Ha Nhi language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman Group, while their culture is based on ancestor worship. They live on rice cultivation of burnt-over land or terraced fields. They are one of the groups who are highly skilled at building terraced fields on mountain slopes, digging canals and building small dams. They use ploughs and harrows pulled by oxen and buffaloes to work the fields. The gardens are often close to their houses.
Animal husbandry is developed as well as the cloth weaving, and basketry.
Most of the Ha Nhi make their own clothes. Women's dress varies depending on the region. The women in Lai Chau have colourful and decorated dresses, while Lao Cai women wear only dark indigo. Each Ha Nhi hamlet contains 60 households. The Ha Nhi consist of many family lineages.