Meet the 29 letters
The standard alphabet is a, ă, â, b, c, d, đ, e, ê, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, ô, ơ, p, q, r, s, t, u, ư, v, x, y. Letters such as f, j, w, and z occur in foreign names and borrowed writing but are not part of that standard list. A familiar Latin letter does not necessarily have its English sound.
Separate vowel letters from tone marks
The shapes in ă, â, ê, ô, ơ, and ư distinguish vowel letters. Tone marks do a different job. For example, a and ă are different vowel letters; a and á share a vowel letter but have different tones. A syllable can therefore contain both a vowel mark and a tone mark. Learn to notice both.
Read combinations as part of a syllable
Vietnamese spelling includes combinations such as ch, nh, ng, ngh, ph, and th. Do not read each letter with an English letter name and join them together. Listen to a whole example and pay attention to the beginning, vowel, ending, and tone. The pronunciation guide explains how endings differ from familiar English patterns.
Type the complete spelling
Use a Vietnamese keyboard or the study controls to enter letters and tones. Practice a few familiar words before trying a whole sentence. Đ is distinct from d. Copying an accented word can help you check its form, but recalling it without looking is a different skill. Compare your answer with the model after each attempt.
Try these examples
- ba
- three
- bà
- grandmother; an older woman
No recording is available for this example yet.
- đi
- go
No recording is available for this example yet.
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