Vietnamese alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

The letters "F", "J", "W" and "Z" are not part of the Vietnamese alphabet, but are used in foreign loan words. "W" (v-p)" is sometimes used in place of "" in abbreviations. In informal writing, "W", "F", and "J" are sometimes used as shorthands for "QU", "PH" and "GI" respectively.

The digraph "GH" and the trigraph "NGH" are basically replacements for "G" and "NG" that are used before "I", in order to avoid confusion with the "GI" digraph. For historical reasons, they are also used before "E" or "".

G = [] before i, , and e, [] elsewhere D and GI = [z] in the northern dialects (including Hanoi), and [j] in the central, southern and Saigon dialects.

V is pronounced [v] in the northern dialects, and [j] in the southern dialects.

R = [, ] in southern dialects

Vietnamese is a tonal language with 6 tones. These tones are marked as follows:

You can hear how to pronounce the Vietnamese letters and tones at: www.seasite.niu.edu/Vietnamese/Guide_to_Pronunciation/alphabet/alphabet_system.htm

Sample text in Vietnamese