Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân.

Đừng is used to tell someone not to do something. It is a very common way to make a negative command in Vietnamese.

So:

• Đừng lạm dụng... = Don’t misuse / Don’t abuse...

It works a bit like don’t in English.

Because đừng is for negative commands or warnings, while không is mainly used for negation in statements.

Compare:

• Tôi không biết. = I don’t know.
• Đừng đi. = Don’t go.

So in Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân, the speaker is telling someone not to do something, so đừng is the correct choice.

Lạm dụng means to abuse, to overuse, or to misuse, depending on context.

It often suggests using something:

• too much
• in the wrong way
• in a harmful or unethical way

In this sentence, lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân most naturally means misuse personal information or abuse the use of personal information.

It is a fairly formal and serious expression.

Yes, lạm dụng is more formal than many everyday Vietnamese verbs.

You often see it in:

• warnings
• official writing
• news
• legal or policy language
• educational materials

For example:

• lạm dụng quyền lực = abuse power
• lạm dụng thuốc = abuse drugs / overuse medicine
• lạm dụng lòng tin = abuse someone’s trust

So this sentence sounds natural in a warning, guideline, or public message.

Literally:

• thông tin = information
• cá nhân = personal / individual

So thông tin cá nhân means personal information.

This is a very common phrase in Vietnamese, especially in topics like:

• privacy
• online safety
• forms and documents
• technology
• security

In Vietnamese, descriptive words often come after the noun they describe.

So:

• thông tin cá nhân = information personal literally, but naturally personal information
• số điện thoại cá nhân = personal phone number
• ý kiến cá nhân = personal opinion

This is a very common word order pattern in Vietnamese.

Vietnamese often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.

So Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân can mean:

• Don’t misuse personal information
• Do not misuse personal information

The implied subject is usually you, but Vietnamese does not need to say it.

If you want to include the subject, you can, for example:

• Bạn đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân. = You, don’t misuse personal information.

But leaving it out is very normal.

It can function as any of those, depending on context, but it most strongly sounds like a warning or instruction.

For example, it would sound natural on:

• a poster
• a website
• a school notice
• a privacy guideline
• a training manual

Because đừng is direct, the sentence is fairly firm.

Sometimes, but not always.

Lạm dụng can mean overuse, but in many contexts it also carries the idea of misuse or abuse, not just quantity.

In this sentence, use too much personal information sounds strange in English. A better translation is:

• Don’t misuse personal information
• Don’t abuse personal information

So the best English translation depends on context, but misuse is probably the safest choice here.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• Đừng sử dụng thông tin cá nhân = Don’t use personal information
• Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân = Don’t misuse / abuse personal information

So sử dụng just means use, while lạm dụng means use improperly, excessively, or harmfully.

They are not interchangeable.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân
≈ dung lahm zoong/thoong tin kah nyun

A few notes:

• đ is like an English d
• ư is a vowel that does not exist in English; it is central and unrounded
• dụng in southern Vietnamese often sounds like it begins with a y/z sound; in northern Vietnamese, d is more like z
• nhân ends with nh, which is like the ny sound in canyon

The tones are very important, especially in:

• đừng
• lạm
• dụng
• cá
• nhân

It can be understood as either personal information in general or pieces of personal information depending on context.

Vietnamese nouns usually do not mark singular vs. plural the way English does.

So thông tin cá nhân could refer to things like:

• your name
• address
• phone number
• ID number
• financial details

Context tells you whether it means one item or personal data in general.

You could add words that soften the tone, such as:

• Xin đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân. = Please don’t misuse personal information.
• Bạn không nên lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân. = You shouldn’t misuse personal information.

Compare the tone:

• Đừng lạm dụng thông tin cá nhân. = direct warning/command
• Xin đừng... = more polite
• Không nên... = softer advice

So the original sentence is correct, but it is fairly firm and instructional.