Watching TV shows is a great way to learn a language. There are countless English TV programs or podcasts, but when it comes to Vietnamese TV shows, would it be limited to finding your favorite one? Absolutely not! 

Although not all Vietnamese shows have foreign language subtitles, it is considered a good way to reduce “laziness” and stop you from just translating to your native language in your head. Learning a language through TV shows, therefore, appears to be extremely beneficial yet interesting because you will learn a lot of sentences repeated continuously while watching the show.

Today I’ll share with you ways to turn what could be a boring study of Vietnamese into a fascinating activity by watching the top 10 most popular TV shows in Vietnam. Also, you’ll be provided with several websites to watch Vietnamese TV shows and dramas for free so that you can be surrounded by Vietnamese and really learn the language by immersion.

Table of Contents

1. Người ấy là ai (Who is single Vietnam)
2. Chơi là chạy (Play is run – Running man Vietnam)
3. Vua tiếng Việt (King of Vietnamese)
4. Giọng ải giọng ai (Hidden voices)
5. Thương vụ bạc tỷ (Shark Tank)
6. Ơn giời, cậu đây rồi! (Thank God, you are here)
7. Siêu trí tuệ Việt Nam (The Brain Vietnam)
8. Vợ chồng son (The new married couples)
9. Rap Việt (Rap Vietnam)
10. Thách thức danh hài (Challenge the comedians)
11. Websites to watch Vietnamese dramas and series for free

1. Người ấy là ai (Who is single Vietnam)

Người ấy là ai – the most popular Vietnamese TV show in 2020, is an original copyrighted show from Thailand. The show’s success was partly because of the 2 hosts that are Trấn Thành, who is one of the best Vietnamese MCs, and Huong Giang, who is a singer and Miss International Queen Pageant 2018. 

Participants in each show are 5 mysterious men and a beautiful single girl. The men have to prove that they’re single by showing actions or using pick-up lines so that the girl will choose them, while the girl has to guess and eliminate those who are taken (either he’s in a relationship or married) or LGBT. Each episode has an advisory board that includes guests who are celebrities to help the girl choose the right guy. 

You’ll hear repeated words or sentences that will help you when learning languages on every Tv show. In Người ấy là ai, there will be several keywords that appear a lot, and it’s very easy to remember after an episode only. 

• Màu xanh : Độc thân
  (Green : Single)

• Màu đỏ : Đã có chủ
  (Red : Taken)

• Màu tím : LGBT 
  (Purple : LGBT)

In each round, the advisory board will raise a board of color that indicates the men’s status to help the girl eliminate one who they think is unsuitable for her. The funny thing is the advisory board can be wrong many times, and it’s not helping the girl at all. Nevertheless, what makes Người ấy là ai special is that she can find the right guy without any help sometimes. That’s what true love is about, isn’t it?

One of Người ấy là ai’s slogans that is used in every episode before it begins is : 

• Bạn đã sẵn sàng để bước vào thế giới của Người ấy là ai chưa?
  (Are you ready to enter the world of Người ấy là ai?)

This is the sign for the start of the show after the introduction and ice-breaking. Now, bạn đã sẵn sàng để bước vào thế giới của người ấy là ai chưa? Let’s enjoy the first episode of the most recent season by clicking the link below.

A video of Episode 1 – Who is single Vietnam Season 3

You can access the playlist of Người ấy là ai for more videos as well. Vie Channel HTV2 also provides a lot of interesting Vietnamese shows and dramas that you can watch for free. 

2. Chơi là chạy (Play is run – Running man Vietnam)

Needless to say, Chơi là chạy (Play is run) – the Vietnamese version of the famous Korean reality TV show Running Man, is one of the most viewed shows on Vietnam television. 

Similarly to the original version, Chơi là chạy also includes different physical activities or sports games to find clues or collect numbers to serve the final challenge Tear the nametag – the one that decides the winner of each episode. Participants are divided into 2 teams or allowed to play individually. All of them are celebrities with a good sense of humor who can attract viewers, which is the main key to the show’s success. 

Let’s learn some Vietnamese words that you will probably hear a lot while enjoying the show. 

• Luật chơi 
  (Playing rules)

• Xé bảng tên
  (Tear the nametag)

• Bị loại 
  (Being eliminated)

• Đội chơi 
  (Teams)

• Địa điểm của trò chơi
  (Game location)

• Khách mời 
  (Guest)

• Chơi ăn gian
  (Cheating)

After the first season, some of the most spoken sentences are : 

• Tiêu diệt Trấn Thành
  (Defeat Tran Thanh)

It is because Tran Thanh MC is a very strong player that he tends to win in any episode. As a result, everybody wants to “defeat” him to make sure that he won’t win so that people will have a chance to be the winner. Poor Tran Thanh, he had a lot of enemies on the show. 

• Thánh chơi dơ 
  (Legend of cheating)

BB Tran is called for this prize as he’s always cheating in most episodes. “Dơ” means dirty; therefore, “Thánh chơi dơ” means “the legend of playing dirty,” which is cheating all the time. What’s funny is this nickname has followed BB Tran for a long time, even after season 1 has finished. 

3. Vua tiếng Việt (King of Vietnamese)

Vua tiếng Việt is a made-in-Vietnam TV game show with the desire to create a playground that combines entertainment and knowledge so that players and viewers can learn and overcome all the challenges of the Vietnamese language at the same time.

To become Vua tiếng Việt, players will have to go through 4 rounds.

• Vòng thi thứ nhất – Vòng phản xạ (The first round – Reflection): Players have to recognize nouns (danh từ), verbs (động từ), adjectives (tính từ) or spell difficult words correctly (đánh vần từ khó chính xác)
• Vòng thi thứ hai – Vòng giải nghĩa (The second round – Interpretation) : Players will find ways to interpret the words (diễn giải các từ) in the Vietnamese dictionary. The faster they answer, the higher their chances of scoring. 

Through each round, the player with the lowest score will be eliminated.

• Vòng thi thứ ba – Vòng xâu chuỗi (The third round – String), the remaining two players win the right to press the bell to answer 9 questions, which are 9 strings of words that have been reversed. The person who strings the chain quickly and answers correctly will enter the final round.
• In the final round – Soán ngôi (Usurpation), players have to write a poem (bài thơ) every 3 steps they walk according to the theme given. This is, of course, very challenging for any player since Vietnamese has tones, and it’s not easy at all to write poems in minutes that way. 

Now let’s take a look at the trailer to see how interesting and challenging this Vietnamese Tv program is.

King of Vietnamese trailer

4. Giọng ải giọng ai (Hidden voices)

Giọng ải giọng ai is based on the original Korean version of “I Can See Your Voice”, with the participation of many artists (nghệ sĩ), KOLs (người có tầm ảnh hưởng)  and mysterious vocalists (những giọng ca bí ẩn) to entertain audience. 

Each episode features 2 teams. Each team has a team leader and 2 guests who are a singer and a supporter, along with 7 mysterious voices, including those who have good vocals and those who don’t. There are three rounds: Vòng Hóa thân (Incarnation), Vòng Siêu diễn (Super performance), Vòng Lộ diện (Reveal), and each team eliminates one or two of the vocalists after each round. The goal is to weed out the poor vocalists based on limited evidence of their identity and singing ability while leaving the good vocalists. At the end, whichever team chooses the good remaining vocalist to sing wins the prize. 

In Giọng ải giọng ai, MC Đại Nghĩa usually announces these two sentences at the beginning and the end of the show:

• Giải thưởng là 50 triệu đồng tiền mặt 
  (The prize is 50 million Vietnam Dong in cash)

• Chương trình được phát sóng trên kênh HTV7 vào các tối Chủ nhật hàng tuần 
  (The show is broadcast on channel HTV7 every Sunday evening)

Regularly, the audience will enjoy the show a lot until the bad vocal appears. Some of them have really good appearances and performing ability BUT the voice, which is very funny; here’s why:

Episode 9 – The most viewed episode of Giọng ải giọng ai.

5. Thương vụ bạc tỷ (Shark Tank)

Thương vụ bạc tỷ – Shark Tank Vietnam is a reality television show copyrighted by Sony Pictures. Shark Tank is very successful in many countries around the world, such as the UK, Canada, and the US. The show also won the Primetime Emmy Award twice for the category of Best Reality Television Program.

When selected for the recording round, the start-up entrepreneurs coming to the show to call for investment will stand in front of investors (Sharks) and present their products. Here, we will learn a few business terms that are regularly used in Vietnam: 

• Gọi vốn 
  (Literally, it means “Calling for capital” or “Call for investment”)

• Nhà đầu tư 
  (Investor)

• Doanh nhân 
  (Entrepreneur)

• Khởi nghiệp
  (Start-up)

• Đàm phán
  (To negotiate)

Apparently, they will have to go through 3 parts:

• Phần 1: Giới thiệu thông tin về sản phẩm 
  (Introduce general information about the product)

• Phần 2: Người kêu gọi đầu tư và các nhà đầu tư thương thuyết về số vốn đầu tư hoặc số lợi nhuận được trả lại 
  (Callers and investors negotiate the amount of capital invested or the amount of profit to be returned)

• Phần 3: Quyết định đầu tư hoặc không đầu tư sau phần thương thuyết 
  (To decide to invest or not after negotiation)

Thương vụ bạc tỷ is super popular in Vietnam not only for its interesting format but also for the knowledge and styles of the Sharks, who are extremely successful entrepreneurs and investors. Viewers get to learn a lot of business experience from them through the show, and it makes the show unique. 

6. Ơn giời, cậu đây rồi! (Thank God, you are here)

Ơn giời, cậu đây rồi! is a situational comedy program produced by the Vietnam Television Film Production Center, Vietnam Television. The show’s format is based on the popular Australian comedy show Thank God You’re Here!

Ơn giời cậu đây rồi is for artists to show their improvisation on stage when they have to participate in a play without the script. The only thing they know in advance is the costumes and props they will use (if any), which are provided to them before going to their room on the stage only.

It’s time to learn some Vietnamese vocabulary about performing from Ơn giời, cậu đây rồi! 

• Vở kịch 
  (A play)

• Khả năng diễn xuất 
  (Performing ability)

• Nhập vai
  (Role-playing)

• Hoá thân thành thân vật …
  (To transform into the character …)

• Khả năng ứng biến
  (Improvisation ability)

• Sân khấu 
  (Stage)

• Khán giả 
  (Audience)

Also, some the most spoken sayings that you will probably hear from MC Xuân Bắc are : 

• Hãy dành một tràng pháo tay để chào đón các trưởng phòng 
  (Please give a round of applause to the rooms’ leaders)

• Đây là đạo cụ dành cho bạn 
  (These are your properties)

• Hãy mở cửa 
  (Please open the door)

• Mời bạn vào phòng 
  (Please enter the room)

Now, let’s also take a look at one of the most viewed episodes of Ơn giời, cậu đây rồi!

Episode 7 – Thank God, you’re here!

7. Siêu trí tuệ Việt Nam (The Brain Vietnam)

Siêu trí tuệ Việt Nam – the Vietnamese version of The Brain series that originated in Germany and has gone through a series of countries such as Spain, Ukraine, France, and especially China – is the most successful version of this program. The show attracts contestants with a variety of superhuman powers and intelligence. The challenge is to overcome obstacles in memory, Rubik’s cube, algebra, and observation… 

There are three rounds in each season:

• Lộ diện
  (Reveal)

• Tuyên chiến
  (Declare war)

• Giao hữu quốc tế 
  (International Friendly Match)

Talking about talents shows, these are some relevant vocabulary that appears a lot throughout the show: 

• Giải thưởng toán học : 
  (Math prize)

• Thử thách 
  (Challenge)

• Đề bài 
  (Thread)

• Câu đố 
  (Riddle)

• Năng lực 
  (Capacity)

• Năng lực tưởng tượng không gian 
  (Spatial imagination ability)

In addition, what the audience also wants to know before every performance is how difficult the judges think the challenge is. The question is:

• Xin mời giám khảo cho điểm dự đoán về độ khó của đề bài 
  (Please give your score for the difficulty level of the test)

8. Vợ chồng son (The new married couples)

Two newly married couples are invited to each show. The talk consists of 2 parts:

• In the first part, the two MCs ask the couple to share their marriage stories, from the moment they first met to the time they lived together. This part is completely unaffected by the director’s intentions. Therefore, couples can freely share their feelings and true stories in the most honest way. 
• Part two is the Lucky Draw, with 4 prizes in 4 boxes. The couple will randomly draw to receive valuable prizes from the Organizing board.

Vợ chồng son is a reality TV talk show that is broadcast every Sunday on channel HTV7. The program is based on the famous 40-year-old format of Asahi Television and is one of the most popular TV programs in Japan.

Since we’re talking about a marriage-life show, why don’t we mention some regular vocabulary picked from Vợ chồng son?

• Chuyện tình yêu
  (Love story)

• Cặp vợ chồng : 
  (A married couple)

• Cưới/kết hôn
  (To get married)

• Lần gặp đầu tiên
  (The first met)

Also, the couples will probably be asked :

• Hai bạn gặp nhau như thế nào? 
  (How did you guys first meet)

• Hai bạn cưới nhau được bao lâu rồi 
  (How long have you been married)

• Điều gì bạn ghét nhất ở chồng bạn? 
  (What do you hate the most about your husband?)

• Bạn có muốn chia sẻ điều gì với chồng bạn không? 
  (Do you want to say anything to your husband now?)

9. Rap Việt (Rap Vietnam)

Rap Viet is a rap talent search program licensed from Workpoint TV’s The Rapper program, produced by Ho Chi Minh City Television in collaboration with Vie Channel.

Contestants will choose an idea from Vietnam culture or Vietnamese daily life to remake with their rap lyrics to convince the coaches. The coaches select potential and suitable candidates (ứng viên) for their team by activating the pedal in front of the hot seat (ghế nóng)

In the event that two or more coaches choose a contestant at the same time, the other judges will be the ones to decide that the contestant will join the team with the coach they feel is suitable. When the judges disagree on which team to choose, the contestant will be the final decision maker (người quyết định)

If you want to know what someone thinks about a performance, you can use this sentence structure from the host:

• Ban giám khảo nghĩ sao về tiết mục vừa rồi? 
  (What do you think about the performance?)

Here Ban giám khảo plays a role as a subject which means you can replace it with any other subject such as bạn(you) or anh/chị(you).

If you want to call for votings, you can also use : 

• Nếu các bạn yêu thích tiết mục này, hãy bình chọn ngay cho anh ấy 
  (If you like this performance, please vote for him immediately)

By the way, are you wondering how to use conditional sentences in Vietnamese correctly? Visit this video on VietnamesePod101 for further instructions.

Top 12 best performances of Rap Viet

10. Thách thức danh hài (Challenge the comedians)

Thách thức danh hài (Crack Them Up Vietnam) is a Vietnamese television game co-produced by Ho Chi Minh City Television and Dien Quan Media & Entertainment Company.

This is an interactive program between contestants and the judges; in each contest, contestants will have one minute to make the two judges laugh and win cash prizes corresponding to each round. There are 5 rounds in total, and the difficulty level increases with the judges trying-not-to-laugh. Thách thức danh hài is a truly entertaining show that has brought a lot of both laughs and tears to the audience. 

There have been only 3 seasons, and the organizing board hasn’t seemed to produce the fourth season yet. Nevertheless, Thách thức danh hài is still one of the best comedy shows so far, and it’s worth it to watch every episode. 

Now let’s learn how to welcome someone:

• Hãy cùng chào đón 2 vị danh hài là 2 giám khảo quen thuộc của chúng ta 
  (Please welcome the 2 comedians that are our 2 familiar judges)

11. Websites to watch Vietnamese dramas and series for free

It’s been a lot for today, but it’s not done yet. I still have a few things to share with you. In case you want to be surrounded by the Vietnamese language, check these out right now for free Vietnamese dramas, game shows, and TV series.

1. VTV Giải trí & xem TV trực tuyến (VTV entertainment and watch TV online) : 

Here are a few simple steps for you to sign up:

• Step 1: Access https://www.vtvgiaitri.vn

• Step 2: Click Đăng nhập (Sign in)

Step 3: Click Đăng ký (Sign up)

• Step 4: Provide your email and create a password by filling in the blanks

– Email 

– Mật khẩu (Password)

– Xác nhận mật khẩu (Confirm password)

• Step 5: Click Đăng ký (Sign up)

• Step 6: Enjoy Vietnamese movies world

2. VTV Go

Not only can you read the latest news, but also watch Vietnamese movies and live news for free on VTV Go. What better things do you need to learn Vietnamese, folks?

VTV Go is even simpler than VTV Giải trí because it doesn’t require an account. All you need to do is to choose what interests you and enjoy it. Sadly, not many things on official Vietnamese websites and channels have English subtitles, but I think it should be considered a great deal for you to improve your reading and listening as well. 

Don’t forget that you can also find plenty of flashcards, videos, and thousands of Vietnamese lessons and access your free lifetime account anytime on VietnamesePod101. Once you set a clear goal for your language learning, you will absolutely achieve it soon.

See you in the very next article. Guess what’s coming next?