern: `mình (I, to friends and partners) · tụi mình / chúng mình (we, with the listener) · [person] + [verb] (+ cho) + mình (oneself)`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: minh, chung minh

Situations: [Messages and social media](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/?use=texting)

*Mình* is a soft, friendly "I". Friends of about the same age use it, often with *bạn* for "you", and it's common in messages and among young people: *Mình tên là Vy.* It's warmer than *tôi* and, unlike *anh* or *em*, it doesn't say who's older.

*Mình* also means "we, you and I": *Mình đi ăn nha!* Let's go and eat! The situation tells you whether it's "I" or "we". *Tụi mình* (in Hà Nội *bọn mình* or *chúng mình*) makes "we" clear.

The third use is "oneself": *mình* points back to the person who's doing the thinking or acting. *Ảnh chỉ nghĩ cho mình.* He only thinks of himself. Here *mình* means him, not the speaker.

With someone clearly older, use the family word instead: *em* to someone a little older (whom you call *anh* or *chị*), *con* to someone your parents' age. Between *tôi*, which keeps a distance, and the family words, which say who's older, *mình* is the friendly middle.

## A common mistake

✗ Dạ, mình chào cô.

✓ Dạ, con chào cô.

*Mình* is for friends of about your age. To someone your parents' age, you are *con*.

## Examples

- Mình tên là Vy, còn bạn? — I'm Vy, and you?
- Saigon: Tối nay mình đi ăn lẩu nha! | Hà Nội: Tối nay mình đi ăn lẩu nhé! — Let's have hotpot tonight!
- Saigon: Tụi mình học chung lớp. | Hà Nội: Bọn mình học cùng lớp. — We're in the same class.
- Saigon: Ảnh chỉ nghĩ cho mình thôi. | Hà Nội: Anh ấy chỉ nghĩ cho mình thôi. — He only thinks about himself.

## Words in this pattern

- [chúng mình](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/chung-minh/#s_chung_minh): we
- [mình](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/minh-self/#s_minh_i): I (friendly)

## Compare

- [The neutral I and you: tôi, bạn, and when they sound cold](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/toi-i/): I / you (neutral)
- [We without you, we with you: chúng tôi, chúng ta](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chung-toi-ta/): we (exclusive / inclusive)
- [By oneself: tự … (lấy), một mình](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/tu-lay-by-oneself/): by oneself

Previous in Talking to and about people: [He, she, it: anh ấy, chị ấy, and nó for children and things](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/anh-ay-he/)
Next in Talking to and about people: [The neutral I and you: tôi, bạn, and when they sound cold](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/toi-i/)

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