# Vào Sài Gòn in Vietnamese (A2)

> Travelling within Vietnam, the direction word follows the map. Going north, up the long coast, is ra: ra Hà Nội, ra Huế.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vao-ra-north-south/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**which direction word for which place**

Pattern: `(đi) ra + [northern place] · (đi) vô / vào + [southern place] · lên + [highland place, upper floor] · xuống + [lowland place, lower floor] · trên / dưới + [place] (seen from where the speaker is)`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: vao Sai Gon, ra Ha Noi, len Da Lat, vao Nam, ra Bac, len tang, xuong tang, len lau

Saigon: vô | Hà Nội: vào

Travelling within Vietnam, the direction word follows the map. Going north, up the long coast, is *ra*: *ra Hà Nội*, *ra Huế*. Going south is *vô* (*vào* in writing and in Hà Nội): *vô Sài Gòn*, *vô Nam*. So someone in Saigon says *Tuần sau em ra Hà Nội*, and someone in Hà Nội says *Tuần sau em vào Sài Gòn*.

*Lên* is for the highlands: *lên Đà Lạt*, *lên Tây Nguyên* (the Central Highlands). *Xuống* is for the lowlands: from Saigon, *xuống Cần Thơ*, *xuống miền Tây* (the Mekong Delta). *Về* replaces them all for going home: *về quê*. Going abroad is *qua* (in Hà Nội, *sang*): *qua Mỹ*.

For being there rather than going, the same map gives *ngoài* and *trong*. A Saigon speaker says *Ba mẹ em ở ngoài Hà Nội*; a Hà Nội speaker says *Chị tôi ở trong Sài Gòn*.

Close by, up and down follow where the speaker is. *Lên* and *xuống* take you between floors, *lên lầu* (upstairs; in Hà Nội, *lên gác*), and in and out of water: *xuống hồ bơi* (get into the pool), *lên bờ* (get out). Floors are counted differently too: Saigon has *tầng trệt* (the ground floor), then *lầu một*, *lầu hai*; Hà Nội starts at *tầng một*, so its *tầng hai* is Saigon's *lầu một*.

## Examples

- Tuần sau em ra Hà Nội công tác. — Next week I'm going up to Hà Nội for work.
- Saigon: Ba mẹ anh vô Sài Gòn chưa? | Hà Nội: Bố mẹ anh vào Sài Gòn chưa? — Have your parents come down to Saigon yet?
- Saigon: Cuối tuần tụi mình lên Đà Lạt chơi nha. | Hà Nội: Cuối tuần bọn mình lên Đà Lạt chơi nhé. — Let's go up to Đà Lạt this weekend.
- Mai em xuống Cần Thơ thăm bạn. — Tomorrow I'm going down to Cần Thơ to see a friend.
- Saigon: Em đang ở trên lầu, anh lên đi. | Hà Nội: Em đang ở trên gác, anh lên đi. — I'm upstairs, come on up.

## Words in this pattern

- [vô](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/vo-go-in/#lx_vo_in): go in

## Compare

- [Moving in a direction: ra, vô / vào, lên, xuống, về, qua, tới](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/direction-verbs/): out / in / up / down / back / across / to
- [Position words: trên, dưới, trong, ngoài, trước, sau, cạnh](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/location-words/): on / under / in / out / in front / behind / next to

Previous in Places and movement: [Beginning and end of: đầu / cuối + noun](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/dau-cuoi/)
Next in Places and movement: [For, towards, as for: đối với](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/doi-voi/)

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