Vietnamese Submitted Place Names

Ấn Độ 印度 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 印度 (Ấn Độ), itself from Chinese 印度 (Yìndù). This is the Vietnamese name for India.

An Giang 安江 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 安 (an) meaning "safe" and 江 (giang) meaning "river".

Áo 奧 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 奧 (Áo), a shortened form of Chinese 奧地利 (Àodìlì). This is the Vietnamese name for Austria.

Ả Rập Xê Út (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Saudi Arabia.

Bỉ 比 (Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 比 (bỉ), itself a contraction of Chinese 比利時 (Bǐlìshí). This is the Vietnamese name for Belgium.

Bạc Liêu 北遼 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Teochew 薄遼 (po liaw) meaning "meagre hamlet".

Ba Lan (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 波蘭 (Ba Lan) possibly from Chinese 波蘭 (Bōlán) or Min Nan 波蘭 (Pho-lân). This is the Vietnamese name for Poland.

Băng Cốc (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Bangkok.

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu 婆地-淎艚 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From the cities names BÀ RỊA and Vũng Tàu.

Bắc Giang 北江 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 北 (bắc) meaning "north, northern" and 江 (giang) meaning "river". This is the name of a province and city in Vietnam.

Bắc Kạn 北� (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 北 (bắc) meaning "north" and Vietnamese � (cạn) meaning "arid, dry". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which the city is located.

Bắc Kinh 北京 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Beijing.

Bắc Ninh 北寧 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 北 (bắc) meaning "north" and 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful".

Bến Tre �� (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese � (biển) meaning "sea" and � (tre) meaning "to know".

Bình Định 平定 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 平定 (hán tự) meaning "to subjugate".

Bình Dương 平陽 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 平陽 (bình dương) meaning "plain".

Bình Nhưỡng 平壤 (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Pyongyang.

Bình Phước 平福 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 平 (bình) meaning "level" and 福 (phước) meaning "fortunate".

Bình Thuận 平順 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 平 (bình) meaning "level" and 順 (thuận) meaning "along".

Bờ Biển Ngà (Country) Vietnamese
From Vietnamese bờ biển meaning "coast, seashore" and ngà meaning "ivory". This is the Vietnamese name for the Ivory Coast.

Bồ Đào Nha 葡萄牙 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 葡萄牙 (Bồ Đào Nha) possibly derived from Hokkien 葡萄牙 (Pô-tô-gâ). This is the Vietnamese name for Portugal.

Cà Mau 哥毛 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 哥 (cà) meaning "to sing" and 毛 (mau) meaning "fur".

Cần Thơ 芹苴 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
Possibly from Vietnamese cầm thi giang meaning "river of poems", or from Vietnamese rau cần meaning "water dropwort" and rau cần meaning "mint".

Cao Bằng 高平 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 高 (cao) meaning "tall, high" and 平 (bằng) meaning "level, even, peaceful". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which the city is located.

Ca-ta (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Qatar.

Châu Á (Region) Vietnamese
From Vietnamese châu meaning "continent" and Á meaning "Asia". This is the Vietnamese name for Asia.

Đài Bắc 臺北 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Taipei.

Đài Loan 臺灣 (Country & Island) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Taiwan.

Đan Mạch 丹麥 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 丹麥 (Đan Mạch), itself possibly from Cantonese 丹麥 (daan mak). This is the Vietnamese name for Denmark.

Đà Nẵng 沱灢 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Uncertain, possibly from Eastern Cham đanak meaning "mouth of a river" or đarak meaning "large river" or from Western Cham đaknan meaning "wide water, large water" (all referring to the Han River)... [more]

Điện Biên 奠邊 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 奠 (điện) meaning "libation" and 邊 (biên) meaning "side".

Đắk Lắk 得勒 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Mnong ដក្ (dâk) meaning "lake" and ឡក្ (ḷâk) meaning "Lắk", referring to Lắk Lake.

Đắk Nông 多農 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Mnong ដក្ (dâk) meaning "lake" and nông.

Đồng Nai 同狔 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 同 (đồng) meaning "same" and 狔 (nai).

Đồng Tháp 墥塔 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 墥 (đồng) and 塔 (tháp) meaning "tower".

Đức 德 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 德 (Đức), itself from Chinese 德國 (Déguó), ultimately from German deutsch. This is the Vietnamese name for Germany.

Gia Lai 嘉萊 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
Means "Jarai", referring to the Jarai people.

Hà Giang 河江 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 河 (hà) meaning "waterway" and 江 (giang) meaning "river".

Hải Dương 海陽 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 海 (hải) meaning "sea, ocean" and 陽 (dương) meaning "light, sun"... [more]

Hải Phòng 海防 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Haiphong.

Hà Nam 河南 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 河 (hà) meaning "river" and 南 (nam) meaning "south".

Hà Nội 河內 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Hanoi.

Hàn Quốc 韓國 (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Hanguk.

Hà Tĩnh 河靜 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 河 (hà) meaning "river" and 靜 (tĩnh) meaning "still". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which it is located.

Hậu Giang 後江 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 後 (hậu) meaning "behind" and 江 (giang) meaning "river". This is the name of a province of Vietnam.

Hòa Bình 和平 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 和 (hòa) meaning "peace" and 平 (bình) meaning "level".

Hoa Kỳ 花旗 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 花旗 (Hoa Kì) meaning "star-spangled banner" (referring to the American flag and national anthem). This is the Vietnamese name for the United States.

Hồ Chí Minh 胡志明 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Ho Chi Minh.

Hội An 會安 (Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 會 (hội) meaning "meeting, festival" and 安 (an) meaning "safe, secure". This is the name of a city in Vietnam.

Hưng Yên 興安 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 興 (hưng) meaning "prosperous" and 安 (yên) meaning "peace".

Hy Lạp 希臘 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 希臘 (Hy Lạp), itself from Chinese 希臘 (Xīlà), ultimately from Ancient Greek Ἑλλάς (Hellas). This is the Vietnamese name for Greece.

In-đô-nê-xi-a (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Indonesia.

Khánh Hòa 慶和 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Vietnamese khánh meaning "independence" and hòa meaning "Hoa", referring to the Hoa people.

Kiên Giang 堅江 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 堅 (kiên) meaning "firm" and 江 (giang) meaning "river".

Kon Tum 崑嵩 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Bahnar kon meaning "village" and tum meaning "pool".

Lai Châu 萊州 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 萊 (lai) meaning "pigweed" and Thai เจ้า (jâo) meaning "master".

Lâm Đồng 林同 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 林 (lâm) meaning "woods" and 同 (đồng) meaning "same".

Lạng Sơn 諒山 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 諒 (lạng) meaning "excuse, forgive" and 山 (sơn) meaning "mountain". This is the name of a city in Vietnam as well as the province in which it is located.

Lào Cai 老街 (Political Subdivision & Settlement) Vietnamese

Long An 隆安 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 隆 (long) meaning "grand" and 安 (an) meaning "safe".

Ma-lai-xi-a (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Malaysia.

Mông Cổ 蒙古 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 蒙古 (Mông Cổ) meaning "Mongolia". This is the Vietnamese name for Mongolia.

Nam Định 南定 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 南 (nam) meaning "south" and 定 (định) meaning "to set".

Na Uy 挪威 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 挪威 (Na Uy), probably from Chinese 挪威 (Nuówēi) or Min Nan 挪威 (Nô͘-ui). This is the Vietnamese name for Norway.

Nê-pan (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Nepal.

Nga 俄 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 俄 (nga), itself from Chinese 俄羅斯 (Éluósī, Èluósī), ultimately from Manchu ᠣᡵᠣᠰ (oros). This is the Vietnamese name for Russia.

Nghệ An 乂安 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 乂 (nghệ) meaning "to govern" and 安 (an) meaning "peace".

Nhật Bản 日本 (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Nippon.

Nha Trang 芽莊 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Possibly from Eastern Cham YjaTran, Ea Trang or Ea Dran (literally meaning "reed river"), all names for the Cái River. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.

Ninh Bình 寧平 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful" and 平 (bình) meaning "level".

Ninh Hạ 寧夏 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Ningxia.

Ninh Thuận 寧順 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful" and 順 (thuận) meaning "along".

Phần Lan (Country) Vietnamese
From a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 芬蘭 (Fēnlán), perhaps altered based on Vietnamese phân meaning "feces" or phần meaning "part, portion". This is the Vietnamese name for Finland.

Pháp 法 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 法 (Pháp), from a contraction of Chinese 法國 (Fǎguó). This is the Vietnamese name for France.

Phú Thọ 富壽 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "rich" and 壽 (thọ) meaning "life".

Phú Yên 富安 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 富 (phú) meaning "rich" and 安 (yên) meaning "safe".

Quảng Bình 廣平 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 廣 (quảng) meaning "broad" and 平 (bình) meaning "level".

Quảng Nam 廣南 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 廣 (quảng) meaning "wide" and 南 (nam) meaning "south".

Quảng Ngãi 廣義 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 廣義 (quảng nghĩa) meaning "generalized".

Quảng Ninh 廣寧 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 廣 (quảng) meaning "wide" and 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful". Also a mix of Quảng Yên and Hải Ninh.

Quảng Trị 廣治 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 廣 (quảng) meaning "broad" and 治 (trị) meaning "cure".

Sài Gòn 柴棍 (Settlement & River) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Saigon.

Séc (Country) Vietnamese
Derived from French tchèque meaning "Czech". This is the Vietnamese name for Czechia.

Sóc Trăng 朔庄 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Khmer ស្រក្ (srôk) meaning "depository" and Sino-Vietnamese 江 (giang) meaning "river".

Sơn La 山羅 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 山 (sơn) meaning "mountain" and 羅 (la) meaning "to be".

Tân Cương 新疆 (Political Subdivision & Region) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Xinjiang.

Tây Ban Nha 西班牙 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 西班牙 (Tây Ban Nha), itself from Chinese 西班牙 (Xībānyá), ultimately from Latin Hispania. This is the Vietnamese name for Spain.

Tây Ninh 西寧 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 西 (tây) meaning "west" and 寧 (ninh) meaning "peaceful".

Thái Bình 太平 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 太 (thái) meaning "spacious" and 平 (bình) meaning "level".

Thái Lan 泰蘭 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 泰 (thái) referring to the Thai people and 蘭 (lan), a phonetic transcription of English -land. This is the Vietnamese name for Thailand.

Thái Nguyên 太原 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 太 (thái) meaning "extreme" and 原 (nguyên) meaning "meadow".

Thâm Quyến 深圳 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Shenzhen.

Thanh Hóa 清化 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 清 (thanh) meaning "clear" and 化 (hóa) meaning "to transform".

Thừa Thiên-Huế 承天-化 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 承 (thừa) meaning "support" and 天 (thiên) meaning "day" and 化 (huế) meaning "to transform".

Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ 土耳其 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 土耳其 (Thổ Nhĩ Kì), itself from Chinese 土耳其 (Tǔ'ěrqí). This is the Vietnamese name for Turkey.

Thượng Hải 上海 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Shanghai.

Thụy Điển 瑞典 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 瑞典 (Thụy Điển), possibly from Min Nan 瑞典 (Sūi-tián). This is the Vietnamese name for Sweden.

Thụy Sĩ 瑞士 (Country) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 瑞士 (Thụy Sĩ), possibly from Min Nan 瑞士 (Sūi-sū), itself from French Suisse. This is the Vietnamese name for Switzerland.

Tiền Giang 前江 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 前 (tiền) meaning "forward" and 江 (giang) meaning "river".

Trà Vinh 茶榮 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 茶 (trà) meaning "tea" and 榮 (vinh) meaning "glory, honor".

Trùng Khánh 重慶 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Chongqing.

Trung Phi 中非 (Country & Region) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 中非 (Trung Phi), itself from Chinese 中非 (zhōngfēi). This is the Vietnamese name for the subregion of Central Africa as well as the Central African Republic (the country).

Trung Quốc 中國 (Country) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Zhongguo.

Tứ Xuyên 四川 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Sichuan.

Tuyên Quang 宣光 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 宣 (tuyên) meaning "announce" and 光 (quang) meaning "light".

Viêng Chăn (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Vientiane.

Vĩnh Long 永隆 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "forever" and 隆 (long) meaning "grand".

Vĩnh Phúc 永福 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 永 (vĩnh) meaning "everlasting" and 福 (phúc) meaning "fortune".

Vũ Hán 武漢 (Settlement) Vietnamese
Vietnamese form of Wuhan.

Vũng Tàu (Settlement) Vietnamese
Means "anchorage" in Vietnamese, so named for the European trading ships that used to visit the area during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is the name of a city in Vietnam.

Yên Bái 安沛 (Political Subdivision) Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 安 (yên) meaning "safe" and 沛 (phải) meaning "copious".