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.
Three letters, three sounds, and hundreds of real words that change with them. Listen to the pairs in your accent.
ă or â?
Both are short. ă is a short a, mouth open. â is a short ơ, mouth half closed.
ăvsâ
ă or â?
Both are short. ă = a short a (open mouth), â = a short ơ (mouth half closed): ăn (to eat) ≠ ân (a kindness).
189 pairs of words in the dictionary differ only by this sound.
Your accent always says them apart.
- cayspicy≠câytree, plant
- đauto hurt, painful≠đâuwhere
- mắteye≠mấtto lose
- máymachine≠mấyhow many
- dạyto teach≠dậyto wake up, to get up
- sauafter, behind≠sâudeep
- tayhand, arm≠tâywest
- cắmto plant, stick in≠cấmto forbid, prohibit
- lauto wipe≠lâulong (time)
- cắtto cut≠cấtto put away
a or ă?
The same vowel, but ă is cut short and the final comes fast. ă never stands alone: a final always follows.
avsă
a or ă?
Same vowel, but ă is SHORT: the mouth makes the same a, twice as short, and the final comes fast. ă never stands alone: always a final after it (ăn, ắt, ăm).
237 pairs of words in the dictionary differ only by this sound.
Your accent always says them apart.
- taiear≠tayhand, arm
- támeight≠tắmto bathe, shower
- saowhy≠sauafter, behind
- haitwo≠hayor
- bánto sell≠bắnto shoot
- namsouth≠nămfive
- vaishoulder≠vayto borrow
- saiwrong, incorrect≠saydrunk
- cátsand≠cắtto cut
- mátcool, refreshing≠mắteye
Watch ay and au: their a is short, an ă written a. That's why tai and tay differ.
a or â?
Not two lengths of one sound: a opens the mouth wide, â is a short ơ.
avsâ
a or â?
a opens the mouth wide; â is a short ơ, mouth half closed. They are not two lengths of the same sound.
257 pairs of words in the dictionary differ only by this sound.
Your accent always says them apart.
- saowhy≠sâudeep
- mátcool, refreshing≠mấtto lose
- bạnfriend≠bậnbusy
- taiear≠tâywest
- cátsand≠cấtto put away
- maitomorrow≠mâycloud
- đạpto kick≠đậpto hit, strike
- cạoto shave≠cậuuncle (mother's side)
- camorange≠câmmute
- đànmusical instrument≠đầnstupid, dumb
Type them
aw gives ă, aa gives â: try it on the free Telex keyboard. All the marks are in Vietnamese accent marks explained.
Every other look-alike pair (o / ô, s / x, hỏi / ngã…), counted over the whole dictionary: Vietnamese letters compared.
Quick answers
What is the difference between ă and â?
Both are short. ă is a short a, mouth open; â is a short ơ, mouth half closed. ăn (to eat) and ân (kindness) are different words.
What is the difference between a and ă?
The same vowel, but ă is cut short and the final comes quickly. ă never stands alone: a final always follows (ăn, ắt, ăm).
Why is ay written with a but pronounced with ă?
In ay and au, the a is short: it's an ă written a. So tai (ear) and tay (hand) differ by the length of the a, not by i and y.
How do I type ă and â?
With Telex: aw gives ă, aa gives â.
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