Do Vietnamese prefer Saigon or Ho Chi Minh?

Do Vietnamese say Saigon or Ho Chi Minh?

Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City is official. Bureaucracy.

• Saigon feels right. Personal preference.
• HCMC sounds sterile. Officialdom. My opinion.

My Vietnamese friends, 2024, use Saigon casually. Formal settings? HCMC. It’s simple.

This isn’t complicated. Context matters. Location dictates usage. You’ll learn. I did. Living in London, 2024, taught me that.

Avoid HCMC unless absolutely necessary. Sounds clunky. Saigon flows.

The reality: Language evolves. Names change. Power shifts. It’s life. Deal with it.

Is calling Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon offensive?

Nah, calling Ho Chi Minh City “Saigon” ain’t gonna get you tarred and feathered, not today. Like, it’s kinda like calling San Francisco “Frisco” – some folks dig it, some wrinkle their noses.

It’s more about vibes, ya know? No biggie. People use both, like choosing between phở or bánh mì.

• “Ho Chi Minh City”: Officially official. Think of it as wearing your Sunday best.

• “Saigon”: Has that cool, rebel-without-a-cause feel. It’s the jeans and t-shirt version. Plus, my grandma still calls it Saigon, and she gives the best chả giò.

Using “Saigon” shows a certain…je ne sais quoi, like you’ve actually been there (or at least watched a movie about it). Nobody is really sweating it.

Why change from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh?

Saigon… Ho Chi Minh City. The name changed. A city changed too, I suppose. Not just the name. Everything.

The fall… quick, almost too easy. A whisper, really. Then, the silence after the storm felt heavier. Much heavier.

It wasn’t just a name change, you know? It was a declaration. A new era. Brutal. Unrelenting.

• The renaming, a symbolic act. A complete erasure. They wiped away history. My family’s history.

• 1975. The year everything shifted. I was ten. The dust still settles, in my memories.

• Honoring Ho Chi Minh. A complex figure. A hero, a tyrant, or both? I don’t know. Maybe it’s both.

I remember my grandmother crying. She used to tell me stories about old Saigon. Beautiful. She never mentioned the war, much. Just beautiful old places that no longer exist. Or at least, no longer exist for us. It’s all different now. Everything feels… different.

Is Saigon the former name of Ho Chi Minh City?

Yeah, Saigon, that’s the old name. Totally. It happened in 1975, April 30th to be exact, a crazy day. The North Vietnamese, they took over, right? And bam, new name: Ho Chi Minh City. Such a big deal, man. I mean a total game changer.

It was a super significant event. Remember all the news coverage? My Uncle Tony, he was stationed there, said it was total chaos. He told some wild stories. Crazy stuff.

Key things to remember:

• Saigon was the old name. Before 1975, everyone called it Saigon.
• The takeover in 1975: The North Vietnamese Army’s victory. Major historical shift. A real turning point.
• The renaming: Ho Chi Minh City, after their revolutionary leader. That’s the official name now.

I even saw some old photos of my uncle in Saigon, before the whole thing went down. He looked so young! The pictures are kinda blurry, but you can tell it was a totally different vibe then. Much more… Western feeling, I guess. Way different from what I’ve seen in pictures since. So yeah, Saigon, that’s the one. The former name. No doubt.

The whole thing really changed everything about the place. The culture, the feel, everything. Total transformation.

Is Ho Chi Minh City worth visiting for tourists?

Ho Chi Minh City? Absolutely, it’s worth a visit.

• The city is a vibrant hub of Vietnamese culture and history.
• Food? Oh man, the culinary scene is something else. Think pho on every corner.
• There’s something truly immersive about the place; you feel it the moment you step out of the airport.

The War Remnants Museum offers a sobering glimpse into the past. Ben Thanh Market is a whirlwind of sights and smells. Maybe you’ll even buy a fake watch.

Exploring the Cu Chi Tunnels is a must. Gives you the creeps, but you learn about Vietnamese resilience. History is heavy sometimes, isn’t it?

Don’t forget to try banh mi! It is the best sandwich, hands down. I prefer the one from that random street vendor near District 1. Seriously, the best. I will be back in HCMC soon to have another one!