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, including tone and vowel length, 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. Click the “Hide all English” button. This time, try to read the word out loud, then listen to the audio to check. If your pronunciation matches the audio, continue. If your pronunciation does not match the audio, click the “show” button to mark it, 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 you get all the words right.
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, and start preparing yourself for conversation, by moving on to Starter Sentences for Southern Vietnamese Conversation.
ba
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level tone (ngang)
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bá
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rising tone (sắc)
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bà
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falling tone (huyền)
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bả
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dipping tone (hỏi)
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bã
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broken tone (ngã); same as dipping in Southern
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bạ
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heavy tone (nặng); no tail when there is a final consonant
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a ba
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a; three/father; can range from a as in far to a as in fan, depending on speaker/word
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ă ăn
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ă = short a; to eat
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â cần
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â = short ơ; to need
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bờ bà
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b; grandmother
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cờ có
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c = g; to have
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dờ da
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d; skin
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đờ đi
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đ; to go
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e em
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e; younger person
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ê mê
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ê; to like / be really into
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gờ ga
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g; station
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hờ hai
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h; two
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i đi
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i; to go
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ca kem
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k = g; ice cream
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lờ là
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l; to be
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mờ mẹ
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m; mother
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nờ nó
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n; it/he/she
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o to
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o; big
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ô tô
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ô; paint/bowl
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ơ mở
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ơ; to open
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pờ pin
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p = b; battery
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quờ / quy quần
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qu; pants
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rờ răng
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r; tooth
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sờ sách
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s; book
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tờ tay
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t; hand
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u tu
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u; monk
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ư tư
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ư; four
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vờ vợ
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v; wife
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xờ xe
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x = s; vehicle
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i dài yêu
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y; to love
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cha
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ch; father
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trà
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tr = ch; tea
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giá
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gi = d; price
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ghế
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gh = g; chair
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ngon
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ng; delicious
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nghe
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ngh = ng; to hear / listen
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nhà
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nh; house
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phở
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ph; rice noodle soup
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thu
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th; autumn
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khách
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kh; guest
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mai
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ai; tomorrow
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chào
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ao; hello
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rau
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au = short ao; vegetable
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gối
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ôi; pillow
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ơi
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ơi; hey
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tiền
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iê = i; money
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yên
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yê = i; seat/saddle
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uống
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uô = u; to drink
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đường
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ươ = ư; road/sugar
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bánh
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-nh; cake
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bàn
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-n = -ng (-n if vowel e/ê/i); table/desk
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lịch
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-ch = -t; calendar
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mắt
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-t; eye
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đẹp
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-p; beautiful
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công
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-ng (-m if vowel u/ô/o); work
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nước
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-c (-p if vowel u/ô/o, -t for vowel a/e/i); water
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cầu
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-âu; bridge
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rìu
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-iu; axe
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mua
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-ua; to buy
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khuya
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-uya; late at night
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tay
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-ay = short ai; hand
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đây
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ây; here
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kiêu
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iêu = iu; arrogant, conceited
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quê
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uê; hometown
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tươi
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ươi = ưi; fresh
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mèo
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eo; cat
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khoai
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oai; potato
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vui
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ui; happy
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chuối
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uôi = ui; banana
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rượu
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ươu = ưu; alcohol/liquor
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bia
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ia; beer
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khoẻ
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oe; healthy/strong
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nguy
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uy; danger
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mưa
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ưa; rain
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lưu
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ưu; to save, keep
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Nguyễn
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uyê; a last name
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