AlphabetLearn~2 minPart 1 of 6 · 1/3
Letters A – G
Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet with 29 letters. Start with the first ten — tap a card to hear its example word, and let the picture carry the meaning.
Image source: Pixabay.com and Flickr.com
Vietnamese Vibes 1
Lesson 0 · Phần mở đầu
Introduction to Vietnamese
The Vietnamese alphabet comprises 29 letters, with the consonant system consisting of 26 consonants. Of these, 17 consonants are represented by single letters, while 9 are represented by 2 or 3 letters. Consonants may undergo phonetic changes depending on their position within a Vietnamese syllable structure. In terms of vowels, Vietnamese features 13 monophthongs and 3 diphthongs. The language is characterized by 6 tones, grouped based on high and low pitch. Vietnam primarily exhibits three major regional dialects: the Northern dialect, the Central dialect, and the Southern dialect. These dialects primarily vary in pronunciation, followed by vocabulary, with only slight differences observed in grammar.
One syllable, six tones — tap to listen
- 29
- letters
- 26
- consonants
- 13 + 3
- vowels
- 6
- tones
- 3
- dialects
Lesson map
6 parts · 27 steps · ~66 min
One idea at a time, then a quick practice. Your place is saved on this device.
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Original textbook audio
AlphabetLearn~2 minPart 1 of 6 · 2/3
Letters H – P
Ten more. Say each word out loud right after the audio — imitating beats reading.
Image source: Pixabay.com and Flickr.com
AlphabetLearn~2 minPart 1 of 6 · 3/3
Letters Q – Y
The last nine. Notice what is missing: Vietnamese has no f, j, w or z — those sounds are written another way.
Image source: Pixabay.com and Flickr.com
ConsonantsLearn~3 minPart 2 of 6 · 1/6
How consonants are written
There are 26 consonants. Seventeen are written with a single letter; nine need two or three letters together — they are one sound, not two.
Written with a single letter: bcdđghklmnpqrstvx
Written with 2 or 3 letters: chnhghngnghtrthkhgi
Sorted by how and where you make the sound, the system looks like this — use it as a reference, you do not have to memorise it:
| Labial | Labio-dental | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | b | t, th | đ | tr | c / k / q | ʔ | |
| Nasal | m | n | nh | ng / ngh | |||
| Fricative | ph, v | x, d / gi | s | r | kh, g / gh | h | |
| Lateral approximant | l |
ConsonantsPractice~2 minPart 2 of 6 · 2/6
Drill — consonant + vowel
Tap any cell to hear it, then repeat. Work left to right, row by row: the same vowel with a different consonant in front.
| a | e | |
|---|---|---|
| b | ||
| m | ||
| v | ||
| ph |
| o | ô | |
|---|---|---|
| t | ||
| th | ||
| đ | ||
| n | ||
| l |
| u | ư | |
|---|---|---|
| d | ||
| r | ||
| x | ||
| s |
ConsonantsPractice~2 minPart 2 of 6 · 3/6
Drill — syllables that end in a consonant
Same idea, but now the syllable closes with a consonant. Listen for how the ending changes the vowel before it.
| an | am | |
|---|---|---|
| m | ||
| n | ||
| nh | ||
| ng |
| ôn | ơn | |
|---|---|---|
| c | ||
| g | ||
| ng | ||
| kh | ||
| h |
| ia | im | |
|---|---|---|
| k | ||
| ngh | ||
| gh |
ConsonantsPractice~3 minPart 2 of 6 · 4/6
Which consonant starts the word?
Ten words straight from the textbook. Play each one as often as you need — the audio button never runs out.
Exercise 2
Listen and choose the correct initial consonant for each word.
0/10 correct
- 1……ưa
- 2……u
- 3……ói
- 4……ĩ
- 5……an
- 6……ây
- 7……ính
- 8……ở
- 9……ó
- 10……inh
ConsonantsPractice~3 minPart 2 of 6 · 5/6
Which consonant ends the word?
Endings are quieter than beginnings — n, nh and ng are the pairs worth slowing down for.
Exercise 3
Listen and choose the correct final consonant for each word.
0/10 correct
- 1Bá……
- 2Là……
- 3Nhà……
- 4Cá……
- 5Khá……
- 6Tố……
- 7Lắ……
- 8Thí……
- 9Mạ……
- 10Bậ……
ConsonantsPractice~3 minPart 2 of 6 · 6/6
Type the whole phrase
Now write what you hear. Two tries, then the answer is one tap away.
Exercise 4
Listen and type the full phrase, filling in the missing consonants.
0/10 correct
- 1……ẳng tắ……
- 2Xi…… ……ẹp
- 3Khá…… hà……
- 4……ở ……ò
- 5……ó khă……
- 6……à trắ……
- 7……anh thoá……
- 8……ỏe ……ạnh
- 9……ô ……ai
- 10……ủ ……ạnh
VowelsLearn~3 minPart 3 of 6 · 1/5
The vowel system
Thirteen single vowels and three diphthongs. The table below is a map of your mouth: how high the tongue sits, how far forward, and whether the lips round.
Monophthongs: aăâi (y)eêoôơuư — with o having a short sound in syllables such as ong and oc, and a in syllables such as anh and ach.
Diphthongs: iê/iauô/uaươ/ưa
| Front, unround | Back, unround | Back, round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i / y | ư | u |
| Mid | ê | ơ, â | ô |
| Open | e | a, ă | o |
VowelsPractice~2 minPart 3 of 6 · 2/5
Drill — hear the vowels side by side
Read across each row: the consonant stays, the vowel moves. That contrast is what your ear needs.
| o | ô | ơ | u | ư | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | |||||
| m | |||||
| n | |||||
| đ | |||||
| t | |||||
| th |
| a | e | ê | i | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| d | ||||
| x | ||||
| r | ||||
| s | ||||
| kh |
| am | ăm | âm | ơm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ch | ||||
| tr | ||||
| nh | ||||
| ng | ||||
| h |
VowelsPractice~3 minPart 3 of 6 · 3/5
Pick the vowel you hear
The options differ by one small mark. Play it twice before you choose.
Exercise 2
Listen and choose the correct vowel for each word.
0/10 correct
- 1B……
- 2Ngh……
- 3Ng……n
- 4S……ch
- 5Th……m
- 6S……m
- 7T……
- 8M……
- 9C……c
- 10S……
VowelsPractice~3 minPart 3 of 6 · 4/5
Type the missing vowel
Short words, whole answers. Writing them fixes the shape of the vowel in memory.
Exercise 3
Listen and type the full word, filling in the missing vowels.
0/10 correct
- 1Đ……
- 2X……
- 3X……
- 4T……n
- 5Ng……
- 6B……
- 7N……
- 8M……
- 9Th……
- 10Kh……
VowelsPractice~3 minPart 3 of 6 · 5/5
Minimal pairs — which one was it?
Two words that differ by a single vowel. This is the exercise that trains your ear the hardest.
Exercise 4
Listen and choose the word you hear in each pair.
0/10 correct
- 1ong – ông
- 2tham – than
- 3tát – tắt
- 4thon – thôn
- 5vâng – văng
- 6súng – sứng
- 7mượn – muộn
- 8cừng – cùng
- 9bợt – bột
- 10mệt – mẹt
TonesLearn~3 minPart 4 of 6 · 1/5
Six tones, one syllable
Vietnamese has 6 tones in 2 groups: high pitch (ngang, ngã, sắc) and low pitch (huyền, hỏi, nặng). The same syllable with a different tone is a different word — tap each card and listen for the shape of the pitch, not the letters.
TonesPractice~2 minPart 4 of 6 · 2/5
Drill — one syllable through all six tones
Each row takes a single syllable through every tone, in the same order as the cards. Tap along the row and let the pattern repeat itself.
| ngang | huyền | ngã | hỏi | sắc | nặng | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| la | ||||||
| te | ||||||
| ghê | ||||||
| thu | ||||||
| dư | ||||||
| cho | ||||||
| vơ | ||||||
| bô | ||||||
| nhi |
TonesPractice~3 minPart 4 of 6 · 3/5
Which word did you hear?
Same letters, different tone. If the two sound identical at first, play them a few times — the difference is real.
Exercise 2
Listen and choose the word you hear in each pair.
0/10 correct
- 1sách – sạch
- 2bồ – bố
- 3ma – má
- 4bận – bẩn
- 5bán – bàn
- 6nghĩ – nghỉ
- 7ngu – ngủ
- 8vợ – vở
- 9tôi – tồi
- 10hiền – hiện
TonesPractice~3 minPart 4 of 6 · 4/5
Add the tone marks
The phrase is written without tones. Listen, then type it back with every mark in place.
Exercise 3
Listen and retype each phrase with the correct tone marks.
0/10 correct
- 1banh bao
- 2mêt moi
- 3phơ bo
- 4keo mut
- 5sô môt
- 6chât chôi
- 7măt mui
- 8vuông văn
- 9thanh niên
- 10tinh huông
TonesPractice~3 minPart 4 of 6 · 5/5
Finish the sentence
Tones inside a full sentence now — context helps, but the ear still decides.
Exercise 4
Listen and choose the correctly tone-marked word to complete each sentence.
0/10 correct
- 1Tôi rất thích m…… xuân.
- 2Anh ơi, b…… đèn lên.
- 3Em Minh đến lớp m…….
- 4Các em mở s…… ra nào.
- 5Tôi rất v…… được gặp các bạn.
- 6Đây là câu trả lời đ…….
- 7Cho tôi th…… một chút đường.
- 8Bạn ấy tên là Th…….
- 9Các bạn nh…… làm bài tập nhé.
- 10Liên ơi, đừng s……. Nó không cắn đâu.
SpellingLearn~2 minPart 5 of 6 · 1/3
c · k · q — one sound /k/
These spellings sound the same. Which letter you write depends entirely on the vowel that comes after it.
- kalways goes with the vowels i, e, ê, iê/ia
- qalways goes with the semi-vowel u
- cgoes with the remaining vowels
SpellingLearn~2 minPart 5 of 6 · 2/3
ng · ngh — one sound /ŋ/
These spellings sound the same. Which letter you write depends entirely on the vowel that comes after it.
- nghalways goes with the vowels i, e, ê, iê/ia
- nggoes with the remaining vowels
SpellingLearn~2 minPart 5 of 6 · 3/3
g · gh — one sound /ɣ/
These spellings sound the same. Which letter you write depends entirely on the vowel that comes after it.
- ghalways goes with the vowels i, e, ê
- ggoes with the remaining vowels
GrammarLearn~2 minPart 6 of 6 · 1/5
Noun phrases
Noun phrases typically start with a numeral, followed by a classifier and a noun, and end with an adjective or demonstrative.
| Quantity | Noun | Quality, demonstrative… |
|---|---|---|
| những | quyển sách | hay |
| ba | quyển sách | này |
- — the interesting books
- — these three books
GrammarLearn~2 minPart 6 of 6 · 2/5
Verb phrases
Verb phrases usually begin with elements like time, frequency or possibility, followed by a verb, and end with particles indicating completion or result.
| Time, frequency… | Verb | Completion, result… |
|---|---|---|
| đã | học | xong |
| hay | học |
- — have finished studying already
- — often study
GrammarLearn~2 minPart 6 of 6 · 3/5
Adjective phrases
Adjective phrases comprise the adjective along with degree markers, which can either precede or follow it.
| Degree | Adjective | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| rất | đẹp | |
| đẹp | lắm | |
| đẹp | tuyệt vời |
- — very beautiful
- — so beautiful
- — extremely beautiful
GrammarLearn~2 minPart 6 of 6 · 4/5
Simple sentences
Vietnamese grammar is quite straightforward. In phrases, the main part comes first, followed by additional details. Sentences usually follow this order: who or what is doing something (subject), then the action itself (verb), and finally any extra information (object).
| Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Anh ấy | ăn | cơm |
— He eats rice.
GrammarLearn~2 minPart 6 of 6 · 5/5
Complex sentences
Two clauses joined by a pair of conjunctions. The pair comes as a set — use both halves, and the meaning is fixed by which pair you pick.
- Nếu … thì …assumption — if … then …
— If I'm tired, then I rest.
- Tuy/dù … nhưng …contrast — though … but …
— Though this dish is delicious, she doesn't like it.
- Vì … nên …cause and effect — because … so …
— Because she studies diligently, she speaks Vietnamese well.
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