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Today's lesson focused a lot on conversation, introducing ourselves and where we're from. We also learned the names of different countries in Vietanmese, for example:

| English        | Tiếng Việt |
| -------------- | ---------- |
| United States  | Mỹ         |
| United Kingdom | Anh        |
| Australia      | Úc         |
| Germany        | Đức        |
| France         | Pháp       |
| Italy          | Ý          |
| Sweden         | Thụy Điển  |
| China          | Trung Quốc |
| Japan          | Nhật Bản   |
| South Korea    | Hàn Quốc   |

Some countries are same as in English, for example Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

And other countries sound similar to their English name, for example:

| English  | Tiếng Việt |
| -------- | ---------- |
| Denmark  | Đan Mạch   |
| Finland  | Phần Lan   |
| Norway   | Na Uy      |
| Thailand | Thái Lan   |

## Repetition on presentation

We practices how to introduce ourselves again, and this time adding where we're from as well:

- **Xin lỗi, anh/chị tên là gì?** – Excuse me, what’s your name?
- **Tôi tên là Andreas.** – My name is Andreas.

Then, if you want to ask where someone is from:

- **Anh/chị là người nước nào?** – What country are you from?
- **Tôi là người Thụy Điển.** – I’m Swedish.

For example:

**A:** Xin lỗi, anh tên là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên là John.  
**A:** Anh là người nước nào?
**B:** Tôi là người Mỹ.

## When to Use “Là” in Vietnamese

One important thing to know is that **“là”** is only used before a noun, never before a verb or an adjective.

**Tôi là người Việt.** (I am Vietnamese.)  
**Tôi là cao.** (Incorrect! "Cao" means "tall" and is an adjective.)

Instead, if you want to say something like "I am tall", you just drop the **"là"** altogether:
**Tôi cao.** (I am tall.)

This is a big difference from English, where we always say "am/is/are." In Vietnamese, you only use **là** when the word after it is a noun.

## Saying Yes and No in Vietnamese

Another interesting topic of the lesson was how to say "yes" and "no". Vietnamese doesn’t use a simple "yes" or "no" like in English. Instead, you often repeat part of the question in your answer.

If someone asks:

**Anh là người Nhật, phải không?** (Are you Japanese?)

- **Dạ, phải.** (Yes, that’s correct.)
- **Dạ, không phải.** (No, that’s not correct.)

**Phải** means "correct" and **không phải** means "not correct". This pattern works for many yes/no questions.

For other types of yes/no questions, you often repeat the verb instead. If someone asks:

**Anh có hiểu không?** (Do you understand?)

- **Có.** (Yes, I do.)
- **Không.** (No, I don’t.)

It’s a little different from English, but once you get the hang of it, it makes a lot of sense. Now, onto some homework:

### First Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, anh _tên_ là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên là _John_.  
**A:** Anh là người _nước nào_?
**B:** Tôi là người _nước Mỹ_.

### Second Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _chị tên_ là gì?  
**B:** Tôi tên _là Jenny_.  
**A:** Chị là người _nước nào_?
**B:** Tôi là _người Nhật Bản_.

### Third Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _anh tên là gì_?
**B:** Tôi tên _là Martin_.  
**A:** _Anh_ là _người_ nước _nào_?
**B:** Tôi _là người Hàn Quốc_.

### Fourth Dialogue

**A:** Xin lỗi, _chị là_ người Nhật, phải không?
**B:** Đạ, không phải. Tôi là _người Việt_.  
**A:** _Chị_ tên _là gì_?  
**B:** Tôi _tên là Mỹ_.


Presentation and countries

Learning Vietnamese - Lesson 4

![{2400[x]1600}{priority}](/journal/250322/silvana-imam-at-pustervik-1.jpg)

![{2400[x]1600}](/journal/250322/silvana-imam-at-pustervik-2.jpg)

![{2400[x]1600}](/journal/250322/silvana-imam-at-pustervik-3.jpg)

![{2400[x]1600}](/journal/250322/silvana-imam-at-pustervik-4.jpg)

![{2400[x]1600}](/journal/250322/silvana-imam-at-pustervik-5.jpg)

More photos and prints at [Rockfoto](https://rockfoto.nu/artists/silvana-imam/20250322/30301)

Read the review at [GP.se](https://www.gp.se/kultur/musik/konsertrecension/recension-silvana-imam-pustervik-lordag.0737cb82-98e3-4222-8260-9cf2baeb9a48)


Silvana Imam @ Pustervik

![{2400[x]1600}{priority}](/journal/250319/learning-vietnamese-lesson-3-1.jpg)

I've now completed my **third** Vietnamese lesson! While I’m still at the beginning of my journey, I can already see how much there is to learn.

## The Importance of Tones in Vietnamese

Vietnamese is a tonal language, meaning that changing the pitch of a word can completely change its meaning. This is one of the biggest challenges for learners, but also one of the most fascinating aspects of the language.

A great example is the word **"ma"**, which can have six different meanings depending on the tone:

| Tone                     | Example | Meaning       | Pronunciation                     |
| ------------------------ | ------- | ------------- | --------------------------------- |
| **Mid (ngang)**          | ma      | ghost         | Flat, neutral                     |
| **High-rising (sắc)**    | má      | mother        | Starts mid, rises sharply         |
| **Low-falling (huyền)**  | mà      | but/which     | Starts mid, falls gently          |
| **Rising-falling (hỏi)** | mả      | grave         | Dips down, then rises again       |
| **High-broken (ngã)**    | mã      | horse         | Rises sharply with a slight break |
| **Low-stopped (nặng)**   | mạ      | rice seedling | Drops sharply and ends abruptly   |

It takes time to get used to these, but listening to native speakers and practicing with minimal pairs (words that differ only by tone) helps a lot. The pronunciation also differs between different parts of Vietnam, the hỏi and ngã tones are pronounced very similar in southern Vietnam for example.

## Mastering the Ngang and Huyền Tones

The second half of today's lesson focused on distinguishing the **ngang** (mid) and **huyền** (low-falling) tones. At first, they seemed similar, but after practicing, I realized that **ngang** is completely flat, while **huyền** has a gentle downward slope.

| Tone | Name | Description | Illustration

### Tips for Practicing

- **Listen to native speakers** and mimic their pronunciation.
- **Record yourself** saying the same word with both tones and compare.
- **Exaggerate at first**—pronouncing **huyền** with a stronger downward motion makes the difference clearer.

## The Battle Between "ê" and "e"

One thing my classmates and I struggled with was telling apart **ê** and **e**. They might look similar, but their pronunciations are quite different:

| Letter | Example     | Pronunciation Tip                                                                                                          |
| ------ | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **ê**  | "tê" (numb) | Similar to the **"ay"** in English _say_, but more closed.<br />Sounds like the e in "Hey" or "Set"                        |
| **e**  | "te" (weak) | Similar to the **"e"** in English _bet_, but slightly more open.<br />Sounds like a broken machine or like the ä in "mäta" |

### How to Practice

- **Minimal pairs**: Try saying words like _tê_ (numb) vs. _te_ (weak), _bê_ (calf) vs. _be_ (small).
- **Feel the tongue position**: For **ê**, the tongue is higher and closer to the roof of the mouth. For **e**, it's lower and more relaxed.
- **Mouth shape**: **ê** makes the lips tense, while **e** is more relaxed and open.

### Words and phrases

We also got introduced to some new words and phrases:

| Vietnamese                | English                     | Notes                                |
| ------------------------- | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Đánh vần tên bạn thế nào? | How do you spell your name? | "Đánh vần" means "to spell"          |
| Bạn hỏi                   | You ask                     | Used when asking a question          |
| Bạn nói chuyện với        | You talk to                 | "Chuyện" means conversation          |
| Bắt đầu                   | Start                       | Common for beginning activities      |
| Kết thúc                  | Finish                      | Opposite of "Bắt đầu"                |
| Nghe                      | Listen                      | Focuses on hearing actively          |
| Nói                       | Speak                       | General speaking                     |
| Đọc                       | Read                        | Reading aloud or silently            |
| Viết                      | Write                       | Writing something down               |
| Lặp lại                   | Repeat                      | Used for repetition                  |
| Rất tốt                   | Very good                   | Complimenting something well done    |
| Rất giỏi                  | Very good                   | More emphasis on skill/expertise     |
| Vâng / Dạ                 | Yes                         | "Dạ" is polite, often used formally  |
| Bây giờ                   | Now                         | Indicates present time               |
| Thực tập                  | Practice                    | Can refer to both study & internship |
| Sinh viên                 | Student                     | University/college student           |
| Học sinh                  | Student                     | Primary/secondary school student     |
| Phát âm                   | Pronunciation               | Refers to how words are spoken       |
| Luyện                     | Drill                       | Practice through repetition          |
| Ai                        | Who                         | Question word                        |
| Muốn                      | Want                        | Expressing desire or intention       |
