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  3. Vietnamese Pronunciation
  • Front Vowels
  • Central Vowels
  • Back Vowels
  • Diphthong Vowels
  • Labial Consonants
  • Alveolar Consonants
  • Retroflex Consonants
  • Palatal Consonants
  • Velar Consonants
  • Glottal Consonants

Pronunciation

m[m]

Place of articulation: bilabial (both lips touch)

Tongue position: relaxed; not used to block airflow

Mouth shape: lips are closed firmly but not tight

Voicing: voiced (vocal cords vibrate)

Airflow:

Air goes through the nose (nasal consonant)

No air escapes through the mouth because lips are fully closed

How to produce it

Close your lips completely.

Keep your tongue relaxed and low.

Let air flow only through your nose.

Vibrate your vocal cords.

Sound quality

Same as English “m” in my, mother, mark

Clear nasal resonance

Tones of syllables created by m
Vowel
1st Tone
2nd Tone
3rd Tone
4th Tone
5th Tone
6th Tone
i mi mì mỉ mĩ mí mị
y my mỳ mỷ mỹ mý mỵ
ê mê mề mể mễ mế mệ
e me mè mẻ mẽ mé mẹ
ư mư mừ mử mữ mứ mự
ơ mơ mờ mở mỡ mớ mợ
a ma mà mả mã má mạ
u mu mù mủ mũ mú mụ
ô mô mồ mổ mỗ mố mộ
o mo mò mỏ mõ mó mọ

Pronunciation

p[p]

Sound type

Voiceless bilabial stop

Similar to English p, but without a release when it’s at the end of a syllable.

How to pronounce Vietnamese final “p”

Vietnamese final consonants (p, t, c(k), ch, m, n, ng) are special:

They are short, unreleased, and stop very abruptly.

For final p:

Mouth / Lip Position

Lips close tightly

Air pressure builds behind the lips

BUT you do NOT release the air

Tongue Position

Tongue is relaxed; does not touch anything

Only lips control the sound

Airflow

Air is stopped completely

No puff of air

No vowel after it

No release burst like English “pop”

Voicing

Voiceless (no vocal cord vibration)

How it sounds

It is like English “stop” but cutting the p halfway:

English: sto(p) → there is a little explosion

Vietnamese: sto(p̚) → no explosion; your lips just freeze

A symbol “p̚” often represents an unreleased p.

Tones of syllables created by p
Vowel
1st Tone
2nd Tone
3rd Tone
4th Tone
5th Tone
6th Tone
i pi pì pỉ pĩ pí pị
ê pê pề pể pễ pế pệ
e pe pè pẻ pẽ pé pẹ
ư pư pừ pử pữ pứ pự
ơ pơ pờ pở pỡ pớ pợ
a pa pà pả pã pá pạ
u pu pù pủ pũ pú pụ
ô pô pồ pổ pỗ pố pộ
o po pò pỏ põ pó pọ

Pronunciation

b[ɓ]

Vietnamese b is a voiced bilabial stop, similar to English b in “bat”, but usually shorter, cleaner, and with less aspiration (less puff of air).

How to Pronounce Vietnamese “b”

Place of articulation

Bilabial: both lips come together firmly

Tongue position

Tongue stays relaxed

It does not touch anywhere specific

Tongue body is low and neutral

Mouth / Lips

Lips close completely

Immediately open again

No strong puff of air

Voicing

Voiced: vocal cords vibrate

Airflow

Air pressure builds behind the lips

When lips open, air is released

But the release is soft

→ Less explosive than English

Sound quality

Like English b but:

shorter

softer

no heavy puff

no long closure

Tones of syllables created by b
Vowel
1st Tone
2nd Tone
3rd Tone
4th Tone
5th Tone
6th Tone
i bi bì bỉ bĩ bí bị
ê bê bề bể bễ bế bệ
e be bè bẻ bẽ bé bẹ
ư bư bừ bử bữ bứ bự
ơ bơ bờ bở bỡ bớ bợ
a ba bà bả bã bá bạ
u bu bù bủ bũ bú bụ
ô bô bồ bổ bỗ bố bộ
o bo bò bỏ bõ bó bọ

Pronunciation

ph[f]

Vietnamese “ph” is pronounced exactly like the English “f” sound.

It is not “p” + “h.”

It is one single sound: a voiceless labiodental fricative.

How to Pronounce Vietnamese ph

Place of articulation

Labiodental

→ Lower lip lightly touches the upper front teeth

Tongue position

Tongue relaxed

Not touching the teeth

Middle / back of the tongue stays low

Mouth / Lips

Lower lip raises to touch the upper teeth

Very small gap is left for air to pass through

Airflow

Continuous airflow

Creates friction (the “ffff” sound)

No stopping of airflow like “p”

Voicing

Voiceless (vocal cords do not vibrate)

Sound quality

Exactly the same as English f in:

fine, coffee, find

Tones of syllables created by ph
Vowel
1st Tone
2nd Tone
3rd Tone
4th Tone
5th Tone
6th Tone
i phi phì phỉ phĩ phí phị
ê phê phề phể phễ phế phệ
e phe phè phẻ phẽ phé phẹ
ư phư phừ phử phữ phứ phự
ơ phơ phờ phở phỡ phớ phợ
a pha phà phả phã phá phạ
u phu phù phủ phũ phú phụ
ô phô phồ phổ phỗ phố phộ
o pho phò phỏ phõ phó phọ

Pronunciation

v[v]

Vietnamese v is usually pronounced like English v, but in the South it often sounds closer to a /j/ (y) sound.

However, the standard pronunciation (Northern / Hanoi) is the labiodental voiced fricative like English v.

Standard Vietnamese “v” (Northern) = English “v”

Place of articulation

Labiodental

→ Lower lip touches the upper front teeth

Tongue position

Tongue is relaxed

Does NOT touch anything

Middle of the tongue is low

Mouth / Lips

Lower lip lightly touches the upper teeth

Small gap allows vibrating airflow

Airflow

Continuous airflow

Causes friction ("vvvvv")

Similar to English "very"

Voicing

Voiced (vocal cords vibrate)

Sound quality

Same as English v in:

very, victory, voice

Southern Vietnamese variation

Often pronounced closer to English y in yes

Example:

"về" (return) → Southern: [yê]-like sound

If you learn Northern pronunciation (more standard for learners), treat v as English v.

Tones of syllables created by v
Vowel
1st Tone
2nd Tone
3rd Tone
4th Tone
5th Tone
6th Tone
i vi vì vỉ vĩ ví vị
ê vê về vể vễ vế vệ
e ve vè vẻ vẽ vé vẹ
ư vư vừ vử vữ vứ vự
ơ vơ vờ vở vỡ vớ vợ
a va và vả vã vá vạ
u vu vù vủ vũ vú vụ
ô vô vồ vổ vỗ vố vộ
o vo vò vỏ võ vó vọ
Course Image

Greetings

In this material, we have studied 100 commonly used Vietnamese greeting expressions used in everyday conversation. These include greetings for meeting, parting, caring, welcoming, and wishing well, such as “Hello,” “How are you?”, “Nice to meet you,” and “Have a nice day.”

For each sentence, we provided:

• Natural translations in English

• Word-by-word explanations with meanings and parts of speech

• Sentence structure analysis

• Usage notes, including politeness and context

One important feature of Vietnamese greetings is their strong connection to age, social roles, and relationships. This material is designed not only to help learners memorize phrases, but also to understand why a certain expression is used and when it is appropriate.

Whether you are a beginner or a learner aiming to sound natural and polite, this collection serves as a practical and reliable guide to mastering Vietnamese greetings in real-life situations.

Course Image

Love

In this material, we studied 100 Vietnamese sentences focused on romantic expressions.

The phrases cover a wide range of real-life usage, from greetings and caring words to expressions of affection, deep love, emotional support, and promises for the future.

For each sentence, the explanations include:

• Natural translations into English

• Word-by-word meanings

• Parts of speech

• Sentence structure and usage

Vietnamese love expressions are highly sensitive to personal pronouns (such as anh and em) and word order, which strongly affect nuance and emotional distance. Through this study, learners can move beyond memorization and gain the ability to express love naturally, appropriately, and sincerely, depending on the relationship.

This collection is ideal for learners who want to communicate their feelings more deeply and accurately in Vietnamese—whether in conversations, messages, confessions, or heartfelt expressions of love.

    Course Image

    Greetings

    In this material, we have studied 100 commonly used Vietnamese greeting expressions used in everyday conversation. These include greetings for meeting, parting, caring, welcoming, and wishing well, such as “Hello,” “How are you?”, “Nice to meet you,” and “Have a nice day.”

    For each sentence, we provided:

    • Natural translations in English

    • Word-by-word explanations with meanings and parts of speech

    • Sentence structure analysis

    • Usage notes, including politeness and context

    One important feature of Vietnamese greetings is their strong connection to age, social roles, and relationships. This material is designed not only to help learners memorize phrases, but also to understand why a certain expression is used and when it is appropriate.

    Whether you are a beginner or a learner aiming to sound natural and polite, this collection serves as a practical and reliable guide to mastering Vietnamese greetings in real-life situations.

    Course Image

    Love

    In this material, we studied 100 Vietnamese sentences focused on romantic expressions.

    The phrases cover a wide range of real-life usage, from greetings and caring words to expressions of affection, deep love, emotional support, and promises for the future.

    For each sentence, the explanations include:

    • Natural translations into English

    • Word-by-word meanings

    • Parts of speech

    • Sentence structure and usage

    Vietnamese love expressions are highly sensitive to personal pronouns (such as anh and em) and word order, which strongly affect nuance and emotional distance. Through this study, learners can move beyond memorization and gain the ability to express love naturally, appropriately, and sincerely, depending on the relationship.

    This collection is ideal for learners who want to communicate their feelings more deeply and accurately in Vietnamese—whether in conversations, messages, confessions, or heartfelt expressions of love.

      Course Image

      Greetings

      In this material, we have studied 100 commonly used Vietnamese greeting expressions used in everyday conversation. These include greetings for meeting, parting, caring, welcoming, and wishing well, such as “Hello,” “How are you?”, “Nice to meet you,” and “Have a nice day.”

      For each sentence, we provided:

      • Natural translations in English

      • Word-by-word explanations with meanings and parts of speech

      • Sentence structure analysis

      • Usage notes, including politeness and context

      One important feature of Vietnamese greetings is their strong connection to age, social roles, and relationships. This material is designed not only to help learners memorize phrases, but also to understand why a certain expression is used and when it is appropriate.

      Whether you are a beginner or a learner aiming to sound natural and polite, this collection serves as a practical and reliable guide to mastering Vietnamese greetings in real-life situations.

      Course Image

      Love

      In this material, we studied 100 Vietnamese sentences focused on romantic expressions.

      The phrases cover a wide range of real-life usage, from greetings and caring words to expressions of affection, deep love, emotional support, and promises for the future.

      For each sentence, the explanations include:

      • Natural translations into English

      • Word-by-word meanings

      • Parts of speech

      • Sentence structure and usage

      Vietnamese love expressions are highly sensitive to personal pronouns (such as anh and em) and word order, which strongly affect nuance and emotional distance. Through this study, learners can move beyond memorization and gain the ability to express love naturally, appropriately, and sincerely, depending on the relationship.

      This collection is ideal for learners who want to communicate their feelings more deeply and accurately in Vietnamese—whether in conversations, messages, confessions, or heartfelt expressions of love.