mình: friendly I, we with you, and oneself

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.