Start learning Vietnamese with these 5 fundamentals!

Chào bạn! (Hello, friend!) Are you ready to learn one of the most popular languages in the world?

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Vietnamese, the official language of Vietnam, has 86 million speakers and is ranked as the 21st most-spoken language in the world.

The language is based on the Latin script (a language writing system that English also uses), and it's heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The number of Vietnamese speakers continues to grow with Vietnam's rise in tourism and pop culture, encouraging many to learn the language.

Let's dive into the basics of how to learn Vietnamese!

The Vietnamese script may look familiar to you because it uses the Latin alphabet, which is used by many other languages (English, Spanish, Italian, etc.). This similarity can make the language approachable to you in reading, writing, and pronouncing the words.

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What makes Vietnamese unique?

• Vietnamese is a tonal language. Tones are sound differences based on inflection and pitch. If you've never heard of a certain tone before, it may be difficult for you to pronounce or identify it. We will dig into it soon.

• Vietnamese has three main dialects that correspond to geographical differences: Northern, Central, and South. The dialects slightly differ in how tones are pronounced, with the Northern dialect being the standard.

• Vocabulary may differ between dialects, similar to how one would say "cookie" in the U.S. and Canada versus "biscuit" in the U.K. With practice, however, you can adapt to these differences.

The Vietnamese alphabet contains 29 letters and is as follows:

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

You may notice that some letters appear to repeat, like the letter "a." However, they have different pronunciations. Listen to the video below to hear how each letter is pronounced:

There are also six tone marks that can be added to some letters:

• Mid-Level (Thanh Ngang): no tone mark; neutral/flat tone

• Low-Falling Tone (Thanh Huyền): a line going down ( \ ), low tone

• High-Rising Tone (Thanh Sắc): a line going up ( / ), high tone

• Low-Rising Tone (Thanh Hỏi): a question mark without the dot (?), like asking a question

• High-Broken Tone (Thanh Ngã): a tilde ( ~ ), "broken" into two "syllables" from low to high tone (similar to thanh hỏi but with a break between the syllables)

• Heavy Tone (Thanh Nặng), a dot underneath vowels ( . ), short and sharp low tone

Practice using tones with this video!

Practice reading and speaking Vietnamese with these common words:

• Hello - Xin chào ("Sin chow") or chào ("chow")

• Thank you - Cảm ơn ("gam um")

• Yes - Dạ ("yaa")

• No - Không ("cong")

• Goodbye - Tạm biệt ("tham byeet")

• I/me - Tôi ("toy")

• You - Bạn ("baan")

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Pronouns like "I" (tôi) and "you" (bạn) are tricky because how you refer to yourself and address someone depends on the gender, age, and your relationship with the person. Tôi and bạn are more general/neutral, which will ease you into the language.

Once you get the basics down, advance your pronoun usage with this guide by YourVietnamese.

Practice reading and speaking Vietnamese with numbers:

• Zero - Không ("cong")

• One - Một ("mhout")

• Two - Hai ("hi")

• Three - Ba ("baa")

• Four - Bốn ("bhon")

• Five - Năm ("naam")

• Six - Sáu ("sau")

• Seven - Bảy ("baay")

• Eight - Tám ("tham")

• Nine - Chín ("chinh")

• Ten - Mười ("mhuoi")

For numbers over ten, say "mười" to indicate the tenth place and the number that would be in the ones place.

For example:

• 11 is "mười' một" (10, 1)

• 19 is "mười chín" (10, 9)

For numbers over 19, include the number it begins with before "mười".For example: 23 is 'hai mười ba' (2, 10, 3).

Note that the 5 is changed to "lăm" ("naam") in numbers where 5 is in the ones place in a number greater than 10 — for example, 15 is "mười' lăm". Keep the 5 as "năm" when indicating the 50s: "năm mười tám" for 58.

Vietnam is known for its delicious cuisine, especially with classics like phở. Enhance your vocabulary and expand your palate with other common dishes!

• Phở ("fuuh"): A noodle soup dish typically made with rice noodles and beef.

• Bún bò Huế ("buun boh hueh"): A spicy beef noodle soup from Huế, the central region of Vietnam.

• Bánh mì ("bahn mee"): A delicious baguette sandwich that can be filled with grilled meat or cold cuts.

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• Cơm tấm ("cuum tam"): A rice platter featuring grilled meat, eggs, and a side salad.

• Gỏi cuốn ("gooi coon"): Also known as "spring rolls", these are appetizers containing mint, cucumber, and grilled meat rolled with rice paper.

• Chả giò ("gia yaw"): Similar to egg rolls, these are deep-fried appetizers that include ground meat, noodles, and vegetables rolled with rice paper.

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• Nước chắm ("nuouc cham"): This is an essential fish-based condiment that is sweet, spicy, and sour.

• Chè ("cheeh"): This is an umbrella term referring to desserts and "sweet soups". They often feature beans, jellies, and fruits. A popular variety is "chè ba màu," which has three colors of beans, jellies, and coconut cream.

• Cà phê ("kah phe"): Vietnamese coffee that is known to be bitter. You can add condensed milk to make "Cà phê sữa đá."

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Explore more food vocabulary with this video. 😋

Speaking and understanding the Vietnamese language is a huge step that will deepen and expand your appreciation for Vietnamese culture.

Whether you want to learn for fun, to prepare for a trip to Vietnam, or to impress your friends at a Vietnamese restaurant, you are well on your journey to becoming confident in the Vietnamese language!

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Enhance your learning with these resources on how to learn Vietnamese!