Learning the Vietnamese alphabet is very important because its structure is used in everyday conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Vietnamese language.
Below is a table showing the Vietnamese alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.
| Vietnamese Alphabet | English Sound | Pronunciation Example |
| a | α: | 'a' as in father |
| â | ɜ | 'u' as in but |
| ă | α | 'a' as in hat |
| b | ɓ | 'b' as in big |
| c | k | 'c' as in cat |
| ch | t∫, c | 'ch' as in church |
| d | z, j | 'z' as in zoo (north), 'y' as in yes (south) |
| đ | ɗ | 'd' as in done |
| e | ε | 'e' as in get |
| ê | e | 'a' as in mate |
| g | ɣ | 'g' as in good |
| gh | ɣ | 'g' as in good |
| gi | z, j | 'z' as in zoo (north), 'y' as in yes (south) |
| h | h | 'h' as in house |
| i | i | 'i' as in machine (north), 'b' as in bit (south) |
| k | k | 'c' as in cat |
| kh | kh, x | 'ch' as in the German Bach |
| l | l | 'l' as in life |
| m | m | 'm' as in man |
| n | n | 'n' as in nice |
| ng | ŋ | 'ng' as in singer |
| ngh | ŋ | 'ng' as in singer |
| nh | ɲ | 'ny' as in crayon |
| o | ɔ | 'o' as in hot |
| ô | o | 'oa' as in boat |
| ơ | ɜ: | 'u' as in fur |
| p | p | watch video below |
| ph | f | 'f' as in find |
| qu | kw | 'qu' as in queue |
| r | z, ɹ | 'z' as in zoo (north), 'r' as in ring (south) |
| s | s, ∫ | 's' as in sore (north), 's' as in sure (south) |
| t | t | 't' as in stop |
| th | th | 't' as in top |
| tr | t∫, ʈɽ | 'ch' as in church (north), 'tr' as in tree (south) |
| u | ʊ | 'oo' as in boot |
| ư | ɨ | 'oo' as in boot |
| v | v, j | 'v' as in van (north), 'y' as in yes (south) |
| x | s | 's' as in sore |
| y | i | watch video below |
You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpxojJzlC0o
The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Vietnamese, therefore they need very special attention.
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