Video of the Vietnamese alphabet with useful diagrams
Pronunciation of the Vietnamese alphabet
Â
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Â
Like the « U » sound from « but »
Rất đẹp = very beautiful
A
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
A
Like the « A » sound from « far »
Đẹp quá = very beautiful
Ă
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ă
Short and nasal « A » sound
Đẹp lắm = very beautiful
B
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
B
Like the « B » sound from « basket »
Bò = beef
C
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
C
Like the « C » sound from « cat »
Cá = fish
Ch
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ch
Like the « Ch » sound from « chatter »
Chào = Hello, bye
D
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
D
Like the « Y » sound from « yahoo »
Dạ = a polite form, yes
Đ
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Đ
Like the « D » sound from « dog »
Đi = to go
E
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
E
Like the « E » sound from « bed »
Em đẹp = you are beautiful
Ê
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ê
Like the « é » sound from Sébastien
ghế= chair Gh is pronounced like the « G » sound from « guy ».
G
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
G
1. Like the « G » sound from « go » when the letter following is any one of the A, U, O and E letters 2. Like the « Z » sound from « zebra » when the the letter following is an I
1. Gà = chicken 2. Gì = what?
Gi
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Gi
Like the « Z » sound from « zebra »
Giá = price
Gh
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Gh
Like the « G » sound from « go » when the letter following is either E, Ê or I
Ghế = chair Ghi = to mark
H
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
H
Like the « H » sound from « hat »
Hả = what?
I
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
I
Like the « E » sound from « me«
Tí = an instant
K
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
K
Like the « K » sound from « king » when the letters following are either E, Ê, I or Y
Kể = to tell a story
Kh
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Kh
Like the French « Cr » sound; like you are trying to get rid of something stuck in your throat
Không = no, not
L
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
L
Like the « L » sound from « lion »
Ly = glass Đi lên = go up
M
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
M
Like the « M » sound from « mother »
Má = mom (south)
N
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
N
Like the « N » sound from « not »
Nóng = hot
Nh
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Nh
Like the Spanish « ñ » sound; it sounds like saying « nya »
Nhà = house
Ng
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ng
Pronounced by placing the tongue behind the upper teeth and making a combined « n » and « g » sound
Ngủ ngon = sleep well
O
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
O
Like the « O » sound from « God »
To = huge
Ô
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ô
Like the « O » from « bone »
Tô = soup bowl
Ơ
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ơ
Like the « A » sound from « banana« , very close to the Vietnamese letter Â
Phở = Vietnamese soup
⚠️ Be careful! Do not confuse the comma on this « ơ » with the interrogation mark on this « ỏ », they look very similar! Một __tô ___phở __to One/bowl/soup/huge
Ph
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ph
Like the « F » sound from « fast »
Phim = film
Qu
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Qu
In southern Vietnam, it is like the « W » sound from « water » In northern Vietnam, it is like the « Qu » sound from « quilt »
Đi qua = to pass by, to go through
R
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Exemple
R
A hybrid of a Spanish and English « R » sound
Đi ra = to go out
S
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
S
Like the « Sh » sound from « sharp »
Sợ = to be scared
T
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
T
Like the « T » sound from « toy »
Tí = an instant
Th
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Th
Similar to the « T » sound from « toy », except there is an expired « H » sound after the T
Thi = do exams Pronounced T-hhh-i
Tr
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Tr
A hybrid of a Spanish and English « Tr » sound
trà = tea
U
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
U
Like the « O » sound from « boots » or « cool »
Chúc = to wish
Ư
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Ư
Like an « uuuu » sound while you smile with your teeth closed
Mừng = happy ừh = yeah
V
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
V
Like the « V » sound from « vast »
Đi vô, vào = enter Đi về = go back
X
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
X
Like the « S » sound from « star »
Xe = vehicle Đi xuống = to go down
Y
Vietnamese letter
Pronunciation
Example
Y
Like the « E » sound from « me »
kỳ = strange
⚠️ Some letters in Vietnamese contain 2 of our letters (ch, tr, gi, gh, k, kh, ph) but represent only one Vietnamese letter.
