Word of the Day

mingle /ˈmɪŋɡəl/

Vietnamese: giao lưu, hòa đồng với mọi người

To move around and talk to different people at a social event, or to mix comfortably with a group.

Examples in social and tech contexts:

  1. “After the product demo, everyone was encouraged to mingle with the investors over drinks.”
  2. “I’m a bit introverted, but I’ve learned to mingle at tech meetups by asking people about their current projects.”
  3. “The company retreat was a great chance to mingle with colleagues from other departments I’d only seen on Slack.”

Learn more:

Vocabulary: 5 Casual Social Phrases

PhraseVietnameseExample
catch uphàn huyên, cập nhật tình hình cho nhau”We haven’t talked in months — let’s catch up over coffee this weekend.”
break the icephá vỡ sự ngại ngùng ban đầu”He told a funny story to break the ice at the networking event.”
small talknói chuyện xã giao, chuyện phiếm”I’m not great at small talk, but talking about the weather or weekend plans always works.”
let’s hang outđi chơi cùng nhau đi”The sprint is finally done — let’s hang out on Saturday and forget about work.”
what have you been up to?dạo này bạn làm gì vậy?”Hey, long time no see! What have you been up to since the conference?”

Pronunciation Practice

Sentence: “I really enjoyed mingling with the team after the hackathon.”

Full breakdown:

I REAL-ly en-JOYED MIN-gling with the TEAM AF-ter the HACK-a-thon.

Stress pattern (CAPITALS = stressed syllable):

WordPronunciationNote
I/aɪ/Weak form — often reduced to /ə/ mid-sentence
really/ˈriː.li/Stress on REA-lly
enjoyed/ɪnˈdʒɔɪd/Stress on JOYED
mingling/ˈmɪŋ.ɡlɪŋ/Stress on MIN-gling
with/wɪð/Weak form — often sounds like /wɪ/ before consonants
the/ðə/Weak form — /ðə/ before consonants
team/tiːm/Strong — content word
after/ˈæf.tər/Stress on AF-ter; the “er” is a schwa /ə/
the/ðə/Weak form
hackathon/ˈhæk.ə.θɒn/Stress on HACK-a-thon

Rhythm (tap the beat):

i-REAl-ly-en-JOYD | MIN-gling-with-the-TEAM | AF-ter-the-HACK-a-thon

Tips:

  • Link “enjoyed” and “mingling” smoothly: enjoyed-mingling (no pause)
  • “with the” blends quickly — say it as one unit: withthe
  • The schwa /ə/ in “after” and “hackathon” keeps your speech natural and relaxed

Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blank

Choose the correct phrase: mingle / catch up / break the ice / small talk / hang out

  1. “I ran into my old colleague at the coffee shop and we decided to __________ about what we’ve been working on.”
  2. “At the company party, the manager played a trivia game to __________ and get everyone laughing.”
  3. “Do you want to __________ this Saturday? We could grab some food and watch a movie.”
  4. “I find __________ awkward at parties, so I usually ask people about their work to get a real conversation going.”
  5. “The best part of the conference was getting to __________ with engineers from all over Southeast Asia.”
Answers
  1. catch up
  2. break the ice
  3. hang out
  4. small talk
  5. mingle

Exercise 2: Translate to English

Translate these Vietnamese sentences into natural English using today’s vocabulary.

  1. “Dạo này bạn làm gì vậy? Chúng ta lâu quá không gặp nhau rồi.”
  2. “Mình hơi nhút nhát khi mới đến một buổi networking, nhưng mình cố hòa đồng với mọi người.”
  3. “Cuối tuần này bạn có muốn đi chơi cùng mình không? Đi cà phê hay gì đó?”
  4. “Anh ấy kể một câu chuyện hài hước để phá vỡ sự ngại ngùng ở buổi họp đầu tiên.”
  5. “Mình không giỏi nói chuyện xã giao, nhưng mình luôn hỏi về dự án của họ.”
Suggested Answers
  1. “What have you been up to? It’s been so long since we last saw each other.”
  2. “I’m a bit shy when I first arrive at a networking event, but I try to mingle with everyone.”
  3. “Do you want to hang out this weekend? Maybe grab a coffee or something?”
  4. “He told a funny story to break the ice at the first meeting.”
  5. “I’m not great at small talk, but I always ask people about their projects.”

Idiom of the Day

”the more the merrier”

Vietnamese: càng đông càng vui

Used to say that you are happy for more people to join an activity or group — the situation becomes more enjoyable with more participants.

Examples:

  1. “We’re having a barbecue on Sunday — bring your friends, the more the merrier!”
  2. “Our dev team’s game night is open to anyone in the company. The more the merrier — we need people for the team trivia round.”

Usage tip: This phrase is warm and inviting. Use it when someone asks “Is it okay if I bring a friend?” — it signals you genuinely welcome more people, not just tolerate them.

Speaking Challenge

60-Second Weekend Plan

Task: Set a timer for 60 seconds. Speak out loud and describe your ideal Saturday. Use at least 4 of today’s phrases.

Prompt to get you started:

“My ideal Saturday would start with…”

Checklist — try to include:

  • What time you wake up and your morning routine
  • Who you want to hang out with
  • An activity where you could mingle or catch up with friends
  • One moment of small talk you’d enjoy (at a café, a park, a market)
  • How the evening ends

Example opening (then continue on your own):

“My ideal Saturday would start with a slow morning — no alarms, just coffee and reading. In the afternoon, I’d hang out with a few friends from work. We’d probably grab lunch somewhere and catch up on what everyone’s been up to this week. In the evening, maybe a small gathering at someone’s place where I can mingle with people I don’t usually get to talk to…”

Evening Challenge

Before you sleep tonight, write 3 sentences in English about your day. Keep them simple and honest.

Prompts to help you:

  • What did you do today?
  • Who did you talk to, meet, or think about?
  • How are you feeling right now?

Example:

  1. “Today I stayed home and worked on a side project for most of the afternoon.”
  2. “I caught up with a friend over text and we made plans to hang out next weekend.”
  3. “I’m a little tired but satisfied — it was a calm and productive Saturday.”

Writing even 3 sentences every evening builds fluency faster than you think. Your English brain needs daily exercise, not just big study sessions.

Daily English — Evening Session | Saturday, June 20, 2026

Export for reading

Comments