The Vietnamese Alphabet Guide

Welcome to Vietnamese! Unlike Thai or Chinese, Vietnamese uses a Latin-based alphabet, making it easier for English speakers to get started. However, the diacritical marks add a unique twist.

The Vietnamese Alphabet

Vietnamese uses 29 letters:

Basic letters: 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

Notice the special Vietnamese letters:

• Ă (a breve)
• Â (a circumflex)
• Đ (d stroke)
• Ê (e circumflex)
• Ô (o circumflex)
• Ơ (o horn)
• Ư (u horn)

Tone Marks

Vietnamese has 6 tones marked by diacritics:

1. Level tone (no mark): ma = “ghost”
2. Hanging tone (à): mà = “but”
3. Sharp tone (á): má = “cheek”
4. Asking tone (ả): mả = “tomb”
5. Tumbling tone (ã): mã = “horse”
6. Heavy tone (ạ): mạ = “rice seedling”

Pronunciation Tips

Vowels

• A: Like “a” in “father”
• Ă: Shorter “a” sound
• Â: Like “u” in “but”
• E: Like “e” in “bed”
• I/Y: Like “ee” in “see”
• O: Like “o” in “go”
• U: Like “oo” in “food”

Consonants

Most consonants are similar to English, but note:

• Đ/D: Đ is like English “d”, D is like “z” (north) or “y” (south)
• X: Like “s” in “see”
• Ch: Like “ch” in “church”
• Kh: Aspirated “k”

Common Mistakes

1. Ignoring tone marks: Tones change meaning entirely
2. Pronouncing “D” like English “d”: It’s actually “z” or “y”
3. Rushing vowel sounds: Give each vowel its full value

Practice Exercises

Try pronouncing these words:

• Xin chào (sin chow) = Hello
• Cảm ơn (gahm uhn) = Thank you
• Tạm biệt (tahm biet) = Goodbye
• Một, hai, ba (moht, hai, bah) = One, two, three

QuizFerret’s Alphabet Training

Our Vietnamese course includes:

• Interactive alphabet quizzes
• Tone recognition exercises
• Audio from native speakers
• Pronunciation comparison tools

Master the Vietnamese alphabet and you’re on your way to fluency!

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Start learning Vietnamese today with our comprehensive course.