The end of a Vietnamese syllable is short and quiet. Your mouth moves into position and simply stops, with no little puff of air the way English ends words. In the South, some endings also merge. By the end of this chapter you'll be able to read any Vietnamese word aloud.
Only eight consonants can end a syllable: p, t, c, ch (which stop the sound) and m, n, ng, nh (which hum).
5.1 Endings that stop: -p, -t, -c, -ch
Say the English word top, but freeze the moment your lips close. Don't let the p pop open. That's a Vietnamese ending: the mouth closes and holds, and the sound just stops.
| Ending | Your mouth stops with… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -p | lips closed | beautiful · to meet |
| -t | tongue tip behind your top teeth | one · good |
| -c | the back of your tongue raised | to study · (makes nouns plural) |
| -ch | the middle of your tongue flat on the roof of your mouth | book · to like |
Remember from Chapter 3: syllables ending in -p, -t, -c, -ch only take sắc (a quick rise) or nặng (a quick low drop).
5.2 Endings that hum: -m, -n, -ng, -nh
These four let the sound ring through your nose for a moment before it stops.
| Ending | Your mouth ends with… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -m | lips closed | cooked rice · to do, to make |
| -n | tongue tip behind your top teeth | table · big |
| -ng | the back of your tongue raised | morning · no |
| -nh | the middle of your tongue flat on the roof of your mouth | older brother · blue, green |
Notice that the stopping endings and the humming endings come in matching pairs: p/m use the lips, t/n the tongue tip, c/ng the back of the tongue, and ch/nh the middle of the tongue.
5.3 Southern endings
In the South, some endings sound alike. The spelling still keeps them apart, so learn the spelling with each word.
| Spelled | Sounds like (South) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -n | -ng | friend → "bạng" · big → "lớng" |
| -t | -c | eye → "mắc" |
| -nh | -n | older brother → "an" · blue → "xan" |
| -ch | -t | book → "sát" · to like → "thít" |
After i, the -n and -t endings usually keep their own sound: (news) and (a little).
In Saigon, (eye) and (expensive) sound the same, and so do the names Lan and Lang. Southerners tell them apart from context, and so will you.
You don't have to merge the endings when you speak. Careful endings, said the way they're spelled, are always understood. What matters is that you can hear the merged ones.
5.4 Endings that close your lips
After o, ô and u, the endings -ng and -c close your lips at the same time as your tongue moves. So ends almost like "khôm", and almost like "họp". Your cheeks puff out very slightly.
Watch your lips in a mirror as you say . If they don't close at the end, you're saying it the English way.
5.5 How to read any word
You now know every part of a Vietnamese syllable. To read any word aloud:
- Find the start: one, two or three letters (b, ch, ngh), or none.
- Find the vowel: one to three vowels (a, iê, ươi).
- Find the end: p, t, c, ch, m, n, ng, nh, or none.
- Find the tone mark on the vowel.
- Say it, then add the Southern changes.
| Word | Start | Vowel | End | Tone | In the South |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to tilt | ngh | iê | ng | ngang | |
| story | ch | uyê | n | nặng | ends like -ng |
| person | ng | ươ | i | huyền | often "ngừi" |
| to like | th | i | ch | sắc | ends like -t |
| no | kh | ô | ng | ngang | lips close |
| Vietnamese | v | iê | t | nặng | "Yiệc" |
Try it: trường (school)
tr · ươ · ng · huyền. Tongue curled back for tr, the ươ glide, a falling tone. Listen: .
Try it: nhanh (fast)
nh · a · nh · ngang. In the South the ending sounds like -n: "nhan". Listen: .
Try it: khuyết (missing, lacking)
kh · uyê · t · sắc. A soft kh, the three-vowel uyê, a short rising tone. Listen: .
5.6 Pronunciation review
That's every sound in Vietnamese. Before moving on to words and sentences, check yourself:
- I can say the vowels o / ô / ơ and u / ư differently. (Chapter 2)
- I can hear the five Southern tones and know which mark each one belongs to. (Chapter 3)
- I can tell t / th and c / kh apart by the puff of air. (Chapter 4)
- I know that d, gi and v all sound like y in the South. (Chapter 4)
- I can stop a final -p, -t, -c without releasing it. (This chapter)
Short words are the hardest to get right, so finish with these. Each one is a stopped syllable, so it takes sắc or nặng:
Vocabulary
| Vietnamese | English |
|---|---|
| to meet | |
| book | |
| to like | |
| to read | |
| to do, to make | |
| big | |
| blue, green | |
| eye | |
| expensive (Southern) | |
| grandfather; Mr. | |
| also | |
| in, inside | |
| a little, few | |
| school | |
| fast |
Flashcards
Study Vietnamese (Southern) › 05 Final sounds in the Anki deck.