In Vietnamese, the pitch of your voice is part of the word. Say with your voice flat and it means "ghost". Let your voice rise and it becomes , "mom". This chapter teaches the five tones of the South, one at a time, and lets you check your own.
3.1 What is a tone?
A tone is the movement of your voice's pitch across a syllable: staying level, rising, falling, or dipping and coming back up.
English uses pitch too, but for feelings rather than meaning. "Coffee?" rises because it's a question, and "Coffee." falls because it's a statement. Either way it still means coffee. In Vietnamese, changing the pitch changes the word.
Two things make tones easier than they first sound:
- Tones are relative to your voice. There's no "correct" note to hit. A man and a child say the same tone at very different pitches; what matters is the shape.
- Every syllable has exactly one tone, marked on its main vowel. Once you know the marks, you always know which tone to use.
3.2 The five Southern tones
Vietnamese writing has six tones: five marks, plus no mark. In the South, hỏi and ngã are said the same way, so you only need to hear and say five.
Click each word to hear it and see its shape:
| Mark | Name | It means | The shape (Southern) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | ngang | "level" | flat, in the middle of your voice | ghost |
| á | sắc | "sharp" | rises from the middle to high | mom |
| à | huyền | (from "deep") | starts a little low, falls gently | but |
| ả | hỏi | "to ask" | dips down, then rises | grave |
| ã | ngã | "to fall over" | the same as hỏi in the South | horse |
| ạ | nặng | "heavy" | low, dips, comes back up only a little | rice seedling |
3.3 Each tone, step by step
For each tone, read the tip, listen, then press Record. The chart draws your pitch as you speak and compares it with the shape. The first time, it asks for a flat "aaa" to learn your normal voice level.
Ngang: level
Hold one steady note in the middle of your voice. The trap for English speakers is letting it drop at the end, the way an English sentence does. Keep it up until the sound stops.
Listen: (three) · (name) · (older brother) · (to play)
Sắc: rising
Start in the middle and rise sharply, like a surprised "What?!" Let the air flow freely while your voice climbs.
Listen: (mom) · (to have) · (to speak) · (morning)
Huyền: falling
Start a little below the middle and let your voice fall gently and stay low. It's the easiest tone for English speakers: it's how a calm English sentence ends.
Listen: (but) · (grandmother) · (hello) · (person)
Hỏi and ngã: dipping
Go down first, then come back up above where you started. Hỏi means "to ask", and this tone sounds a bit like a doubtful "Huh?"
Listen to hỏi: (grave) · (to ask) · (of) · (must; right)
Listen to ngã: (horse) · (America) · (milk) · (letter, written word)
In the North (Hà Nội), these are two different tones: hỏi falls low, and ngã rises with a little catch, almost a break, in the throat. In the South they're one dipping tone. Learn to recognise the Northern ones, but say the Southern one.
Nặng: heavy
Drop low, as if the word is heavy. In the South it dips and comes back up only a little, and it never climbs as high as hỏi. When a word ends in -p, -t, -c or -ch, there's no time to come back up, so it's just a short, low drop.
Listen: (rice seedling) · (mother) · (older sister) · (one) · (to study)
In the North, nặng is cut off with a catch in the throat, like a tiny cough. The Southern nặng is smoother.
Short words ending in -p, -t, -c, -ch can only carry sắc or nặng. That makes them easier: it's either a quick high rise, (to sing), or a quick low drop, (seed).
3.4 Where the mark goes
A tone mark always sits on a vowel. When a syllable has more than one vowel, follow these rules, in this order:
- One vowel: the mark goes on it. , .
- A vowel with its own mark wins (ă, â, ê, ô, ơ, ư): , , , . In ươ, it's the ơ.
- Two vowels with nothing after them: the first one. , , .
- Vowels followed by a consonant: the last vowel. (math), (about).
- Three vowels with no vowel marks: the middle one. (outside), (to swirl).
- qu and gi: the u and i belong to the consonant, so skip them. (fruit), (hour).
You'll also see a newer style that puts the mark on the second vowel in oa, oe, uy: hoà instead of hòa, thuỷ instead of thủy. Both are correct. This book uses the traditional style.
chao + huyền
chào: two vowels with nothing after them, so the mark goes on the first one.
tuôi + hỏi
tuổi: the ô has its own vowel mark, so it wins.
hoan + sắc
hoán: vowels followed by a consonant, so the mark goes on the last vowel.
qua + hỏi
quả: the u belongs to qu, so a is the only real vowel.
3.5 Confusing pairs
These are the pairs Southern learners mix up most. Listen to each pair, then press "Quiz me" to test your ear.
Ngang vs huyền: level or falling? Keep ngang up.
Sắc vs hỏi: both rise, but hỏi dips first.
Hỏi vs nặng: both dip, but hỏi climbs back up high.
Huyền vs nặng: both low, but nặng is heavier and dips.
Sắc vs nặng in short words: a quick rise or a quick drop.
3.6 Tone drills
Use "Play all" and repeat after each word, then "Quiz me" until you get them all right.
Now say them yourself:
Vocabulary
| Vietnamese | English |
|---|---|
| to be | |
| strange | |
| leaf | |
| grass | |
| table | |
| friend | |
| to sing | |
| one | |
| to study | |
| morning | |
| good | |
| must; right | |
| letter, written word | |
| to ask | |
| hello |
Flashcards
Study Vietnamese (Southern) › 03 Tones in the Anki deck.