Place in Vietnam

How to pronounce Tiếng Việt

Tiếng Việt
Without marks
tieng viet
Syllables
2 · tiếng · việt
Tone
tiếng: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · việt: nặng (dot below · low, cut short)
Meaning
Vietnamese (language)
Frequency
No. 18,888 among the most used words

Tiếng Việt, 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 · tiếng

Syllable 2 · việt

Spelled the Vietnamese school wayiê ngờ iêng tờ iêng tiêng sắc tiếng — iê tờ iêt vờ iêt viêt nặng việt

tiếng việtVietnamese (language)

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 · tiếng

Syllable 2 · việt

Southern or Northern?

South · Sài Gòn

  • iêng = iên
  • v = d = gi
  • iêt = iêc = uyêt

North · Hà Nội

said as written

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

Read Tiếng Việt? 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 tiếng

  • miếngpiece, bite
  • giếngwell (for water)
  • viếngto visit
  • kiếngglasses
  • biếnglazy, disinclined
  • điếngstunned, numb with pain/shock

Like việt

  • thiệtreal, true
  • nhiệtheat
  • diệtto destroy, exterminate
  • biệtvanished, without a trace
  • 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 Tiếng Việt?

Block by block: iê → ng → iêng → t → tiêng → sắc → tiếng · iê → t → iêt → v → viêt → nặng → việt. Tone: tiếng: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · việt: 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 Tiếng Việt?

tiếng: sắc (acute accent · high rising) · việt: nặng (dot below · low, cut short)

Is Tiếng Việt said differently in the South and the North?

South · Sài Gòn: iêng = iên, v = d = gi, iêt = iêc = uyêt. North · Hà Nội: said as written.

What does Tiếng Việt mean?

Vietnamese (language)

More: Places

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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