Honest question: my wife and I are overweight and not thick-skinned. Are comments or jokes about body weight common in Vietnam? Just want to know what to expect and how to react.Thanks.Honest question: my wife and I are overweight and not thick-skinned. Are comments or jokes about body weight common in Vietnam? Just want to know what to expect and how to react.Thanks.
Share your experiences or just ask people a question? Click to see the community
Got a question or an idea you want to discuss? Start a discussion here to get opinions and connect with other members.
Have a story, valuable experience, or a detailed guide to share? Contribute a high-quality article to enrich our community.
To ensure quality, all new posts are not immediately visible on search engines like Google, Bing... Our team prioritizes reviewing high-value, insightful posts to feature publicly. You'll receive a notification when your contribution is selected!
Ha Giang
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Long
Sapa
Mekong Delta
Da Nang
Hue
Hoi An
Ninh Binh
Da Lat
Nha Trang
Phan Thiet
Phu Quoc
Quang Binh
Quy Nhon
Vung Tau
Thai Nguyen
Tiếng Việt
한국어
中文 (中国)
日本語
ไทย
Deutsch
Español
Destinations
Instagram
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Threads
Tiktok
Vietnamese are very blunt. I am Vietnamese so i should know. I live in the US. My relatives or my family, first thing when they see me is to make comments on my weight: too big, round, fat… even when they are fat themselves. I am not even fat. Good thing you don’t understand Vietnamese.
I think it should be noted that Asians in general have no filters about making comments about weight and health and do it commonly and usually without malicious intent. With that being said, anything rude or offensive being said is not going to be said in English, nor directly to you…so you won’t know it anyways lol. Just don’t be self conscious and insecure about it, and fk what anyone thinks or says! Go and have a great time!
Not overtly but also not malicious. I think if you’re very large then maybe workers might comment to each other in Vietnamese but again I don’t think it’s malicious. They would also comment to each other if your hair is purple, if you’re 7 feet tall, if you’re super skinny. The thing I would be concerned about is outdoor eating and ability to sit on those little plastic chairs. Also there are places where you have to climb stairs that are NARROW and treacherous. Again depending on your weight maybe an issue with moped Grab.
Oh yea. I have a beer belly and they touch my belly and say baby. No offense taken because I could quit drinking and lose wait if I wanted to but I like beer.
I’m here for first time
Yes, comments about body weight are quite common in Vietnam. The Vietnamese can be “friendly” but still have no filter 🙁
Vietnamese are very polite with strangers. Asian moms and family/close friends on the other hand will tease and criticize you mercilessly how fat/skinny/etc you are…and then proceed to feed you a huge home cooked meal and send you home with a ton of leftovers with lots of fish sauce…even for the plane. You cough once, you’re going to get a painful tiger balm scrape and a bunch of herbs/tea/chao or congee too. LOL. Food is Vietnamese love language. The struggle is real…also depends which part of Vietnam you travel…
Ive been in Vietnam for a bit over 2 weeks and Thailand before that.
Well, I walked past this a couple of days ago in Saigon…
It’s not how other people see you or comment about you, it’s how you see yourself and what you think about yourself that matters.