Vietnamese food

How to pronounce cà phê

cà phê
Without marks
ca phe
Syllables
2 · cà · phê
Tone
cà: huyền (grave accent · low falling) · phê: ngang (no mark · level)
Meaning
coffee
Frequency
No. 1,027 among the most used words

cà phê, block by block

Each line adds one piece. Read it aloud, then tap a card to compare: a consonant plays the way it is spelled at school (ph = “phờ”).

Syllable 1 · cà

Syllable 2 · phê

Spelled the Vietnamese school waycờ a ca huyền cà — phờ ê phê

cà phêcoffee

Every tone

The same letters without a tone (the root), then with each tone the spelling allows: some are words, some only possible syllables.

Syllable 1 · cà

Syllable 2 · phê

Southern or Northern?

South · Sài Gòn

said as written

North · Hà Nội

said as written

Same sound, different spelling: the accent changes the sound, never the written word.

Read cà phê? Then you can read these

Same rhyme, same tone: only the first consonant changes. That's how the app teaches reading, from words you know to every word that sounds like them.

Like cà

  • làto be
  • vàand
  • màbut
  • nhàhouse, home
  • à(question/surprise particle)
  • bàgrandmother
  • giàold
  • gàchicken

Like phê

  • êhey!
  • ghêdisgusting
  • mêto be crazy about
  • đêdike, levee
  • kêmillet
  • dêgoat
  • lêpear
  • chêto criticize, belittle

Any other word, and your own words: in the app.

Create my free account

Spelling to know

c or k?

Same /k/ sound. Write K before i, e, ê, y, and C before every other vowel.

kẹo · kêu · kỳ · cá · cơm · con

Quick answers

How do you pronounce cà phê?

Block by block: a → c → ca → huyền → cà · ê → ph → phê. Tone: cà: huyền (grave accent · low falling) · phê: ngang (no mark · level). Read each block aloud, then compare with the recording, in a Southern or a Northern voice.

What tone is cà phê?

cà: huyền (grave accent · low falling) · phê: ngang (no mark · level)

Is cà phê said differently in the South and the North?

Both accents say cà phê as it is written.

What does cà phê mean?

coffee

More: Food

All the words →
Free toolVietnamese alphabet chart →29 letters, each with a word you know and its sound. Print it.
Free toolLook-alike letters compared →ă / â, d / đ, tr / ch, hỏi / ngã: real word pairs, the same or not in your accent.
Free toolType Vietnamese with Telex →A keyboard that explains every key, and a 5-minute course.

Any word, in your accent

In the app, every word of the dictionary opens in the Microscope, and your own words become the anchors you read with.

Create my free account