Vietnamese food

How to pronounce nước mắm

nước mắm
Without marks
nuoc mam
Syllables
2 · nước · mắm
Tone
nước: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · mắm: sắc (acute accent · high rising)
Meaning
fish sauce
Frequency
No. 4,781 among the most used words

nước mắm, 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 · nước

Syllable 2 · mắm

Spelled the Vietnamese school wayươ cờ ươc nờ ươc nươc sắc nước — á mờ ăm mờ ăm măm sắc mắm

nước mắmfish sauce

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 · nước

Syllable 2 · mắm

Southern or Northern?

South · Sài Gòn

  • ươc = ươt

North · Hà Nội

said as written

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

Read nước mắm? 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 nước

  • trướcbefore, in front
  • bướcstep
  • ướcto wish
  • tướctitle (of nobility)
  • cướckick
  • rướcto welcome, to pick up
  • thướcruler (tool)
  • xướcscratched

Like mắm

  • lắmvery, a lot
  • nắmto hold, grasp
  • tắmto bathe, shower
  • ngắmto gaze at
  • cắmto plant, stick in
  • nhắmto close (eyes)
  • sắmto buy, purchase
  • đắmto sink

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

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Spelling to know

ươ or ưa?

One vowel: written ươ when a final follows (nước), ưa when there is none (mưa).

nước · đường · mưa · cửa

Finals p, t, c, ch: two tones only

A syllable ending in p, t, c or ch only takes sắc or nặng: the sound cannot be drawn out.

mắt · một · học · đẹp · sạch

Quick answers

How do you pronounce nước mắm?

Block by block: ươ → c → ươc → n → nươc → sắc → nước · ă → m → ăm → m → măm → sắc → mắm. Tone: nước: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · mắm: sắc (acute accent · high rising). Read each block aloud, then compare with the recording, in a Southern or a Northern voice.

What tone is nước mắm?

nước: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · mắm: sắc (acute accent · high rising)

Is nước mắm said differently in the South and the North?

South · Sài Gòn: ươc = ươt. North · Hà Nội: said as written.

What does nước mắm mean?

fish sauce

More: Food

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Free toolType Vietnamese with Telex →A keyboard that explains every key, and a 5-minute course.

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