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.
The bar is not decoration: đ and d are two different sounds. Listen to the pairs.
đ or d?
đ is the d you know. Plain d is a z in the North and a y in the South.
dvsđ
d or đ?
đ (crossed) = a plain d. d without the bar is a whole other sound: “z” in the North, “y” in the South. It is not a detail of spelling.
116 pairs of words in the dictionary differ only by this sound.
Your accent always says them apart.
- dâystring, wire, rope≠đâyhere
- dámto dare≠đámcrowd
- dầuoil≠đầuhead
- dâudaughter-in-law≠đâuwhere
- dẹpto put away, to get rid of≠đẹpbeautiful
- dưamelon≠đưato bring, to hand
- dĩaplate≠đĩaplate
- dậyto wake up, to get up≠đậyto cover (with a lid)
- dứapineapple≠đứa(classifier for a person, child)
- dầngradually, little by little≠đầnstupid, dumb
d and gi: one sound
Today d and gi sound the same everywhere: only the spelling separates them.
dvsgi
d or gi?
Today d and gi have the same sound everywhere (“z” in the North, “y” in the South): only the spelling tells them apart.
61 pairs of words in the dictionary differ only by this sound.
Your accent says them the same: only the spelling tells them apart, lean on your anchors.
- dìaunt (mother's side)=gìwhat
- dàythick=giàyshoe
- dữfierce=giữto keep
- dơdirty=giơto raise, hold up
- dánto stick, glue, paste=giáncockroach
- dởbad, poor (quality)=giởto turn (pages), unfold
- dỗto soothe, coax (a child)=giỗdeath anniversary
- dắtto lead by the hand=giắtto tuck in, stick into
- dànhto reserve, to set aside=giànhto compete for, win
- dâystring, wire, rope=giâysecond (time)
In a Southern accent, v often joins them: vì, dì and gì can sound the same.
- vìbecause=dìaunt (mother's side)
- dìaunt (mother's side)=gìwhat
Type it
dd gives đ on the free Telex keyboard. Every letter of the alphabet, with a word you know: the alphabet.
Every other look-alike pair (o / ô, s / x, hỏi / ngã…), counted over the whole dictionary: Vietnamese letters compared.
Quick answers
How is đ pronounced?
Like the d of English or French: the tongue taps behind the top teeth.
How is d pronounced in Vietnamese?
Not like an English d. In a Northern accent it's a z sound; in a Southern accent, a y sound. It sounds exactly like gi.
Is d the same as gi?
Yes, today they sound the same everywhere: only the spelling tells dì (aunt) from gì (what).
How do I type đ?
With Telex, type d twice: dd gives đ.
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