Foreign visitors are often surprised by an early question in a Vietnamese : how old are you?
In many countries that question is not .
In Vietnamese, however, there are several words for you, and the correct one on age.
A person who is one year older is not addressed in the same way as a person who is one year younger.
So the question is not about age; it is about the right way to speak to somebody.
Foreign students of Vietnamese often find this part of the language the most difficult.
The also explains why we call a uncle, aunt or sister.
In an office, a young manager may still use a family word for an older employee.
Some young people in the city now use simple names at work, and older people find that cold.
The is changing slowly, however for most families it is still a form of .