I. Consonants (Các phụ âm)
b sounds like b in bank e.g. ba (three)
c " c " call " con (child)
ch " ch " chance " cho (give)
d " z " zoo " da (skin)
đ " d " down " đi (go)
g " g " gun " gan (liver)
gh " gh " ghost " ghen (jealous)
gi " z " zone " giao (entrust)
h " h " how " ho (cough)
k " k " keep " keo (glue)
kh " q[k'] " quite " khi (when)
l " l " levy " len (wool)
m " m " make " men (enamel)
n " n " nose " mo (full)
ng " ng " learning " ngu (stupid)
ngh " ng " long " nghi (doubt)
nh " n " nymphet " nhai (chew)
p " p " park " pin (battery)
ph " ph " philology " phai (fade)
qu " qu " quality " qua (pass)
r " r " reserve " ra (go out)
s " s " send " sau (behind)
t " t " tank " to (big)
th " th " Thailand " theo (follow)
tr " ch " chalk " trăn (python)
v " v " van " vui (happy)
x " s " sad " xa (far)
II. Vowels (Các nguyên âm)
a is like a in bask eg. ga (gas)
ă " u " hut " lăn (roll)
e " e " end " kem (cream)
ê " e " hello " lên (go up)
i " i " idiom " chim (bird)
o " o " long " to (big)
ô " a " ball " khô (dry)
ơ " o " lion " tơ (silk)
u " u " put " phun (eject)
ư " ai " mountain " thư (letter)
â " ơ but pronounced shortly " mâm (tray)
Diphthongs (Các nguyên âm đôi): iê, ươ, uô.
Notes:
ia is pronounced like iê
ưa " " ươ
ua " " uô
III. Tones (Các thanh điệu)
1. The first tone is called thanh không or không dấu. It is the level tone, without any mark on the syllable.
Example: đi (go), năm (year)
2. The second tone falls gradually. This tone is written with the diacritical mark [\] above the vowel. It is called thanh huyền or dấu huyền.
Example: bà (grandmother), về (go back)
3. The third tone is a rising tone. It is written with the diacritical mark [/] above the vowel. It is called thanh sắc or dấu sắc.
Example: chín (nine), sáu (six)
4. The fourth tone is called thanh nặng or dấu nặng. This tone is sharp falling tone and has a heavy glottal stop. It is written with the diacritical mark [.] under the vowel.
Example: một (one), nặng (heavy)
5. The fifth tone is a falling - rising tone. It is written with the diacritial mark [?] above the vowel. This tone is called thanh hỏi or dấu hỏi.
Example: bảy (seven), phủ (cover)
6. The last tone is named thanh ngã or dấu ngã. This tone is a broken - rising tone and it has a glottal stop. It is written with the diacritial mark [~] above the vowel.
Example: sẽ (will), vẽ (draw)
IV. Alphabet (Bảng chữ cái)
There are 29 letters in the writing system of the Vietnamese language.
A A Ă Ă Â â B b C c D d Ð đ E e � ê G g H h I i K k L l
M m N n O o Ô ô Ơ ơ P p Qq R r S s T t U u Ư ư V v X x
Y y
