Skip to content Why the tones matter
Vietnamese is tonal, like Chinese and Thai. Every syllable has one of six tones, and the tone is part of the word. Westerners already change pitch in speech, most often by rising at the end of a question, but we use it for mood rather than meaning, so Vietnamese feels strange at first.
Don’t let it put you off. Everything else is gentler: there are no verb endings, no plurals to memorise and no genders. The grammar is much easier than French. And because Vietnamese is written in a modified Latin alphabet, you can read signs, menus and addresses from the day you arrive, even before you can say them well.
This chapter is part of the free phrasebook. If you haven’t started, basic phrases is the place to begin.
The six tones
The classic example is the syllable ma.
| Tone | Name | Mark | Word | Meaning | Say it like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | ngang | none | ma | ghost | Flat, in the middle of your voice |
| High rising | sắc | acute ´ | má | mother (cheek) | Rise sharply, like a surprised “Ma?” |
| Low falling | huyền | grave ` | mà | but, that | Start low and fall gently |
| Dipping | hỏi | hook above | mả | tomb | Dip down and back up, like a bored butler: “Ye-es, m’lud?” |
| Broken rising | ngã | tilde ~ | mã | horse | Start high, drop, cut off and rise again (in the south it sounds like hỏi) |
| Heavy | nặng | dot below | mạ | rice seedling | Short, low and cut off, like a parent saying a firm “No.” |
In the north, around Hanoi, the ngã tone is strongly broken: you can hear the catch in the middle. In the south, around Saigon, people speak in a smoother way, and ngã becomes nearly identical to the dipping tone hỏi. Southerners therefore get away with five tones, and as a visitor you can too: say hỏi and ngã the same way.
The tone mark sits on the main vowel of the syllable, above it or below it. Bạn (friend) has the heavy dot under the a. Đường (road, sugar) carries its grave mark on the ơ, which already has a hook of its own.
The Vietnamese alphabet
There are 29 letters. They are the Latin letters minus f, j, w and z, plus ă, â, đ, ê, ô, ơ and ư. Most sound close to English, and a few differ in ways that matter.
Consonants
| Letter | Sounds like | Example | Say it like |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | b in “bag” | bia (beer) | bee-uh |
| c, k, q | k in “kite” | cà phê (coffee) | kah feh |
| ch | ch in “chair” | chợ (market) | chuh |
| d | y in “yes” (south), z in “zero” (north) | dừng (stop) | yung |
| đ | d in “do” | đi (go) | dee |
| g, gh | g in “go” | gà (chicken) | gah |
| gi | y in “yes” (south), z (north) | giùm (for me, please) | yoom |
| h | h in “hat” | hai (two) | hi |
| kh | breathy k, like ch in Scottish “loch” | không (no) | khome |
| l | l in “lamp” | lâu (long time) | low |
| m | m in “map” | mắc (expensive) | mack |
| n | n in “net” | nước (water) | nuhk |
| ng, ngh | ng in “singer”, even at the start of a word | ngon (delicious) | ngon |
| nh | ny in “canyon” | nhà (house) | nyah |
| p | p in “spin” (mostly in loanwords and as an ending) | Pháp (France) | fahp |
| ph | f in “fan” | phở (noodle soup) | fuh |
| r | English r (south), z (north) | rẻ (cheap) | reh |
| s | closer to sh in “shoe” (south), s (north) | sáu (six) | show |
| t | t in “stop”, with no puff | tám (eight) | tahm |
| th | t with a puff of air, never the th in “the” | thịt (meat) | tit |
| tr | ch in “chair” (south), similar in north | trà (tea) | chah |
| v | v in “violet”, often y in the south | vâng (yes, north) | vung or yung |
| x | s in “sun” | xin chào | sin chow |
Southern speakers often swallow the sounds at the ends of words, so một (one) sounds like “moht” with the last sound barely released, and đúng (correct) comes out close to “doong”.
Vowels
Two vowels together are usually said as one sound, with the first vowel carrying most of the weight. Think ui as “oo-ee”, with “oo” louder.
| Letter or pair | Sounds like | Example | Say it like |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | a in “father” | ba (three) | bah |
| ă | like a, said very short | năm (five) | nahm |
| â | u in “but”, short | bận (busy) | bun |
| e | e in “bed” | xe (vehicle) | seh |
| ê | e in “café” | tên (name) | den |
| i, y | ee in “see” | đi (go) | dee |
| o | aw in “law” | cho (give, for) | chaw |
| ô | o in “go”, without the glide | tôi (I) | toy |
| ơ | uh, like “er” without the r | ơn (favour) | un |
| u | oo in “too” | tu (cultivate) | too |
| ư | like ơ with spread lips, as in “fur” without the r | được (can, be allowed) | duhk |
| ai | “eye” | hai (two) | hi |
| ay | “eye”, said short | này (this) | nigh |
| ao | ow in “cow” | sao (why, star) | sow |
| au | ow in “cow”, short | sáu (six) | sow |
| âu | like ow in “go” | đầu (head) | doe |
| ây | uh-ee, short | đây (here) | day |
| eo | eh-oh, like a cat’s “meow” | heo (pig) | heh-oh |
| ia, iê | ee-uh | bia (beer) | bee-uh |
| oa | wa in “wash” | hoa (flower) | wah |
| oe | we in “wet” | khỏe (well) | khweh |
| oi | oy in “boy” | đói (hungry) | doy |
| ôi | oy in “toy” | tôi (I) | toy |
| ơi | uh-ee | ơi (hey, calling) | uh-ee |
| ua, uô | oo-uh | cua (crab) | koo-uh |
| ưa, ươ | uh-uh | nước (water) | nuhk |
| ui | oo-ee | vui (happy) | yoo-ee |
| uy | like French oui | tuy (although) | twee |
| uyên | wee-en | chuyển (move, transfer) | chwee-en |
| yêu, iêu | ee-oo, like “eew” | yêu (love) | yew |
Final consonants c, ch, p, t are cut short, with the mouth closing and no puff of air. You don’t need to get them perfect: showing the word in writing fixes most problems.
Hearing it
Reading a table can’t teach pronunciation. Listen to a Vietnamese speaker say the words in each chapter, repeat them aloud, and when it matters, point at the Vietnamese. If you take a taxi or private car in Saigon, the driver phrases card on the hub is the one to practise first. Our airport transfers come with a driver who has your address in Vietnamese already.
Where to next
Go on to eating and drinking, or back to the phrasebook hub.