Everyday Vietnamese

How to pronounce tạm biệt

tạm biệt
Without marks
tam biet
Syllables
2 · tạm · biệt
Tone
tạm: nặng (dot below · low, cut short) · biệt: nặng (dot below · low, cut short)
Meaning
goodbye, farewell
Frequency
No. 801 among the most used words

tạm biệt, 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 · tạm

Syllable 2 · biệt

Spelled the Vietnamese school waya mờ am tờ am tam nặng tạm — iê tờ iêt bờ iêt biêt nặng biệt

tạm biệtgoodbye, farewell

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 · tạm

Syllable 2 · biệt

Southern or Northern?

South · Sài Gòn

  • iêt = iêc = uyêt

North · Hà Nội

said as written

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

Read tạm biệt? 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 tạm

  • chạmto touch
  • trạmstation, stop
  • phạmto commit (a crime)
  • đạmnitrogen
  • hạmbattleship
  • sạmtanned, darkened (skin)
  • nạmbeef brisket
  • xạmtanned, darkened

Like biệt

  • việtVietnamese
  • thiệtreal, true
  • nhiệtheat
  • diệtto destroy, exterminate
  • liệtparalyzed
  • triệtto eliminate, to remove
  • tiệtcompletely, entirely
  • kiệtexhausted

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

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Spelling to know

iê, yê, ia or ya?

One vowel, four spellings: iê after a consonant (tiền); yê at the start of a word or after the linking u (yêu, khuyên); ia with no final (mía); ya with no final after the linking u (khuya).

tiền · yêu · khuyên · mía · khuya

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 tạm biệt?

Block by block: a → m → am → t → tam → nặng → tạm · iê → t → iêt → b → biêt → nặng → biệt. Tone: tạm: nặng (dot below · low, cut short) · biệt: 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 tạm biệt?

tạm: nặng (dot below · low, cut short) · biệt: nặng (dot below · low, cut short)

Is tạm biệt said differently in the South and the North?

South · Sài Gòn: iêt = iêc = uyêt. North · Hà Nội: said as written.

What does tạm biệt mean?

goodbye, farewell

More: Everyday words

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

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