Four great philosophies and religions have shaped the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity. Over the centuries, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have melded with popular Chinese beliefs and ancient Vietnamese animism to form what is known as Tam Giao (or ‘Triple Religion).

The Vietnamese language (kinh) belongs to the Mon-Khmer stock, which comprises Mon (spoken in Burmi) and Khmer (the language of Cambodia), as well as Khrnu, Bahnar. Bru and other languages of the highlands of Vietnam, Mon-Khmer, Tai and Chinese elements are combined with many basic words derived from the monotonic Mon-Khmer languages.