Although the Bo Y have been granted the status of a distinct people group in Vietnam, linguists have found that their language is essentially the same as the Giay people group. The language is a form of Northern Tai (Tay-Thai).   However, the Bo Y of Lao Cai province now mostly speak Mandarin Chinese.

This means that the Ha Nhi language is linguistically unrelated to Vietnamese, the national language of the country.