[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":173},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-en-same-word-different-tones":3,"series-en-same-word-different-tones":125,"free-tools-en":130},{"id":4,"title":5,"alternates":6,"body":9,"chip":98,"cluster":99,"description":100,"extension":101,"faq":102,"keyword":112,"meta":113,"navigation":114,"path":115,"pillar":116,"seo":117,"sources":118,"stem":122,"updated":123,"__hash__":124},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fsame-word-different-tones.md","Vietnamese Words That Change With One Mark",{"fr":7,"de":8},"meme-mot-tons-differents","gleiches-wort-andere-toene",{"type":10,"value":11,"toc":88},"minimark",[12,20,25,30,34,37,41,44,48,50,54,57,60,64,67,70,74],[13,14,15,19],"p",{},[16,17,18],"strong",{},"ma, mà, má, mả, mã, mạ",": every learner sees this example. Our dictionary shows it isn't a curiosity, it's\neverywhere. Here are the real numbers and the biggest families.",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"one-syllable-six-words","One syllable, six words",[26,27],"confusable-family",{"level":28,"word":29},"tone","ma",[21,31,33],{"id":32},"how-often-does-it-happen","How often does it happen?",[35,36],"confusable-top",{"level":28},[21,38,40],{"id":39},"add-the-look-alike-letters","Add the look-alike letters",[13,42,43],{},"For a Western eye, o, ô and ơ, or d and đ, look almost the same. Count them as one and the families explode:",[26,45],{"level":46,"word":47},"letters","do",[35,49],{"level":46},[21,51,53],{"id":52},"families-you-use-every-day","Families you use every day",[26,55],{"level":46,"word":56},"cho",[13,58,59],{},"Dog, market, place, to wait, to carry: one bare spelling, a whole household of words.",[21,61,63],{"id":62},"why-you-have-an-edge","Why you have an edge",[13,65,66],{},"You already hear chó and chợ apart. The only missing link is between the mark you see and the sound you know.\nThat's what the app trains, family by family.",[68,69],"try-family",{},[21,71,73],{"id":72},"one-rule-cuts-the-choices","One rule cuts the choices",[13,75,76,77,82,83,87],{},"After p, t, c or ch, only two tones exist. ",[78,79,81],"a",{"href":80},"\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-accent-marks","Vietnamese accent marks explained","\nshows how to use it, and ",[78,84,86],{"href":85},"\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-spelling-rules","the spelling rules"," handle the letters.",{"title":89,"searchDepth":90,"depth":90,"links":91},"",2,[92,93,94,95,96,97],{"id":23,"depth":90,"text":24},{"id":32,"depth":90,"text":33},{"id":39,"depth":90,"text":40},{"id":52,"depth":90,"text":53},{"id":62,"depth":90,"text":63},{"id":72,"depth":90,"text":73},null,"marks","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.","md",[103,106,109],{"q":104,"a":105},"Why do so many Vietnamese words look alike?","Vietnamese is built from syllables, and many everyday words are a single one. The tone marks and the letter marks (hat, horn, breve, the bar of đ) are what tell them apart.",{"q":107,"a":108},"What is the most famous example?","Ma, mà, má, mả, mã, mạ: the same letters with each of the six tones, and six different words.",{"q":110,"a":111},"How do I stop mixing them up?","Read the marks first, then link each one to the sound you already hear. One known word per rhyme helps: it fixes the spelling to a sound you know.","vietnamese same word different tones",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fsame-word-different-tones",false,{"title":5,"description":100},[119,120,121],"The counts and the largest families are computed over our {dictionary_words}-word dictionary by the same engine as the app's “Trains” game, which drills these families.","Look-alike letters (a ă â, o ô ơ, u ư, e ê, d đ) come from the app's list of letters a Western eye confuses.","Every word plays a recording in a Southern or a Northern voice (AI voices from vietsyllables.com, hosted with the author's permission).","en\u002Fblog\u002Fsame-word-different-tones","2026-10-05","z63QG7ng_PNiKcJEvrD7WczGafUoDz2fWe78isc3cwQ",[126,127],{"path":115,"title":5,"pillar":116},{"path":128,"title":129,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-accent-marks","Vietnamese Accent Marks Explained: Tones, Hats and Hooks",[131,135,138,141,144,147,148,152,153,156,159,161,164,167,170],{"path":132,"cluster":133,"chip":134,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-pronounce-nguyen","pronounce","Nguyễn",{"path":136,"cluster":133,"chip":137,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-pronounce-pho","phở",{"path":139,"cluster":140,"chip":98,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-vietnamese","read",{"path":142,"cluster":133,"chip":143,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-say-thank-you-in-vietnamese","cảm ơn",{"path":145,"cluster":146,"chip":98,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Flearn-southern-vietnamese","accents",{"path":115,"cluster":99,"chip":98,"pillar":116},{"path":149,"cluster":150,"chip":151,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex","sounds","ă \u002F â",{"path":128,"cluster":99,"chip":98,"pillar":114},{"path":154,"cluster":150,"chip":155,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-d-vs-dd","d \u002F đ",{"path":157,"cluster":133,"chip":158,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-food-pronunciation","bánh mì",{"path":160,"cluster":140,"chip":98,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-for-heritage-speakers",{"path":162,"cluster":133,"chip":163,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-names","Thủy \u002F Thuỷ",{"path":165,"cluster":150,"chip":166,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-nh-vs-ng","nh \u002F ng",{"path":168,"cluster":169,"chip":98,"pillar":114},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-spelling-rules","writing",{"path":171,"cluster":150,"chip":172,"pillar":116},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-tr-vs-ch","tr \u002F ch",1793180055613]