Hello,

as I did not go to school in Vietnam, I learned Vietnamese by myself. I am pretty fluent in Vietnamese, but I have problems with the question when to use han viet words and when to use thaun viet words. I know that there are han viet words which are "integrated" into our Viet language. I often see some people use unsual han viet words in unformales speeches, why? So is there a rule? Thanks.

no rule man, you can use Han Viet or Thuan Viet, no one care about them, they're all considered Vietnamese words or vocabularies. Some words in Vietnamese language sound Thuan Viet but in fact they're loan-words. No one cares

When to use "tho huyet" in place of "oi ra mau"? Hm, it's up to who you are talking to and how intimate you are to that person. In general, you choose your speech; just like deciding between whether to use "facetious" or "funny", it's up to how you want to position yourselves in the others' perception (knowledgeable/somewhat pretentious vs. friendly/down to earth).

COuld you elaborate more pls?

Han Viet words are used less frequently, and not everyone has a strong command of its dictionary. Therefore, when using Han Viet, you appear more knowledgeable and educated. Using Han Viet creates a good impression about you on the people you are talking to, especially those of academia and professional world. Do use it when being interviewed for professional jobs, making formal speeches, meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time, writing research papers, talking to elders who have a wide dictionary of Han Viet words (not all elders do), making public reports, ...

Notice: too much of anything is bad. Hence, don't try to stuff too much Han Viet words into one sentence (Han Viet words alone can't support a complete sentence anyway); doing so may backfire, annoy the listeners, and position you as a pompous person.

Do use Thuan Viet when talking to your friends, close colleagues, and other intimate people. It makes you more approachable and naturally eloquent (since the ability to effortlessly command Thuan Viet is natural to most Vietnamese). Thuan Viet can easily support most sentences on its own.

This is just my personal opinion, which is subjective and susceptible to fallacy.

Thanks for your reply freeter.

Xigoncongchua, could you write something regarding this issue as well?