n + h + à
nhà
Alphabets
The Vietnamese alphabet bảng chữ cái
Meet every letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, hear how it sounds and see it in simple words.
About Vietnamese
Vietnamese is written in chữ Quốc ngữ, the Latin alphabet adapted for Vietnamese. Its 29 letters include seven with marks of their own – ă â đ ê ô ơ ư – and every vowel can also carry one of five tone marks, so a single letter can have two marks: ế is ê with the sắc tone. The spelling is almost perfectly regular, so once you know the letters and the tones you can read any word.
- 29
- letters
- 12
- vowels
- 6
- tones
- L → R
- writing direction
Vowels
The vowels of Vietnamese – each is written as a letter of its own. Tap a letter to hear it.
Six tones
Ngang – level tone, no mark.
Huyền – low falling tone.
Hỏi – dipping-rising tone.
Ngã – high broken tone.
Sắc – high rising tone.
Nặng – low heavy tone.
Consonants
The consonants of Vietnamese. Tap a letter to hear it.
Consonants phụ âm
single letters
Letter pairs phụ âm ghép
two or three letters, one sound
Vietnamese has no f, j, w or z – the f sound is written ph, as in phở.
How letters join to make words
A Vietnamese word is one syllable with one tone; the tone mark goes on the main vowel.
-
1
Letter + mark
Some vowels have their own mark.
e +◌̂ =ê -
2
+ tone mark
Then the tone mark: ê with the sắc tone is ế.
ê +◌́ =ế -
3
Two marks on one letter
Vowel mark and tone mark together: ư + nặng = ự.
ư +◌̣ =ự
Where does the tone mark go?
Above
à á ả ã
Most tone marks sit above the vowel.
Below
ạ ệ ự
The nặng tone is a dot under the vowel.
On the main vowel
hoà / hòa, người
In vowel pairs the mark goes on the main vowel.
Build real words
n + ư + ớ + c
nước
s + á + c + h
sách
V + i + ệ + t + + N + a + m
Việt Nam
p + h + ở
phở
b + ạ + n
bạn
Good to know
Vowel first, tone after
On this keyboard type the vowel, then the tone key: a 8 → á.
Six tones
Every syllable has a tone – even the "level" one without a mark.
One word, one syllable
Vietnamese writes each syllable separately: Việt Nam, tiếng Việt.
Ready to type in Vietnamese?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.