nough). So you know how much Vietnamese appreciate a proper greeting.

Before we move on, don't even try to use Google Translate for 'good
morning/afternoon' as Vietnamese never say 'Chao buoi sang/chieu'. If you
insist on following Google's wisdom, you might find people looking at you with
a confused expression on their faces.
Also, forget about the 'xin chao' /seen ciao/ all the "textbooks" are teaching. It
doesn't exist in real life conversation. It's like 'welcome aboard'; you don't say
that in English, do you?
Mastering Vietnamese greetings may take a little while as there are a number
of rules that you should keep in mind.

In Vietnam, knowing somebody else's age matters, a lot. One of the first things
we ask strangers is their year of birth. Respect for our elders is deeply
ingrained in our culture and reflected in our language, so we use different
pronouns depending on whom we are addressing.
The Vietnamese, in fact, have developed a skill that allows them to instantly
guess somebody's age with an error margin low enough to feel safe even
greeting a middle aged woman.
The rule of thumb is to imagine your social circle as your extended family.
1. Greeting someone older than you
The big brothers and sisters
Photo by Nguyen Luong Sao/VnExpress Photo Contest

If the guy looks like he could be your big brother, say: 'Em chao anh a!' / Em
ciao ank ak/

If the girl looks like she could be your big sister, say 'Em chao chi a!' /Em ciao
chee ak/

By now you've probably figured out 'anh' means elder brother and 'chi' means
elder sister. To your 'anh, chi', you're 'em', the younger sibling. 'Chao' is of
course hello while 'a' is what Vietnamese say at the end of the sentence to
show respect to those who are older; but it's optional.

This can be very tricky, especially in the workplace where being called 'anh' or
'chi' is the norm and considered professional, even if your boss could be older
than your parents. Only when your (most likely) boss is too old, verging on the
age of your grandparents, will he or she be OK with you calling them like aunt
and uncle.