IPA Vowel Chart adapted from Wikipedia with VIetnamese vowels roughly added
All tables originally taken (then modified) from pp.13-15, 'The pronounciation of Vietnamese' in 'Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary Vietnamese'.
Consonants and consonant combinations | Single vowels | Vowel combinations | Special combinations | tones
Consonants and consonsant combinations
b |
like the b in baby |
c |
like the c in cuddle, always hard, with something of a g sound |
ch |
(at the start of a word) like the ch in church |
ch |
(in the final position) like the k in Pakistan |
d |
in the North this is like the z in zombie; in the South it is more like a y sound as in you |
đ |
like the d in dog |
f |
like the f in fax (Vietnamese mostly uses ph for this sound) |
g, gh |
like the g in go, always hard, but coming form further back in the throat, something like the way the Scots say loch |
gi |
the same as d, in the North this is like the z in zombie; in the South it is more like a y sound as in you |
h |
like the h in hotel |
k |
like the k in Pakistan |
kh |
a throaty k sound as in the way the Scots say loch |
l |
like the l in load |
m |
like the m in mother |
n |
like the n in nobody |
ng, ngh |
like the ng in song, remember not to pronounce the g |
nh |
(at the start of a word) like the ny in canyon or the ni in onion |
nh |
(in final position) like the ng in song, remember not to pronounce the g |
p |
like the p in pool |
ph |
like the ph in physical or photograph |
qu |
like the qu in quite |
r |
in the North this is like the z in zombie; in the South it is r as in rich |
s |
like the s in soft or silly; in the South you will also hear sh as in shoot |
t |
between a t and a d; to get the sound, go to say table then at the last second change your mouth to say dable; like the t in stand |
th |
a weaker t sound, barely discernible from t, breathe out a very slight h after the t sound |
tr |
like the ch in church; in the South like tr in train |
x |
like the s in soft |
Single vowels (top)
| Orthography | Sounda | Soundb | Suggested pronounciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | ||||
| i | /i/, /j/ | /i/ | like the i in tin |
con chim |
| y | /i/, /j/ | /i/ | like the i in sin |
|
| ê | /e/, /ɜ/ | /e/ | like the ay in say |
|
| e | /ɛ/ | /ɛ/ | like the e in red |
|
| Central | ||||
| ư | /ɨ/ | /w/ | like the ew in dew, but without any y sound;
like the u in French du; say a oo sound with teeth together
and lips spread wide |
|
| ơ | /əː/, /ɜ/ | /əː/ | like the u in fur, but don't pronounce an
r sound |
|
| â | /ɜ/ | /ə/ | (short) like the u in but | |
| a | /ɐː/, /ɐ/, /ɜ/ | /aː/ | like the a in hat; can be longer,
like the a in father if not followed by a consonant |
|
| ă | /ɐ/ | /a/ | (short) like the a in hard, but don't pronounce the r sound | |
| Back | ||||
| u | /u/, /w/ | /u/ | like the oo in soon |
|
| ô | /o/, /ɜw/, /ɜ/ | /o/ | like the o in go |
|
| o | /ɔ/, /ɐw/, /w/ | /ɔ/ | like the au in fault or the o in cord;
if in final position (without a following consonant) it can be slightly
longer |
con ong |
a Taken from Wikipedia entry on Vientamese Alphabet, Vowels. 05/02/07. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_alphabet#Vowels.
b Taken from 'The Vietnamese Language Learning Framework. Part One: Linguistics' by Binh N. Ngo (Ngô Như Bình). Harvard University. http://www.seasite.niu.edu/jsealt/pastissues.htm.
IPA Vowel Chart adapted from Wikipedia with VIetnamese vowels roughly added
Vowel combinations (top)
| Combination | Suggested Pronuciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
ai |
like the ai in Saigon | cái tại |
ao |
like the ao in Mao | chào sao |
au |
a-oo | |
âu |
like the o in so | mẩu câu con gấu |
ay |
like the ay in play | |
ây |
uh-i | đây |
eo |
eh-ao | |
êu |
ay-oo | |
iê |
can also be pronouned i-uh as well as i-eh | |
iêu |
i-yoh | hiểu |
iu |
like the ew in few | |
oa |
wa | hoàn toàn Hoa |
oai |
like the word why | thoại |
oe |
weh | khỏe |
oi |
nói hỏi |
|
ôi |
like the oy in toy | lỗi tôi đối |
ơi |
ur-i but don't pronounce an r sound | mới |
ua |
oo-a, with the a as the er in letter | của |
uâ |
oo-uh | |
uê |
way; the ay as in the French é | |
ửi |
ur-i, but don't pronounce an r sound | |
uôi |
oo-oy | |
ươ |
ew-ur, but don't pronounce an r sound | được con bướm |
uy |
wee | |
ưa |
ur-uh, as in the sound made to express disgust: ugh | chưa |
ưu |
ur-ew, but don't pronounce the r | |
ươi |
oo-uh-i |
Some special combinations (top)
| Combination | Suggested Pronouciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
ênh |
uhng | |
qua |
kwa, with the a as in bar | |
oc |
aok | |
ong |
aong | |
ông |
ong | |
uyên |
oo-on | luyện |
uyêt |
oo-yit |
Tones (top)
Tones determine meaning, so getting the tone right is critically important.
Mid-level tone, as in ta (let's): there is no tone marker for this; the voice stays at a level pitch slightly above normal pitch.
High rising tone, as in tá (dozen): the pitch starts a little lower than at mid-level tone and then rises sharply.
Low falling tone, as in tà (low inthe sky; setting; magical): the pitch starts lower than mid-level tone and then drops off.
Low rising tone, as in tả (describe): the pitch starts at the same level as the low falling tone then dips and rises again back to the starting point.
High broken tone, as in tã (diaper): the pitch starts a little above the starting point of the low falling tone, dips, then rises sharply to finish above the starting point.
Low broken tone, as in tạ (weight): the pitch starts at the same level as the low falling tone then immediately drop off.
The final consonant of words with a low broken tone is barely audible. For example đẹp can sound pretty much like 'deh'. Put your lips in the position to say the final consonant, but stop short of actually pronouncing it.
