Vietnamese Dating Culture: All You Should Know About Dating in Vietnam
Dating a foreigner is not as easy and intuitive as dating someone from your city. This is especially true when it comes to a relationship with someone from a geographically distant and culturally different country. Vietnam is a great example of such a country—that’s why before you start dating a Vietnamese girl, it’s important to learn about Vietnamese dating culture and customs.
Here, you’ll find a lot of useful information about Vietnam dating culture, about how to date Vietnamese ladies, and about where to actually meet a real Vietnamese woman. Let’s begin.
5 interesting facts about dating in Vietnam
- Vietnamese girls love dating apps. Around 28% of Vietnamese people use dating apps more than once a day—the online dating industry is thriving in this country. The number of local ladies using international dating sites to find a foreign man for a serious relationship is unknown, but we can safely say that their number is in the thousands or even tens of thousands.
- International dating and marriages are incredibly popular in this country. Vietnam is the second top country in Asia regarding the number of K-1 visas—in 2022, for example, there 618 K-1 visas were issued to Vietnamese people, and only in the Philippines the number of fiance(e) visas was larger. But it’s not only about Asia. Thus, according to the visa statistics, Vietnamese brides are more popular than, say, women from Ukraine or Venezuela which are well-known international dating/marriage destinations.
- The most popular dating app in Vietnam is Tinder (22% of the audience), which may sound strange considering that the local dating culture is more about serious relationships than casual dating. However, it’s simple to explain: the point is that the patterns of online dating are different for Vietnamese women. Vietnamese girls often use dating apps to find a friend, not to meet a partner, so the popularity of Tinder does not mean Vietnamese singles are searching for a one-night stand.
- They tend to meet quite soon after starting a conversation online, but they don’t meet right away. Thus, around 60% of Vietnamese people say they prefer to chat for up to 10 days before going on a date. Of course, this can’t be applied to international dating because it’s impossible to arrange a Vietnamese date every 7-10 days if you’re living in another country. But this fact is very important to understand the local dating standards and the Vietnamese dating culture.
- Online dating services are much more popular among Vietnamese women than Vietnamese male (60% of dating sites’ users are female) according to the survey. Another interesting fact here is that 59% of dating platforms’ users are 18-29 years old, so the ladies you will meet on such platforms will most likely be in their early 20s (32% of the users are 18-24 years old).
Where to meet people?
💬 💑 Online Dating in Vietnam
As you already know, online dating services are incredibly popular in Vietnam. Millions of Vietnamese girls use such apps several times a week, so the dating pool is incredibly large in this country. If you go online, you can find both family oriented women and those searching for a one-night stand, both young people and mature users, both women from Ho Chi Minh City and ladies from rural regions, etc.
However, the size of the dating pool is not the only reason why Vietnamese dating sites are worth a try. Another reason is the price. The point is, most dating sites with Asian girls are not 100% free to use, but they are much cheaper than the alternative. It’s also about the odds—your chances of meeting someone who would speak English and appreciate Western culture are pretty high if you go online.
Here’s how it works: you choose a good dating app with girls from Asian countries, sign up there, find a lady, chat with her, and meet her. Then, you meet the Vietnamese parents (and probably other family members) of your soulmate and do your best to get their approval in case you have serious intentions.
If you haven’t chosen a dating site, don’t worry: we tested dozens of them and found the most reputable, trusted, and popular ones. Check them out for free, and read reviews in the table below!
| Rank | Site | Free Link | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | SakuraDate |
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| #2 | Naomidate |
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| #3 | EasternHoneys |
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| #4 | GoChatty |
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| #5 | TheLuckyDate |
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🍸💑 Offline Dating in Vietnam
The alternative we mentioned in the previous paragraph is offline dating. It looks very simple at first sight: you book a flight to Hanoi, approach the ladies in bars or shopping malls, and date them. But in reality, it’s not that easy because of several factors. First of all, it’s the price—1 week in Vietnam will cost you at least $1,000 without the tickets. Second, it’s the process of approaching local women, which can be very difficult—not all local women speak English and are interested in a relationship with a foreigner. If all this doesn’t bother you, here are the top 3 places where you can meet Vietnamese women for dating in their country.
- Public parks. There are at least 7 great parks in Ho Chi Minh city, but we highly recommend visiting the 23/9 Park and Gia Dinh Park. There are always lots of local students here, and a Vietnamese female student will most likely speak English!
- Coffee shops. It’s a classic and traditional option for those who want to meet young locals in almost any country. Students study there, lots of women work from there, and there’s usually that friendly vibe that can help you approach the ladies in coffee shops. We recommend paying attention to The Coffee Connect (Ho Chi Minh City) and The Workshop (Saigon).
- Nightclubs. It’s another incredibly popular option, and for a good reason: it’s easy to find a girl there, and the chances are pretty high that she’ll be interested in dating an interesting foreigner. You just can’t skip District 1 (Ho Chi Minh) if you’re going to approach girls in nightclubs—it’s the main area for singles nightlife in the country.
P.S. Before going to Vietnam, pay special attention to their taboos, norms, and customs. It’s incredibly important to read guides about Vietnamese dating etiquette: you need to understand how Vietnamese society works to avoid making mistakes. You’ll find some useful tips in the next paragraphs, but it’s like learning the alphabet—and to succeed with Vietnamese ladies, you need to be proficient at it.
Differences in customs and habits between Americans and Vietnamese
Vietnamese culture—dating culture, in particular—is different from the one we have in the West. Here are the 3 differences you need to know about before you start dating Vietnamese women.
- They date one woman at a time in Vietnam. It’s another important fact to understand about Vietnamese dating culture: relationship status is always “exclusive” in Vietnam. We are not talking about some of those girls you can meet in District 1, obviously—but aside from them, most Vietnamese ladies you meet on dating sites and offline would be interested in a serious, exclusive relationship.
- Men pay for the dates. Another example of what Vietnamese girls expect from a man and Western women don’t is paying for the date. Thus, only 9% of Vietnamese women think that a woman should pay for the first date, and only 12% of them think that each should pay for their portion. But of course, the chances are high that a Vietnamese girl would offer to split the bill, especially if she’s young, educated, and Westernized (it’s more like a part of a Vietnamese-American dating culture, not solely a Vietnamese one).
- Men make the first steps. We can’t say that Vietnamese girls are passive, but here’s another thing that differentiates them from American ladies: women from Vietnam expect a man to lead. You need to ask her out, you need to plan the date, you need to lead and take the initiative in a relationship with a Vietnamese girl, from the online chatting phase to the family phase.
How to succeed in the Vietnamese dating scene as a newcomer?
Dating Vietnamese women is not the same thing as dating a woman in the US. If you have never had a relationship with a Vietnamese girl, you most likely lack the experience which can result in a failed date. Here, we’ll tell you the 5 rules that will help you succeed and not screw up on a date with a Vietnamese woman.
- Don’t kiss a Vietnamese girl in public. PDA is a big NO in this country. Well, holding hands is ok, but kissing somewhere at a park is far beyond the pale in Vietnam.
- Be a gentleman. One of the major differences from dating in the US is that Vietnamese ladies are more traditional: gender roles in this country are more old-fashioned, for example. This also applies to their perception of a perfect man: most Vietnamese women think that a man should be romantic and chivalrous. This covers a lot of simple things, from looking elegant and pulling a chair out for your lady in a restaurant to being well-mannered and offering compliments.
- Make a good impression when you meet your girlfriend’s or bride’s family. It’s still very important for local ladies to get parental consent before they get married or even start a serious relationship with a man, especially if that man is a foreigner. Especially if he is from the United States. You’ll have to look your best, to show respect, to bring them gifts (not too expensive ones), and to show that you’re a stable, caring, and decent man for their daughter.
- Pay for the date, take the lead, and only date one girl. We already mentioned these things before, but repetition never hurt anyone. And remember that there’s a lot of other aspects and details you need to be aware of when dating Vietnamese girls.
- Do not give your Vietnamese girlfriend room for jealousy. She may be a perfect partner, loyal and all that, but she will also most likely be jealous because, to be fair, not all the local men are 100% faithful to their partners. Don’t flirt with other girls, and you’ll be fine.
You may meet a woman who is very similar to a European one or someone very traditional. The tips provided here are basic, yet they have helped many to preserve their tranquility on dates and avoid failures. You, however, may build your own strategy and succeed—you should only follow your intuition, which often helps much better than any advice.
Our Editors’ conclusion
Oliver Duncan
Expert
“The Vietnam dating culture is different, and you need to learn many things about Vietnamese culture and society if you want to succeed. But the good news is that the girls from this country are not extremely different from American women. They are probably more traditional, feminine, and family-centered, but they still want to be treated with respect, find a caring and loving man, and feel comfortable with a partner. If you are caring and loyal and if you can make your girlfriend feel comfortable, you’ll succeed no matter the country. “
