Kinh people or Vietnamese people (Vietnamese: , Chữ Nôm: 𠊛京) are an ethnic group native to Northern Vietnam and Southern China in Southeast Asia. The native language is Vietnamese the most widely spoken Austroasiatic language. Although Vietnamese language origins are Austroasiatic, its language and was heavily sinicised and its vocabulary was influenced by Chinese. Sino-Vietnamese provides a Vietnamese form for almost all Chinese characters and are treated as native words by Vietnamese speakers. Some French words were also Vietnamized in the Vietnamese language.