How to read and say Vietnamese

Vietnamese spelling is more or less phonetic, and generally similar to Portuguese (which it is based on). Once you figure out how to pronounce each letter and tone, you have a pretty good idea of how to pronounce Vietnamese, which has very few exceptions compared to English.

Unless otherwise indicated, pronunciation throughout this phrasebook is for Southern (Saigon) Vietnamese, which is quite different from Northern (Hanoi), North Central (Vinh) or Central (Hue) Vietnamese.

Vowels

Vowels in the middle of triphthongs are often silent in the South, but pronounced in the North.

a

like 'a' in "father": ba (means "three"); in the South may be pronounced like 'a' in "apple" in some words.

ă

like 'a' in "basket": chăn (means "blanket").

â

like 'o' in "person": sân (means "yard" in front of back of a house).

e

like 'e' in "wed": tre (means "bamboo").

ê

like 'ay' in "say": cà phê (means "coffee").

i

like 'ee' in "see" or "deed": thi (means "test/exam"), same pronunciation as "y". In the South like 'u' in "hurl" when followed by 'nh'.

o

like 'o' in "dog": lý do (means "reason").

ô

like the first component of the diphthong 'ow' in "low" or 'o' in "go": á-lô ("Hello" on the phone).

ơ

like â, except longer, or 'ir' in "bird": bơ (means "avocado" or "butter").

u

like 'oo' in "hoop": thu (means "autumn/fall").

ư

like 'oo' in "book", with a hint of the 'i' in "lick", or like saying "you" without moving your lips, keeping your mouth wide open, like 'i' in "Halifax": thư (means "mail" or "letter").

y

like 'ee' in "see". Same pronunciation as "i".

Consonants

b

like 'b' in "bed". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

c

like 'c' in "scale" (unaspirated), same pronunciation as "k".

d

in the South (Ho Chi Minh City), like 'y' in "yes"; in the North (Hanoi), like 'z' in "zip". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

đ

like 'd' in "dog". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

g

before "i", "e" or "ê", like 'z' in "zip" in the North, or like 'y' in "yes" in the South. Like 'g' in "go" otherwise.

h

like 'h' in "help", silent in the South if before a 'u'.

k

like 'k' in "ski" (unaspirated), same pronunciation as "c" Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

l

like 'l' in "love". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

m

like 'm' in "mother".

n

like 'n' in "nice", in the South like 'ng' in "sing when at the end of a syllable.

p

like 'p' in "pig". Used mostly at the end of a syllable.

r

in the South (Ho Chi Minh City), like 'r' in "red" or 's' in "pleasure"; in the North (Hanoi), like 'z' in "zip". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

s

in the South like 'sh' in "shoot" but softer, in the North like 's' in "see". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

t

like 't' in stop (unaspirated), in the South like 'c' in "scale" when at the end of a syllable.

v

in the North, like 'v' in "victory"; in the South, like 'y' in "yes". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

x

like 's' in "see". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

y

like 'y' in "yes".

ch

at the beginning of a syllable, similar to 'ch' in "touch", aspirated in the North but unaspirated in the South; at the end, like 'ck' in "sick" (but it is never enunciated).

gh

like 'g' in "go". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

kh

like 'ch' in Scottish "loch", identical to the "ach-Laut" sound in German. Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

ng, ngh

like 'ng' in "sing-along": Nga.

nh

similar to 'ny' in canyon, basically the same as Portuguese nh, Spanish ñ or French/Italian gn.

ph

like 'ph' in "phone".

th

like 't' in "time" (aspirated). Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

tr

similar to 'ch' in "touch". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

Other combinations

gi

in the North, like 'z' in "zip"; in the South, like 'y' in "yes". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

qu

like 'qu' in "quest", in the South, like 'w' in "win". Used only at the beginning of a syllable.

uy

like 'wi' in "win", except faster.

Tones

In Vietnamese, syllables can have six different tones, with five of them indicated by tone marks applied to the syllable's main vowel. Tone marks can be combined with the other diacritics.

a

flat

à

low

á

high rising; example: đấy, like saying "day?"

ả

falling, then rising

ã

creaky

ạ

a low "a'ah"