[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":209},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-en-vietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex":3,"series-en-vietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex":157,"free-tools-en":169},{"id":4,"title":5,"alternates":6,"body":7,"chip":128,"cluster":129,"description":130,"extension":131,"faq":132,"keyword":145,"meta":146,"navigation":147,"path":148,"pillar":147,"seo":149,"sources":150,"stem":154,"updated":155,"__hash__":156},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex.md","ă vs â (and a) in Vietnamese: Three Vowels, Three Sounds",null,{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":120},"minimark",[10,14,19,38,42,46,52,55,73,77,86,89,93,113],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Three letters, three sounds, and hundreds of real words that change with them. Listen to the pairs in your accent.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"ă-or-â","ă or â?",[11,20,21,22,26,27,30,31,26,34,37],{},"Both are short. ",[23,24,25],"strong",{},"ă"," is a short ",[23,28,29],{},"a",", mouth open. ",[23,32,33],{},"â",[23,35,36],{},"ơ",", mouth half closed.",[39,40],"contrast",{"note":41},"ab_aa",[15,43,45],{"id":44},"a-or-ă","a or ă?",[11,47,48,49,51],{},"The same vowel, but ",[23,50,25],{}," is cut short and the final comes fast. ă never stands alone: a final always follows.",[39,53],{"note":54},"a_ab",[11,56,57,58,61,62,65,66,61,69,72],{},"Watch ",[23,59,60],{},"ay"," and ",[23,63,64],{},"au",": their a is short, an ă written a. That's why ",[23,67,68],{},"tai",[23,70,71],{},"tay"," differ.",[15,74,76],{"id":75},"a-or-â","a or â?",[11,78,79,80,82,83,85],{},"Not two lengths of one sound: ",[23,81,29],{}," opens the mouth wide, ",[23,84,33],{}," is a short ơ.",[39,87],{"note":88},"a_aa",[15,90,92],{"id":91},"type-them","Type them",[11,94,95,98,99,102,103,107,108,112],{},[23,96,97],{},"aw"," gives ă, ",[23,100,101],{},"aa"," gives â: try it on the ",[29,104,106],{"href":105},"\u002Ftools\u002Ftelex","free Telex keyboard",". All the marks are in\n",[29,109,111],{"href":110},"\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-accent-marks","Vietnamese accent marks explained",".",[11,114,115,116,112],{},"Every other look-alike pair (o \u002F ô, s \u002F x, hỏi \u002F ngã…), counted over the whole dictionary: ",[29,117,119],{"href":118},"\u002Ftools\u002Fvs","Vietnamese letters compared",{"title":121,"searchDepth":122,"depth":122,"links":123},"",2,[124,125,126,127],{"id":17,"depth":122,"text":18},{"id":44,"depth":122,"text":45},{"id":75,"depth":122,"text":76},{"id":91,"depth":122,"text":92},"ă \u002F â","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.","md",[133,136,139,142],{"q":134,"a":135},"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.",{"q":137,"a":138},"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).",{"q":140,"a":141},"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.",{"q":143,"a":144},"How do I type ă and â?","With Telex: aw gives ă, aa gives â.","ă vs â vietnamese",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex",{"title":5,"description":130},[151,152,153],"Every pair is a pair of real words from our {dictionary_words}-word dictionary that differ ONLY by this vowel, found by the engine of the app's ⚔️ VS mode, most familiar first.","Whether your accent says a pair the same is computed from our accent model (Southern and Northern), checked with a native Southern teacher.","Every word plays in a Southern and a Northern voice (AI voices from vietsyllables.com, hosted with the author's permission).","en\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-a-breve-vs-circumflex","2026-10-22","pe8AzfvuCyOz4q0eCmciAGDw8kXWULteafLxOt-sBFo",[158,159,163,166],{"path":148,"title":5,"pillar":147},{"path":160,"title":161,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-d-vs-dd","d vs đ in Vietnamese: Not the Same Sound at All",false,{"path":164,"title":165,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-nh-vs-ng","nh vs ng in Vietnamese: at the Start and at the End",{"path":167,"title":168,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-tr-vs-ch","tr vs ch in Vietnamese: One Sound, Two Spellings",[170,174,177,180,183,186,189,190,192,194,197,199,202,204,207],{"path":171,"cluster":172,"chip":173,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-pronounce-nguyen","pronounce","Nguyễn",{"path":175,"cluster":172,"chip":176,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-pronounce-pho","phở",{"path":178,"cluster":179,"chip":6,"pillar":147},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-vietnamese","read",{"path":181,"cluster":172,"chip":182,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-say-thank-you-in-vietnamese","cảm ơn",{"path":184,"cluster":185,"chip":6,"pillar":147},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Flearn-southern-vietnamese","accents",{"path":187,"cluster":188,"chip":6,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fsame-word-different-tones","marks",{"path":148,"cluster":129,"chip":128,"pillar":147},{"path":191,"cluster":188,"chip":6,"pillar":147},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-accent-marks",{"path":160,"cluster":129,"chip":193,"pillar":162},"d \u002F đ",{"path":195,"cluster":172,"chip":196,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-food-pronunciation","bánh mì",{"path":198,"cluster":179,"chip":6,"pillar":162},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-for-heritage-speakers",{"path":200,"cluster":172,"chip":201,"pillar":147},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-names","Thủy \u002F Thuỷ",{"path":164,"cluster":129,"chip":203,"pillar":162},"nh \u002F ng",{"path":205,"cluster":206,"chip":6,"pillar":147},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fvietnamese-spelling-rules","writing",{"path":167,"cluster":129,"chip":208,"pillar":162},"tr \u002F ch",1793180055613]