Wife ? what should I say...

@panda7 EASY ... just tell them you have to taste many peaches before finding the sweetest one ... at least the guys will get a laugh ...

I'm 48, the Vietnamese always ask me if I've "taken a wife" yet. When I say no they look at me like I'm from another planet...
What would be the best response in Vietnamese to " lấy vợ chưa" instead of chưa so I don't seem like an alien to them
-@panda7

Hey Panda.

Well, you could tell them the true reason, if indeed you know it and wish to share this with people.

Or, tell them there is a special someone waiting for you back home. Advantage to this is that should you meet a special someone here, then your ficticious someone back home could suddenly become not-so-special any longer.

By telling them "not yet", you may be seen as encouraging others to introduce you around to potential brides. Not a bad thing, if you're okay with that.

Please keep us updated on this one. Interesting.

I'm 48, the Vietnamese always ask me if I've "taken a wife" yet. When I say no they look at me like I'm from another planet...
What would be the best response in Vietnamese to " lấy vợ chưa" instead of chưa so I don't seem like an alien to them
-@panda7

Hey Panda.
Well, you could tell them the true reason, if indeed you know it and wish to share this with peopl
Or, tell them there is a special someone waiting for you back home. Advantage to this is that should you meet a special someone here, then your ficticious someone back home could suddenly become not-so-special any longer.
By telling them "not yet", you may be seen as encouraging others to introduce you around to potential brides. Not a bad thing, if you're okay with that.

Please keep us updated on this one. Interesting.


-@Aidan in HCMC

Yes, and remember to tell them what planet you are really from!

MAc

I got married for the 1st time at 55 years old. The locals could never get their head around how I had two kids and not married.

TBH, I really wouldnt worry about such a trivial thing.

Another thought ... you could simply just reply ... my reason is private ... most VNs would respect that answer, me thinks

@Friday with Mateo

Au contraire, mon ami.

In the VN culture, you'd be better off telling a little-white-lie (eg. a ficticious love interest back home) than to tell an inquisitive VN that it's none of their business. The VN I know would consider it an innocent and legitimate question to ask why a person has not yet married.

With the white lie the person can report back to others, who will undoubtedly want to know, what he has learned about you (spec. Panda7). He might be embarassed to report that he was told mind his own bees-wax.

Justify skirting the question by appealing to the idea of the noble lie.

@Aidan in HCMC I'll defer to you on that ... they (my ideas/thoughts) can't all be winners

@Aidan in HCMC I'll defer to you on that ... they (my ideas/thoughts) can't all be winners
-@Friday with Mateo

Just my humble opinion/suggestion, nothing more.

It offers an easy out.

I think it's very difficult for vietnamese people to understand someone not wanting to be married. Most young women I know are under intense pressure from their families to marry and have children even though these early marriages often end in divorce.