im mẹ mày đi

[im˧˧ me˧˨ʔ mɐi˨˩ ɗi˧˧]command, extreme, familial

What does im mẹ mày đi mean? im mẹ mày đi is a Vietnamese nuclear that translates to “shut the fuck up” in English.

silent mother you go

01

"shut the fuck up"

Extreme command to shut up. Combines silence command with mother insult.

Im mẹ mày đi! (Shut the fuck up!)

Context

  • Expressing strong frustration or emphasis
  • Only among very close friends who share this register

Avoid

  • Professional or formal settings
  • Around elders or authority figures
  • Public spaces — will cause genuine offense
  • Almost any situation — this is as offensive as it gets
  • Job interviews, meetings, or customer-facing situations

Cultural Context

EXTREME: Combining 'shut up' with mother reference is highly aggressive. Used when extremely angry.

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3 / 5homophobic, loanword

bê đê

[ɓe˧˧ ɗe˧˧]

fag / queer

Derived from the French word 'pédéraste'. It is the most ubiquitous term for a gay man or an effeminate male in Vietnam.

3 / 5internet, abbreviation

đm

[ɗe˧˥ em˧˥]

fuck / wtf

The texting abbreviation of 'đụ má.' Two letters that every Vietnamese person under 40 can decode instantly. It's become so ubiquitous in online spaces that it functions less as profanity and more as punctuation — surprise, frustration, emphasis, even approval.

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xạo lồn

[sɐw˧˨ʔ lon˧˥]

bullshitting / talking out of your ass

Lying, boasting, or fabricating stories to look impressive. 'Xạo' means lying/fake; 'lồn' is added purely as an aggressive metric of magnitude.

4 / 5familial, exclamation

mẹ mày

[me˧˨ʔ mɐi˨˩]

your mother / fuck you

Just two words — 'your mother' — but in Vietnamese, this is a complete insult. You don't need to specify what about their mother. The implication hangs in the air, and everyone fills in the worst possible meaning. It's the loaded gun of Vietnamese profanity: the trigger is pulled by context.

5 / 5sexual, familial

địt mẹ

[ɗit˧˨ʔ me˧˨ʔ]

motherfucker / fuck your mother

Northern Vietnamese equivalent of 'đụ má.' Uses formal 'mẹ' instead of casual 'má,' making it more severe. The gravest insult in Vietnamese culture.

5 / 5sexual, familial

địt mẹ mày

[ɗit˧˨ʔ me˧˨ʔ mɐi˨˩]

fuck your mother / motherfucker

The full Northern form with the target pronoun attached. If 'địt mẹ' is a grenade, adding 'mày' is pulling the pin and throwing it directly at someone's face. This isn't venting frustration — this is declaring war.

2 / 5internet, abbreviation

vl

[vi˧˥ lɔ˧˥]

holy shit / very / wow

Texting abbreviation for 'vãi lồn.' Expresses surprise or intensity.

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bố láo

[ɓo˧˥ laːw˧˥]

insolent / cocky piece of shit

Someone who acts arrogantly above their station. It literally combines 'father' (bố) with 'insolent/fake' (láo), implying someone is illegitimately claiming the authority of a father figure.