I created this guide because I wanted a really convenient tool for learning the pronunciation of the phonemes along with the alphabet. There are many excellent Youtube videos that teach the same thing, and I recommend watching some of them because they are good for background, but it can be a bit time consuming to search for, play and repeat things enough to make them stick. When it comes to getting things to stick, I use this tool.
I believe starting to learn a language without having a good base in pronunciation can lead to fossilized errors, which are hard to reverse in the future. The exercise below is meant to be mastered before doing anything else in the language. It is the first step.
My goal was not to cover all aspects of pronunciation – that would fill many pages. These are just the basics. Notice the complete lack of written description comparing the sounds to English. This is by design. Please rely heavily on listening to the audio and repeating as described below:
1. Listen to the audio of the first word and repeat. Do it enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly, then move onto the next one. The rules and English translations are for reference only; you don’t need to memorize them. Work your way through the entire list.
2. Go back to the top. This time, try to read the word out loud, then listen to the audio to check. If your pronunciation matches the audio, hide the word by clicking it. If your pronunciation does not match the audio, listen and repeat enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly. Move onto the next word, and work your way through the whole list. When you finish, go back the first word that you missed and try it again. Do this until all words are hidden.
3. Repeat step 2 once or twice a day until you are able to get all words correct, quickly, on the first pass.
After you have mastered this list, it is recommended that you continue working on your pronunciation by listening to and repeating full sentences. For at least 10 minutes per day, listen to the audio of sentences and repeat, trying to sound just like the audio. And that means not only hitting the right vowels and consonants, but imitating all aspects of pronunciation (stress, intonation, prosody, etc.).
cane
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a; dog
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perché
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accent acute; why/because
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città
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accent grave; city
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mai
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ai; never
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aiuole
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aiuo; flowerbeds
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autobus
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au; bus
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banana
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b; banana
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labbro
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bb; lip
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casa
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c; house
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piccante
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cc; spicy
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accento
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cce; accent
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bacchetta
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cch; wand
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acciaio
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cci; steel
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certo
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ce; of course
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chiave
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ch; key
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cielo
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ci; sky
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dolce
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d; sweet
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addio
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dd; goodbye
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bello
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e(close); beautiful
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cena
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e; dinner
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sei
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ei(close); six
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nei
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ei; in the
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euro
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eu(close); Euro
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europeo
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eu; European
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fiore
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f; flower
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caffè
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ff; coffee
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gusto
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g; taste
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gelato
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ge; ice cream
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leggere
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gge; to read
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seggio
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ggi; seat
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ghiaccio
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gh; ice
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giorno
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gi; day
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gli
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gl; the
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ogni
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gn; every
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hotel
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h; hotel
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tipo
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i; type
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fantasia
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ia; fantasy
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miao
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iao; meow
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ateniese
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ie (close); Athenian
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ieri
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ie; yesterday
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miei
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iei; my
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pioggia
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io (open); rain
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fiore
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io; flower
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aiuto
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iu; help
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jeans
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j; jeans
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kilogrammo
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k; kilogram
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leone
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l; lion
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bello
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ll; beautiful
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mela
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m; apple
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immagine
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mm; image
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nave
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n; ship
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anno
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nn; year
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rosa
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o (open); pink
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orso
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o; bear
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poi
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oi (open); then
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noi
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oi; we
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pera
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p; pear
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pneumatico
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pn; tire
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appartamento
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pp; apartment
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psicologia
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ps; psychology
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quadro
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q; painting
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mare
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r (between vowels); sea
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Roma
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r (start of word); Rome
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territorio
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rr; territory
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cosmetico
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s (before voiced consonant); cosmetic
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rosa
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s (between vowels); rose
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sole
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s; sun
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pesce
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sce; fish
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scienza
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sci; science
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massimo
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ss; maximum
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svago
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sv; hobby
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tavolo
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t; table
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otto
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tt; eight
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scusa
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u; excuse me
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uguale
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ua; same
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guai
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uai; troubles
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guerra
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ue (close); war
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questo
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ue; this
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qui
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ui; here
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uovo
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uo (open); egg
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nuotare
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uo; to swim
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puoi
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uoi; you can
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vino
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v; wine
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avventura
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vv; adventure
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web
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w; web
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xilofono
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x; xylophone
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extra
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xt; extra
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yoga
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y; yoga
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azione
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z (word middle); action
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zebra
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z (word start); zebra
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pizza
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zz; pizza
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Vietnamese Pronunciation:
ba
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level tone
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bá
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rising tone
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bà
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falling tone
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bả
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dipping tone
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bã
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broken tone
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bạ
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heavy tone
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a ba
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three/father
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ă ăn
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to eat
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â cần
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to need
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bờ bà
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grandmother
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cờ có
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to have
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dờ da
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skin
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đờ đi
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to go
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e em
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younger person
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ê mê
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to like / be really into
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gờ ga
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station
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hờ hai
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two
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i đi
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to go
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ca kem
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ice cream
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lờ là
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to be
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mờ mẹ
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mother
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nờ nó
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it/he/she
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o to
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big
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ô tô
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paint/bowl
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ơ mở
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to open
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pờ pin
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battery
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quờ / quy quần
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pants
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rờ răng
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tooth
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sờ sách
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book
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tờ tay
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hand
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u tu
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monk
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ư tư
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four
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vờ vợ
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wife
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xờ xe
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vehicle
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i dài yêu
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to love
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cha
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father
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trà
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tea
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giá
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price
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ghế
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chair
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ngon
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delicious
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nghe
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to hear / listen
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nhà
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house
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phở
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rice noodle soup
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thu
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autumn
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khách
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guest
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mai
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tomorrow
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chào
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hello
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rau
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vegetable
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gối
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pillow
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ơi
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hey
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tiền
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money
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yên
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seat / saddle
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uống
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to drink
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đường
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road/sugar
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bánh
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cake
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lịch
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calendar
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mắt
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eye
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đẹp
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beautiful
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nước
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water
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cầu
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bridge
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rìu
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axe
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mua
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to buy
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khuya
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late at night
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tay
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hand
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đây
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here
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kiêu
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arrogant, conceited
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quê
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hometown
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tươi
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fresh
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mèo
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cat
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khoai
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potato
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vui
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happy
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chuối
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banana
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rượu
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alcohol/liquor
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bia
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beer
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khoẻ
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healthy/strong
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nguy
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danger
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mưa
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rain
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lưu
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to save; keep
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Vietnamese Starter Sentences:
Chào, tôi là Leo.
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Hi, I’m Leo.
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Chào buổi sáng.
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Good morning.
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Chào buổi chiều.
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Good afternoon.
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Chào buổi tối.
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Good evening.
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Bạn tên gì?
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What’s your name?
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Bạn khỏe không?
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How are you?
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Tôi khỏe, cảm ơn. Còn bạn?
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I’m fine, thanks. And you?
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Xin lỗi.
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I’m sorry.
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Bạn nói lại được không?
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Can you repeat that please?
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Tất nhiên!
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Of course!
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Bạn viết ra giùm tôi được không?
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Can you write that down please?
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Tôi có một câu hỏi.
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I have a question.
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Chờ tôi một chút nha.
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One moment, please.
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Vân vân.
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Etc.
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Bạn nói chậm lại một chút được không
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Please speak slower.
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“Dog” tiếng Việt nói sao?
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How do I say “dog” in Vietnamese?
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Nó có nghĩa là gì vậy?
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What does it mean?
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Thôi, không sao.
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Never mind.
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Tôi đang học tiếng Việt.
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I’m learning Vietnamese.
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Tôi nói tiếng Việt không được giỏi lắm.
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I don’t speak Vietnamese well.
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Bạn học tiếng Anh ở đâu vậy?
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Where did you learn English?
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Tôi đang học tiếng Việt trên mạng.
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I’m learning Vietnamese online.
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Tôi đang học tiếng Việt ở Mỹ.
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I’m learning Vietnamese in the US.
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Cái đó tiếng Việt nói sao?
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What’s that in Vietnamese?
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Tôi thích học tiếng Việt.
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I like learning Vietnamese.
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Tôi muốn học tiếng Việt.
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I want to learn Vietnamese.
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Quê bạn ở đâu?
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Where are you from?
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Tôi đến từ Mỹ.
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I’m from the USA.
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Bạn đã từng đi Mỹ chưa?
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Have you ever been to the USA?
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Tôi chưa bao giờ đi Việt Nam.
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I’ve never been to Vietnam.
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Tôi muốn đi du lịch Việt Nam.
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I’d like to travel to Vietnam.
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Bạn ở đâu?
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Where do you live?
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Tôi sống gần Seattle.
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I live near Seattle.
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Tôi sẽ ở Thái Lan một tháng.
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I’ll stay in Thailand for one month.
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Tôi thích đồ ăn Việt Nam.
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I like Vietnamese food.
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Tôi muốn ăn đồ ăn Việt Nam chính gốc.
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I’d like to eat real Vietnamese food.
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Tôi ăn rất nhiều món ăn Việt Nam rồi.
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I have eaten a lot of Vietnamese food.
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Gặp lại sau!
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Until next time!
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Cái đó có ích lắm đó.
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That was helpful.
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Lớp học xong rồi, phải không?
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The class is over, right?
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Tôi thích lắm.
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I liked it.
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Sở thích của tôi là học ngôn ngữ và đi du lịch.
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My hobbies are language learning and travel.
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Hồi còn đi làm, tôi cũng học ngôn ngữ.
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When I was working, I studied languages too.
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Tôi nói được 14 thứ tiếng.
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I speak 14 foreign languages.
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