Guides to reading Vietnamese

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You already speak it: here is how reading works, and where to start.

• How to Read Vietnamese: The Fast Track in 5 Steps

  Every Vietnamese syllable is a starting consonant, a rhyme and a tone. Learn them in the right order, starting from the words you already know.

• Vietnamese for Heritage Speakers: Read What You Speak

  You grew up hearing Vietnamese but can't read it? You already have the hardest part. A fast track to reading, built on the words you know.

Tones and marks

Five tone marks, four letter marks: what each one does, with sound.

• Vietnamese Accent Marks Explained: Tones, Hats and Hooks

  Five tone marks, four letter marks and one shortcut for words ending in p, t, c or ch. Hear every example in a Southern or Northern voice.

• Vietnamese Words That Change With One Mark

  Ma, mà, má is only the start. How many Vietnamese words differ by a single mark, the biggest families, and how to read them without guessing.

Look-alike letters, close sounds

ă or â, d or đ, tr or ch: real word pairs, heard in your accent.

• ă vs â (and a) in Vietnamese: Three Vowels, Three Sounds

  a, ă and â look alike but sound different. Hear real word pairs in a Southern and a Northern voice: tay or tây, mắt or mất, nam or năm.

• d vs đ in Vietnamese: Not the Same Sound at All

  đ is the English d; plain d is a z in the North, a y in the South. Hear real word pairs like dây and đây in a Southern and a Northern voice.

• nh vs ng in Vietnamese: at the Start and at the End

  ng is said at the back of the mouth, nh in the middle. Hear real word pairs like ngà and nhà, hàng and hành, in a Southern and a Northern voice.

• tr vs ch in Vietnamese: One Sound, Two Spellings

  In most accents tr and ch sound the same: trà or chà, trồng or chồng. Hear the pairs in a Southern and a Northern voice, and how to remember which.

Names and pronunciation

Names, dishes, everyday words: built syllable by syllable, in a Southern and a Northern voice.

• Vietnamese Names: How to Read and Pronounce Them

  Family name first, given name last. Hear 30 Vietnamese names in a Southern and a Northern voice, and see what the marks change when they go missing.

• How to Pronounce Nguyen (and Read Vietnamese Names)

  Nguyễn is not “win”. Hear it in a Southern and a Northern voice, see what each mark does, and read other family names the same way.

• How to Pronounce Phở (Not “Foe”): Hear It Step by Step

  Phở is not “foe”. Hear it in a Southern and a Northern voice, see how ph, ơ and the hỏi tone build it, and what “pho” means without its marks.

• How to Say Thank You in Vietnamese: Cảm Ơn or Cám Ơn?

  Cảm ơn and cám ơn both mean thank you. Hear them in a Southern and a Northern voice, see how they're built, and thank your family the Vietnamese way.

• How to Pronounce Vietnamese Food: Bánh Mì, Bún, Chè…

  Bánh mì, bánh xèo, gỏi cuốn, cà phê: hear every dish in a Southern and a Northern voice, and read a menu by its first word.

Accents

Read with your family's accent: what the South and the North pronounce the same.

• Learn Southern Vietnamese: Read With a Saigon Accent

  Same spelling, different sounds. Every sound the Southern accent merges, what it never merges, and how to read with your family's accent.

Spelling and typing

Why words are spelled the way they are, and how to type them.

• Vietnamese Spelling Rules: c or k, g or gh, ng or ngh

  Same sound, two spellings: the few rules that decide c or k, g or gh, ng or ngh, iê or ia. With sound, and what a Southern accent changes.