LinguaThe syllable is the unit
Vietnamese counts in syllables, not in letters. Every syllable is written on its own with a space around it, and every syllable has three parts: an initial consonant, a rhyme, and a tone. The word chữ cái looks like two words on the page, but it is one word of two syllables.
| Syllable | Initial | Rhyme | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| nhà | nh | a | huyền |
| toán | t | oan | sắc |
| ăn | – | ăn | ngang |
| bạn | b | an | nặng |
| sách | s | ach | sắc |
Eight finals, none of them released
A Vietnamese syllable can end in only eight consonants: c, ch, t, p, m, n, ng, nh. The four stops – c, ch, t, p – are closed and left closed: your mouth takes the position and the air never comes out. The end of hộp has no puff of air at all.
| Final | What your mouth does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -c | the back of the tongue blocks the air and holds | học |
| -ch | the tongue presses the hard palate and holds | sách |
| -t | the tongue tip touches the teeth and holds | một |
| -p | the lips close and stay closed | đẹp |
| -m | the lips close while the voice hums on | năm |
| -n | the tongue tip touches while the voice hums on | bốn |
| -ng | the back of the tongue closes while the voice hums on | không |
| -nh | the tongue is at the palate and the sound goes through the nose | anh |
Tôi học tiếng Việt.I study Vietnamese.
Sách này rất đẹp.This book is very beautiful.
A space is not a word boundary
Because every syllable is written apart, a two-syllable word looks like two words: Việt Nam is one country, thanh điệu is one idea. Count syllables when you listen and whole words when you look them up – a dictionary lists thanh điệu under a single entry.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tiếng | syllable | Từ chữ cái có hai tiếng. The word chữ cái has two syllables. |
| âm | sound | Âm này khó với tôi. This sound is hard for me. |
| vần | rhyme (the part after the initial) | Hai tiếng này cùng vần. These two syllables have the same rhyme. |
| âm đầu | initial consonant | Âm đầu của tiếng nhà là nh. The initial of the syllable nhà is nh. |
| âm cuối | final consonant | Tiếng Việt có tám âm cuối. Vietnamese has eight final consonants. |
| học | to study | Em học ở nhà. I study at home. |
| sách | book | Tôi mua một quyển sách. I buy a book. |
| một | one | Một tiếng có ba phần. A syllable has three parts. |
| bốn | four | Tôi có bốn quyển sách. I have four books. |
| năm | five | Lớp tôi có năm người. There are five people in my class. |
| đẹp | beautiful | Chữ của bạn rất đẹp. Your handwriting is very beautiful. |
| không | not | Tôi không hiểu. I do not understand. |
| anh | older brother; you (to a man) | Anh ấy là bạn tôi. He is my friend. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 2
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
What three parts does every Vietnamese syllable have?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.