The other day, I made a list of all the words my 2-year-old Leo Minh Khôi knows and I was surprised he knows a lot! When he was 18 months, he only said a few words like mẹ, bố, bà, and chuối, but I don't know how and when but he has been picking up more and more words since then. Starting with one-syllable words, then two-syllable words, he's now starting to say full short sentences like "mẹ đâu rồi", "bố đi làm", or "mẹ giúp con". It's just fun hearing him say things he heard from everyone, especially when they don't make sense when put together.

Anyways, I want to share with you all a list of 150+ first Vietnamese words for babies and toddlers, based on the list of words I keep track of Leo speaking. I will list them out below, and also put them into a printable checklist for those of you who want to save them or print them out at home.

Here's the list of 150+ first Vietnamese words for babies and toddlers

Food

• chuối - banana
• bơ - avocado
• dâu - strawberry
• dưa - watermelon
• mít - jackfruit
• xoài - mango
• đu đủ - papaya
• táo - apple
• lê - pear
• nho - grape
• sữa - milk
• cơm - rice
• bánh mì - bread
• bún - vermicelli noodles
• phở - pho noodle

Animals

• cá - fish
• cua - crab
• tôm - shrimp
• khỉ - monkey
• bò - cow
• chó - dog
• gà - chicken
• chim - bird
• cừu - sheep
• dê - goat
• vịt - duck
• thỏ - rabbit

Toys

• bóng / banh - ball
• xe - car
• xe đạp - bicycle
• cầu trượt - slide
• xích đu - swing
• bong bóng - bubble
• sách - book
• máy bay - airplane
• tàu hỏa / xe lửa - train

Clothes

• mũ - hat
• áo - shirt
• quần - pants
• bỉm - diaper
• dép - sandals
• giầy - shoes

Things in the house

• nước - water
• cốc / ly - glass
• thìa / muỗng - spoon
• dĩa / nĩa - fork
• cửa - door
• bàn - table
• ghế - chair
• giường - bed
• gối - pillow
• chăn - blanket
• máy - machine
• ti vi - TV
• dao - knife
• kéo - scissors
• nồi - pot
• đũa - chopsticks

Nature

• hoa - flower
• lá - leaf
• cây - tree
• cỏ - grass
• mây - cloud
• mưa - rain
• gió - wind
• tuyết - snow
• bão - storm

Places

• biển - ocean
• sông - river
• hồ - lake
• công viên - park
• thư viện - library
• phòng - room
• nhà - house
• chợ - market

People & pronouns

• bạn - friend
• em bé - baby
• mẹ - mommy
• bố - daddy
• ông - grandpa
• bà - grandma
• anh - older brother
• chị - older sister
• chú - uncle
• cô - auntie
• bác - uncle (older than parents)
• dì - auntie (younger than parents)

Actions / verbs

• ăn - eat
• uống - drink
• đi - go
• lấy - take
• giúp - help
• cầm - hold
• xuống - do down
• lên - go up
• thơm - kiss
• ôm - hug
• leo - climb
• đu - swing
• chơi - play
• mở - open
• bật - turn on
• tắt - turn off
• đóng - close
• kéo - pull
• đẩy - push
• thích - like
• cắt - cut
• nói - talk
• làm - do
• ngủ - sleep
• rửa - washj=
• rơi - drop
• muốn - want
• cho - give
• cù - tickle
• yêu / thương - love
• đứng - stand
• ngồi - sit
• nằm - lie
• xem - watch
• nhìn - see
• khóc - cry
• cười - laugh / smile
• kêu - make noise
• ném - throw
• tung - throw
• thổi - blow
• hút - suck
• đánh - hit
• lăn - roll
• xoay - turn around in a circle
• về - go (home) / return
• trượt - slide
• vẽ - draw
• tô - color
• viết - write
• bay - fly
• nhảy - jump
• ngã - fall

Descriptive words (Adjectives)

• nóng - hot
• lạnh - cold
• nguội - cooled
• ướt - wet
• khô - dry
• đau - hurt
• chua - sour
• ngọt - sweet
• cay - spicy
• đắng - bitter
• sáng - bright
• tối - dark
• cao - high
• thấp - short
• mềm - soft
• cứng - hard
• ngon - tasty
• dở - not tasty / bad
• bẩn / dơ - dirty
• sạch - cleam
• chói - too bright
• nặng heavy
• nhẹ - lightweight
• to / lớn - big
• nhỏ / bé - small
• rách - torn
• đói - hungry
• no - full
• đẹp - beautiful
• tốt - good
• xấu - bad / ugly
• ngứa - itchy
• ít - little
• nhiều - many / a lot
• thơm - smells good
• thối - very stinky
• hôi - stiky

Feelings

• vui - happy
• buồn - sad
• tức giận - angry
• khó chịu - uncomfortable
• mệt - tired
• sợ - scared

Others

• này - this
• kia - that
• không - no
• có - yes
• ạ - ending word, shows respect when talking to older people
• phải - yes / right

Baby and Toddler's First Vietnamese Words Checklist

This printable checklist of the list of words above is downloadable from our free Vietnamese library. You can print it out at home to help you keep track of your child's first Vietnamese words. Keeping a tracker/checklist of first words is a fun way to see how your child progress and expands their vocabulary over time.

Please keep in mind that the checklist is just for reference. It's not a list of words your child has to know how to speak at a certain age. Every child is different and language development is not the same for everyone. Some children might be able to speak 100 words by the time they're 18 months old, while others might only be saying a few words. Just use this checklist as a fun way to document your child's first Vietnamese words!

The library is where I update printable Vietnamese learning materials for kids that I created. There are flashcards, worksheets, checklists, letter tracing, and more awesome things in there. If you're already a library member, go to the library here and enter the password sent to your email when you signed up. If you haven't been a member, you can sign up at the footer of this page (scroll all the way down!).