Vietnamese family name

How to pronounce Lê

Lê
Without marks
le
Syllables
1 · lê
Tone
ngang (no mark · level)
Also a common word
pear

Lê, 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 waylờ ê lê

lêpear

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

said as written

North · Hà Nội

said as written

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

“le” without the marks

9 other real words are spelled le apart from the marks. Only the marks tell them from lê.

  • lễceremony, festival
  • lẽreason, argument
  • lẻodd
  • lẹfast, quick
  • lềmargin
  • leteal (small duck)
  • lệtear
  • lèto stick out (tongue)
  • lécross-eyed

Read Lê? 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 lê

  • êhey!
  • ghêdisgusting
  • phêhigh (on drugs)
  • mêto be crazy about
  • đêdike, levee
  • kêmillet
  • dêgoat
  • chêto criticize, belittle

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

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Quick answers

How do you pronounce Lê?

Block by block: ê → l → lê. Tone: ngang (no mark · level). Read each block aloud, then compare with the recording, in a Southern or a Northern voice.

What tone is Lê?

ngang (no mark · level)

Is Lê said differently in the South and the North?

Both accents say Lê as it is written.

What does “le” mean without the marks?

Without the marks, le can be several words: lễ (ceremony, festival), lẽ (reason, argument), lẻ (odd), lẹ (fast, quick), lề (margin), le (teal (small duck)), lệ (tear), lè (to stick out (tongue)), lé (cross-eyed). The marks decide which one.

Is Lê also a common word?

pear

More: Family names

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.

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