Consonants · Tiếng Việt

Most Vietnamese consonants are close to English ones. A handful are new, and a few pairs differ in a way English doesn't care about, such as a puff of air. This chapter covers the consonants that start a syllable. Chapter 5 covers the ones that end it.

4.1 Sounds you already know

These are close enough to English that you can say them the English way and be understood.

Letter	Like English…	Example
b	b in bed	grandmother
m	m in me	mother
n	n in no	five
l	l in leaf	leaf
h	h in hat	two
ph	f in far	noodle soup
x	s in sun	please
g	g in go, but softer	chicken

Vietnamese b (and đ, below) are made with a tiny inward pull of air. You don't need to copy it: a normal English b sounds fine. Vietnamese g is softer than English, because the back of the tongue doesn't quite close. A gentle g is perfect.

4.2 Sounds that work differently

đ and d: two different letters

đ is a firm d, as in do. d is a completely different sound: in the South it's like English y.

t and th: the puff of air

Hold your hand in front of your mouth and say top, then stop. You feel a puff of air on top but not on stop. Vietnamese uses that difference to tell words apart:

t has no puff, like the t in stop.
th has a puff, like the t in top. It's never the English th in think.

c, k and kh

c and k are the same sound: a k with no puff, like the k in skin. kh is softer and breathier, like the ch in Scottish loch, or a gentle snore. Never let kh become a hard k.

nh: like the ñ in señor

Press the middle of your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth and say n. It's the ny in canyon, or the ñ in Spanish señor.

ng and ngh: the sound from "singing"

English has this sound, but only in the middle or at the end of a word (singing). Vietnamese also uses it at the start. Try this: say "singing" slowly, then drop the si-: "nging". That's the start of (to sleep).

More to try: (person), (to listen), (delicious)

tr and ch

These are two different sounds in the South.

ch is softer than English ch, with no puff, closer to the ty in got you.
tr is made with the tip of your tongue curled back, so it sounds harder and fuller, like a strong English ch.

More to try: (tea), (in), (older sister), (to give)

4.3 Southern consonants

Spelling is the same everywhere, but a few letters sound different in the South. This is where the Southern accent is easiest to hear.

Letter	In the South	In the North	Example
d	y	z	yes (polite)
gi	y	z	what
v	y, or a soft v	v	happy
r	an r sound	z	vegetables
s	sh-like	s	six
tr	tongue curled back	the same as ch	tea
qu	w	kw	very

So in the South, , (old) and all start with the same y sound, even though they're spelled with d, gi and v.

s and x are different letters, and careful Southern speech keeps them apart: x like s, s more like sh. In relaxed speech many Southerners say both like s. Try (pretty) and (to be born).

For v, a soft English v is always understood, so use it if y feels strange. Just don't be surprised when you hear (to go home) said like "yề".

4.4 Spelling rules

Three sounds change their spelling before i, e and ê:

Sound	Before i, e, ê	Everywhere else
k	k: ice cream, kilogram	c: fish, rice · q (always with u):
g	gh: chair, to write down	g: chicken, wood
ng	ngh: to listen, to rest	ng: to sleep, delicious

The sound doesn't change, only the spelling. A trick: h sneaks in before i, e, ê (gh, ngh), while k simply replaces c.

_e (to listen): ng or ngh?

nghe: before e, the ng sound is spelled ngh. Listen: .

_ế (chair): g or gh?

ghế: before ê, the g sound is spelled gh. Listen: .

_em (ice cream): c or k?

kem: before e, the k sound is spelled k. Listen: .

4.5 Practice

Listen, repeat, then use "Quiz me".

Vocabulary

Vietnamese	English
	noodle soup
	please (formal)
	enough; to stop
	quite, fairly
	no, not
	house, home
	small
	to sleep
	to listen, to hear
	delicious
	chair
	tea
	what
	to go home, to return
	six

Flashcards

Study Vietnamese (Southern) › 04 Consonants in the Anki deck.