Everyday Vietnamese

How to pronounce má

má
Without marks
ma
Syllables
1 · má
Tone
sắc (acute accent · high rising)
Meaning
mom
Frequency
No. 2,093 among the most used words

má, 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 waymờ a ma sắc má

mámom

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.

“ma” without the marks

5 other real words are spelled ma apart from the marks. Only the marks tell them from má.

  • màbut
  • maghost
  • mãcode
  • mảgrave, tomb
  • mạrice seedling

Read má? 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 má

  • giáprice
  • kháquite, fairly good
  • đástone
  • cáfish
  • láleaf
  • pháto destroy
  • áAsia
  • nháto chew

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

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Quick answers

How do you pronounce má?

Block by block: a → m → ma → sắc → má. Tone: sắc (acute accent · high rising). Read each block aloud, then compare with the recording, in a Southern or a Northern voice.

What tone is má?

sắc (acute accent · high rising)

Is má said differently in the South and the North?

Both accents say má as it is written.

What does “ma” mean without the marks?

Without the marks, ma can be several words: mà (but), ma (ghost), mã (code), mả (grave, tomb), mạ (rice seedling). The marks decide which one.

What does má mean?

mom

More: Everyday words

All the 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

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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