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Today's lesson was all about getting familiar with the **Vietnamese alphabet** and tackling **pronunciation**—which, as it turns out, is a completely different challenge compared to Swedish.

The Vietnamese alphabet has **29 letters**, just like Swedish, so at first glance, it feels familiar. But then come the **diacritics (accent marks)** and **tones**, which completely change how words are pronounced and their meaning.

A single word like **"ma"** can mean very different things depending on the **tone**:

- **ma** → **ghost**
- **má** → **mother**
- **mà** → **but / that** (used in sentences)
- **mạ** → **young rice plant**
- **mả** → **tomb / grave**

## **Key Differences Between Swedish & Vietnamese**

| Feature               | Swedish  | Vietnamese                  |
| --------------------- | -------- | --------------------------- |
| Number of letters     | 29       | 29                          |
| Special characters    | Å, Ä, Ö  | Ă, Â, Ê, Ô, Ơ, Ư, Đ         |
| Uses tones?           | ❌ No    | ✅ Yes (5 tones)            |
| Unique pronunciation? | Moderate | Very different due to tones |

We spent most of the class practicing **how to pronounce** tricky Vietnamese letters, like **Đ** (which sounds like an English "D" but softer) and **D** (which sounds like "Z" in northern Vietnam and "Y" in the south).

## Practicing the pronunciation

I got some help from my wife to practice the pronunciation of the alphabet. Tap the letters to hear her pronuncation first (which is correct) and then my imitation (probably not perfect):

```custom-LearningVietnameseTheAlphabet

```


Mastering the alphabet

Learning Vietnamese - Lesson 2

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More photos and prints at [Rockfoto](https://rockfoto.nu/artists/while-she-sleeps/20250309/30286)
/20250226/30274)

Read the review at [GP.se](https://www.gp.se/kultur/musik/konsertrecension/recension-while-she-sleeps-filmstudion-sondag.30a15a88-460e-4a7f-83f8-950ad1a88b45)


While She Sleeps @ Filmstudion

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Today, I had my first Vietnamese lesson at Folkuniversitet, and I’m excited to finally learn the language in a structured way. I’ve tried studying on my own before, but let’s just say the results were… less than impressive.

Our class is small, just four students, which is a real luxury. With such a small group and an enthusiastic teacher, I think this will be a great learning experience.

To make the process more fun and to reinforce what I learn, I’ll be writing a short post after each lesson. This will help me review new words and phrases while hopefully sharing some useful insights with others.

In our first lesson, we focused on the basics: an introduction to the language and how to introduce ourselves. A solid foundation to build on!

## Personal pronouns

In Vietnamese, it's very important to correctly address the person you're talking to. There are many different personal pronouns, called đại từ xưng hô in Vietnamese. For example, if you meet a man slightly older than you, you would say: 
**"Anh ơi, cho em hỏi..."** (Hey anh, can I ask you something?). I listed all the pronouns we learned in the table at the end.

## Simple conversations

We also practiced some simple conversations, for example two people meeting each other for the first time:
**Andreas:** Chào em. 
**Milly:** Chào anh. Xin lỗi, anh tên là gì? 
**Andreas:** Tôi tên là Andreas, rất vui đươc gặp em. 
**Milly:** Tôi tên là Milly, rất vui đươc gặp anh.

Or if you already acquinted with each other:
**Andreas:** Chào cô Milly. Cô cò khoẻ không? 
**Milly:** Chào anh Andreas. Tôi khoẻ. Cò anh? 
**Andreas:** Chào anh. Hên gặp lại. 
**Milly:** Chào cô. Hẹn gặp lại.

If you are in a class, you would address your teacher as _cô_ instead: 
**Andreas**: Chào cô. 
**Milly**: Chào các bạn. Các bạn khoẻ không? 
**Andreas**: Dạ, khoẻ. Cám ơn cô. Còn cô? 
**Milly**: Cám ơn bạn. Tôi cũng khoẽ. 

### **Common Pronouns & Address Terms**

| Vietnamese | English Translation | Notes |
| ---------- | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Anh** | Older brother / You (man) | Used for a slightly older man |
| **Chị** | Older sister / You (woman) | Used for a slightly older woman |
| **Em** | Younger sibling / You | Used for someone younger |
| **Cô** | Aunt / You (older woman) | Used for women around your parents' age |
| **Chú** | Uncle / You (older man) | Used for men around your parents' age |
| **Bà** | Grandmother / You (elderly woman) | Used for very old women |
| **Ông** | Grandfather / You (elderly man) | Used for very old men |
| **Tôi** | I (formal) | Polite and neutral |
| **Bạn** | You (neutral/friend) | Used with strangers or friends |

### **Common Words & Their Meanings**

| Vietnamese | English Translation | Notes |
| ---------- | ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| **Tên** | Name | Used when asking for names |
| **Là** | To be / Is / Am / Are | Used in basic sentences like "My name is..." |
| **Gì** | What | Used in questions |
| **Không** | No / Not / Question word | Turns a sentence into a yes/no question |
| **Khỏe** | Healthy / Well | Used in greetings |
| **Cảm ơn** | Thank you | Common way to express gratitude |
| **Còn** | And / As for | Used when continuing a conversation |
| **Thì** | Then / So | Used for emphasis in questions |

### **Full Phrases & Sentences**

| Vietnamese | English Translation | Notes |
| -------------------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **Anh/Chị tên là gì?** | What is your name? | Formal way to ask someone's name |
| **Còn em thì sao?** | How about you? | Used when returning a question |
| **Anh/Chị có khỏe không?** | How are you? | Polite way to ask about well-being |
| **Khỏe! Cảm ơn em!** | I'm well! Thank you! | Common response to "How are you?" |