# con meaning in Vietnamese: you or I (A1)

> con means “you or I” in Vietnamese. It can also mean child, for animals. Examples with audio, in Northern and Southern wording.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/con-child/ · Updated 2026-10-31

**con**: you or I · child · for animals

Level: A1 (our estimate)

## 1. you or I (pronoun)

The younger generation's word: you call yourself *con* to someone your parents' or grandparents' age, and they call you *con*. Parents call their children *con* too.

Also means child. In the South a neighbour of your parents' age calls a younger adult *con*, even one they have just met; the North says *cháu*.

- Saigon: Dạ, con chào cô. | Hà Nội: Cháu chào cô ạ. — Hello. (to a woman your mother's age)
- Con ăn cơm chưa? — Have you eaten yet? (a parent to a child)

In Hà Nội you say [cháu](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/chau-grandchild/#lx_chau_pron).

Level: A1 · Saigon only

Grammar: [You and I are family words: anh, chị, em, cô, chú, ba / mẹ and con, thầy / cô and em](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/address-kinship/)

## 2. child (noun)

Someone's son or daughter. The same word as the pronoun *con*.

- Anh có con chưa? — Do you have children?
- Con tôi năm tuổi. — My child is five.

Level: A1

## 3. for animals (classifier)

The classifier for animals: it goes between a number and the animal, as in *hai con mèo* (two cats).

Also used for a few objects — knives, rivers, roads.

- Nhà tôi có hai con mèo. — We have two cats.
- Con chó này dễ thương quá. — This dog is so cute.

Level: A1

Grammar: [Which classifier: cái for things, con for animals, người for people, and the common others](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/clf-cai-chiec/)

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Next: [còn](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/con-and/)

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