Ngái people

The Ngái (Vietnamese: Người Ngái) are a Hakka-speaking community in Vietnam and other nearby countries of Indochina, whose ancestors were Southern Chinese.[4] However they “have never considered themselves Hakka. Because no one, including Chinese people, knows how to categorize the Ngái people, they were simply categorized as Hakka”.[5] However, some younger Ngai today might refer to themselves as Hakka.

Ngái people
Người Ngái

Ngái in Province Thái Nguyên
Total population
4,841 (1999)[1] 1,035 (2009)[2] 1,649 (2019)[3]
Regions with significant populations
Vietnam: Quảng Ninh, Thái Nguyên, Haiphong
Languages
Hakka Chinese, Vietnamese
Religion
Mahayana Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Hakka people, Chinese Vietnamese

According to Vietnamese sources the Ngái people speak Hakka, a Sino-Tibetan language but are classified separately from the Hoa or urban ethnic "Overseas Chinese". Other sources claim that “the Hakka language is not similar to the Ngai language”.[5] According to official data, the Ngái population was 4,841 in 1999[1] but down only 1,035 in 2009 and up to 1,649 in 2019.[2][6][3]