Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối.

Vietnamese has more than one way to say we, and the choice depends on who is included.

• chúng tôi = we but not including the listener
• chúng ta = we including the listener

So in Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối, the speaker is talking about their own group, not the person they are speaking to.

Chúng tôi is also fairly neutral and standard. In everyday speech, people might also say:

• tụi tôi
• bọn tôi
• chúng mình (depends on context and relationship)

Thường means usually, often, or tend to.

In Vietnamese, adverbs of frequency often come after the subject and before the verb:

• Chúng tôi = subject
• thường = frequency adverb
• nói chuyện = verb phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + thường + verb

Examples:

• Tôi thường đọc sách. = I usually read books.
• Anh ấy thường đi bộ. = He usually walks.

This placement is very natural in Vietnamese.

Nói chuyện means to talk, to chat, or to have a conversation. It is more natural here than just nói.

• nói = to speak / to say
• nói chuyện = to talk, chat, converse

If you say:

• Chúng tôi thường nói với nhau...

that can sound more like we speak to each other or we say things to each other, which is possible, but less natural if you mean casual conversation.

So nói chuyện is the best choice for talk/chat with each other.

A similar expression is:

• trò chuyện = chat, converse

This is also common:

• Chúng tôi thường trò chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối.

Với nhau means with each other.

Breakdown:

• với = with
• nhau = each other / one another

Together, they show that the action happens mutually among the people in the group.

So:

• nói chuyện với nhau = talk with each other

You will often see nhau in sentences about mutual actions:

• gặp nhau = meet each other
• giúp nhau = help each other
• nói với nhau = speak to each other

Sometimes nhau can appear without với, depending on the verb:

• Chúng tôi yêu nhau. = We love each other.
• Họ gặp nhau mỗi ngày. = They meet each day.

But with nói chuyện, với nhau sounds very natural.

Yes, it could.

Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện vào buổi tối is grammatical and natural. It means something like:

• We usually talk in the evening
• We usually have conversations in the evening

However, adding với nhau makes the meaning more explicitly with each other. It emphasizes that the members of the group are talking among themselves.

So:

• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện vào buổi tối. = We usually talk in the evening.

• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối. = We usually talk with each other in the evening.

The second one is slightly more specific.

Vào buổi tối means in the evening or at night, depending on context.

Breakdown:

• vào = at / on / in (used with time expressions)
• buổi tối = evening

So:

• vào buổi tối = in the evening

Vào is commonly used before time expressions to mark when something happens:

• vào buổi sáng = in the morning
• vào buổi chiều = in the afternoon
• vào thứ Hai = on Monday
• vào tháng sau = next month / in the next month

In casual speech, vào is sometimes omitted if the meaning is already clear:

• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện buổi tối.
• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện vào tối.
• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện tối. (more conversational, context-dependent)

But vào buổi tối sounds full, clear, and standard.

Both can refer to evening/night, but buổi tối is a fuller time expression.

• tối = evening / tonight / dark, depending on context
• buổi tối = the evening

Examples:

• Tối nay tôi bận. = I’m busy tonight.
• Vào buổi tối, tôi đọc sách. = In the evening, I read books.

Using buổi tối sounds a bit more explicit and complete in this sentence. Just tối is also very common in everyday Vietnamese, especially in speech.

For example:

• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào tối. This is understandable, but vào buổi tối sounds more standard and polished.

The sentence follows a very common Vietnamese pattern:

Subject + adverb + verb phrase + time expression

Breakdown:

• Chúng tôi = subject
• thường = usually
• nói chuyện với nhau = talk with each other
• vào buổi tối = in the evening

So literally, it is:

We + usually + talk with each other + in the evening

This is very close to natural English word order, which is one reason this sentence is fairly easy for English speakers to understand.

It is mostly neutral and standard.

Why:

• chúng tôi is a standard written/spoken form
• thường nói chuyện với nhau is natural and normal
• vào buổi tối sounds clear and complete

It does not sound extremely formal, but it is a little more careful than very casual everyday speech.

More casual versions might be:

• Tụi tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối.
• Bọn tôi hay nói chuyện với nhau buổi tối.

Notes:

• hay can also mean often
• tụi tôi and bọn tôi are more conversational than chúng tôi

So the original sentence is a good standard sentence for learners.

Yes, very often.

Both thường and hay can express habitual action:

• thường = usually / often
• hay = often / frequently / tends to

So you could say:

• Chúng tôi thường nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối.
• Chúng tôi hay nói chuyện với nhau vào buổi tối.

Both are natural.

Very roughly:

• thường can sound a little more neutral or formal
• hay can sound a little more conversational in many contexts

But in everyday Vietnamese, both are common.

A rough pronunciation guide for English speakers is:

• chúng tôi ≈ choong toy
• thường ≈ thuh-ung / thwuhng
• nói chuyện ≈ noy chwien
• với nhau ≈ vuhy nyow
• vào buổi tối ≈ vow boo-ee toy

A few important points:

• ch in chuyện is somewhat like ch in chew
• nh in nhau is like the ny sound in canyon
• tôi and tối are not the same tone, even though they may look similar to beginners
• Vietnamese is tonal, so correct tones matter a lot for sounding natural and being understood

If you are learning pronunciation, it is best to listen to native audio and imitate the rhythm and tones rather than relying only on English-style spelling.