Everyday Vietnamese

How to pronounce dạ

dạ
Without marks
da
Syllables
1 · dạ
Tone
nặng (dot below · low, cut short)
Meaning
yes (polite)
Frequency
No. 2,267 among the most used words

dạ, 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”).

Spelled the Vietnamese school waydờ a da nặng dạ

dạyes (polite)

Every tone

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

Southern or Northern?

South · Sài Gòn

  • d = gi = v

North · Hà Nội

  • d = gi = r

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

“da” without the marks

8 other real words are spelled da apart from the marks. Only the marks tell them from dạ.

  • đã(past tense marker)
  • daskin
  • đástone
  • đabanyan tree
  • đàmomentum
  • dãwild, rustic
  • đảto hit, to criticize
  • dàbrownish

Read dạ? 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 dạ

  • ạ(polite particle)
  • lạstrange, unfamiliar
  • tạquintal (100kg)
  • hạsummer
  • sạto broadcast-sow (rice)
  • rạ(rice) stubble, straw
  • bạ(randomly, indiscriminately)
  • cạmatching pair (card game)

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

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Quick answers

How do you pronounce dạ?

Block by block: a → d → da → nặng → dạ. Tone: nặng (dot below · low, cut short). Read each block aloud, then compare with the recording, in a Southern or a Northern voice.

What tone is dạ?

nặng (dot below · low, cut short)

Is dạ said differently in the South and the North?

South · Sài Gòn: d = gi = v. North · Hà Nội: d = gi = r.

What does “da” mean without the marks?

Without the marks, da can be several words: đã ((past tense marker)), da (skin), đá (stone), đa (banyan tree), đà (momentum), dã (wild, rustic), đả (to hit, to criticize), dà (brownish). The marks decide which one.

What does dạ mean?

yes (polite)

More: Everyday words

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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

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