Learning Vietnamese - Lesson 2
Mastering the alphabet
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):