#vietnamese beginners

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     Hi guys! Sorry it has been such a long time since my last post. Here’s an update about me: I’ve been extremely busy with school while trying to apply to college at the same time. I’ve recently got really sick but I’m feeling better now so I made a quick post about the numeral system in Vietnamese. 

Numbers: Số

Zero: Không

One: Một

Two: Hai

Three: Ba 

Four: Bốn

Five: Năm 

Six: Sáu

Seven: Bảy 

Eight: Tám

Nine: Chín

Ten: Mười

Tens (20, 30, 40,…): Number + mươi (20 = Hai mươi)

Hundreds (100, 500, 800,…): Number + trăm (500 = năm trăm)

Thousands (1000, 6000,…): Number + ngàn/nghìn (7000 = bảy ngàn/nghìn)

Millions (7000000, 2000000,…): Number + triệu (1000000 = một triệu)

Billions (3000000000, 5000000000,…): Number + tỷ (3000000000 = ba tỷ)

Hundreds/Thousands + one-digit numbers (1004, 208, 403, 5006,…): Number + trăm/ngàn/nghìn + lẻ/linh + number (one-digit number) (801 = tám trăm lẻ/linh một, 3007 = ba ngàn/ngìn lẻ/linh bảy)

Tens/hundreds/thousands + one (21, 401, 9001,…): Number + mươi + mốt (61 = sáu mươi mốt)

Hundreds/Thousands/Millions/Billions and a half (150, 7500,…): Number + trăm/ngàn or nghìn/triệu/tỷ + rưỡi (350 = ba trăm rưỡi)

Counting: Đếm

Counting by Dozens: Number + tá (24 = hai tá)

Counting by Tens: Number + chục (80 = tám chục)

 - NOTES: 

The Tens/hundreds/thousands + one rule doesn't apply to 11, 11 is simply pronounced as mười một (10 + 1) instead of mười mốt. 

The Hundreds/Thousands/Millions/Billions and a half rule is not necessary, it is just a faster/shorter version that people use when speaking. 

When pronouncing tens + a number (41, 23, 94, 67,..), people sometimes would shorten it and only pronounce the first and the second number without saying 'mươi' in between (38 = ba mươi tám or ba tám, 71 = bảy mươi mốt or bảy mốt) 

When pronouncing tens + 5 (35, 65, 75, 25,...), instead of saying tens and năm, people would say lăm (95 = chín (mươi) lăm, 55 = năm (mươi) lăm)

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This is how the tone marks affect your tone according to spoken Southern Vietnamese. I will make another post to explain the tone marks more thoroughly! 

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         Hi guys! So today I will walk you guys through the first lesson that you would learn in a Vietnamese school— THE VIETNAMESE ALPHABET! The Vietnamese alphabet contains 29 letters and some letters have multiple pronunciations, I will go over the pronunciations that are easier for English speakers.

1. A: Pronounce 'ah' 2. Ă: Pronounce like 'ah' but with a rising tone, similar to the questioning tone in English 'ah?' 3. Â: Pronounce like 'uh' but with a rising tone, similar to the questioning tone in English 'uh?' 4. B: Pronounce 'beh' 5. C: Pronounce 'seh' 6. D: Pronounce similar to 'yuh' but with a falling tone 7. Đ: Pronounce 'deh.' This second version of D functions like the letter D in English 8. E: Pronounce like the e in get 9. Ê: Pronounce 'eh' 10. G: Pronounce 'zheh' 11. H: Pronounce similar to 'huh' but with a falling tone 12. I: Pronounce like the letter e in English, or 'ee' 13. K: Pronounce like 'kah' 14. L: Pronounce similar to 'luh' but with a falling tone 15. M: Pronounce similar to 'muh' but with a falling tone 16. N: Pronounce similar to 'nuh' but with a falling tone 17. O: Pronounce like o in or 18. Ô: Pronounce like 'oh' 19. Ơ: Pronounce like 'uh' 20. P: Pronounce like 'peh' 21. Q: Pronounce like 'kwi' 22. R: Pronounce similar to 'ruh' but with a falling tone 23. S: Pronounce similar to 'shuh' but with a falling tone 24. T: Pronounce like 'teh' 25. U: Pronounce like 'ooh' 26. Ư: Pronounce like 'eu' 27. V: Pronounce like 'veh' 28. X: Pronounce similar to 'suh' but with a falling tone 29. Y: Pronounce like 'ee' - NOTE:  Sometimes people call B - "bê bò" and P - "pê phở" (Yes, phở the food) to avoid confusion when speaking due to their similar pronounciations. It's the same way English speakers would say A as in Apple or H as in Henry  when spelling a word. The same for s and x, people call S - "sờ mạnh" which literally means strong S and X-  "xờ nhẹ" which means light S. Similarly, I is "i ngắn" meaning short I and Y - "y dài" meaning long I because of their identical pronounciation.

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Yay! My first vocab list.

Note: If one of the photos is yours and you’d like me to remove it, just let me know :)

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          Tone marks are important in Vietnamese as it is a tonal language. It is important that you get them right, both in pronunciation and writing. There are only 5 tone marks and one empty/no mark tone; together, they make 6 tones in total. I would recommend looking up some videos to help with your listening and pronunciation. Also, not too long ago, I've made a post about how high/low your voice should be according to the Southern accent. 1. Không dấu/Unmarked (mid-level tone): Slightly higher than normal pitch. It's typically described as the lvel tone 2. Dấu Sắc/Acute (high-rising tone): The pitch starts at around the mid-level tone and then rises sharply 3. Dấu Huyền/Grave (low-falling tone): The pitch starts lower than mid-level tone and then drops off, but not sharply 4. Dấu Hỏi/Hook Above (low-rising tone): The pitch starts lower than mid-level tone then rises. Sounds like the questioning tone in English. 5. Dấu Ngã/Tilde (high-rising broken tone): The pitch starts a little above the mid-level tone, dips, then rises sharply 6. Dấu Nặng/Dot Below (low-falling broken tone): The pitch starts slightly lower than the low-falling tone, then drop very sharply - NOTE: In spoken Vietnamese, there is very little, if any, distinction between the hook above accent mark (dấu hỏi) and the tilde accent mark (dấu ngã)

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          This song is definitely one of my favorite Vietnamese songs. It has an upbeat, happy melody and I personally have a soft spot duets. The title is roughly translated into "Four 'A lot' Words," hinting at the 4 emotions/stages one experience a lot when in love—love, fondness/tenderness, pain, separation. This song is a fairly simple song with a lot of repeated words so I've decided to make a beginner vocabulary list.

Yêu (v.): to love

Thương (v.): Also means to love but 'Thương' is love, tenderness, protection, and sympathy. It is like the 2nd stage of a relationship, it describes a lot more

Đau (v.): to hurt

Xa (adj.): far away

Chờ (v.): to wait

Nhớ (v.): to miss, to remember

Trái tim (n.): heart

Tình (n.): love

Tìm (v.): to look for

Buồn (v.): to be sad

         Bonus: Follow their hand movements during the chorus to learn how to sign the chorus in Vietnamese Sign Language!