This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in Vietnamese.
There are at least 2 i sounds in Vietnamese. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| i | i | Like "ee" sound. | i |
| i5 | i$ | German i sound. | y ɨ ʏ |
There are at least 3 e sounds in Vietnamese. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| e | e | Like "day" sound. | e |
| E | E | Like "eh" in "pet". | ɛ |
| E% | E_ | Long "eh". | ɛː |
There is at least 1 a sound in Vietnamese. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| a | a | Like "ah" in father sound. | a ɑ ä |
There are at least 3 o sounds in Vietnamese. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| o | o | Like "oh" sound. | o |
| 1 | o$ | British oah sound. | ɔ |
| 1% | o$_ | Long British oah sound. | ɔː |
There are at least 2 u sounds in Vietnamese. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| u | u | Like "oo" in "you" sound. | u |
| U | U | Like "uh" in "up" sound. | ə ɞ ɐ ɘ ʌ |
There is at least 1 m sound in Vietnamese. Notice the English m and mm have a similar shape.
| m | m | Regular m | m |
There is at least 1 n sound in Vietnamese. Notice the English n and nn have a similar shape.
| n | n | Regular n | n |
There is at least 1 q sound in Vietnamese.
| q | q | Regular ng | ŋ ɴ |
There is at least 1 d sound in Vietnamese. Notice the English d and dd have a similar shape.
| d06 | d? | Implosive d (used in Vietnamese, some African languages, etc.) | ɗ |
There is at least 1 p sound in Vietnamese.
| p | p | Regular p | p |
There are at least 3 t sounds in Vietnamese.
| t | t | Regular t | t |
| t^ | th~ | Aspirated t | tʰ |
| t4 | T | Retroflex t (used a lot in Indian languages) | ʈ |
There are at least 2 k sounds in Vietnamese.
| k | k | Regular k | k |
| k% | kh~ | Aspirated k | kʰ |
There is at least 1 h sound in Vietnamese.
| h | h | Regular h | h |
There is at least 1 y sound in Vietnamese. Notice the English y and yy have a similar shape, although the Tone yy is like a Tone OO with a tail.
| y | y | Regular y | j |
There is at least 1 w sound in Vietnamese. Notice the English w and ww have a similar shape.
| w | w | Regular w | w |
There is at least 1 ' sound in Vietnamese. This is a glottal stop in its base form.
| ' | ' | Regular ', used a lot in Hebrew and Arabic, amongst other languages | ʔ |
There is at least 1 sh sound in Vietnamese.
| x4 | X | Retroflex sh | ʂ |
There is at least 1 v sound in Vietnamese.
| v | v | Regular v | v |
There is at least 1 f sound in Vietnamese.
| f | f | Regular f | f |
There is at least 1 l sound in Vietnamese.
| l | l | Regular l | l |
There is at least 1 s sound in Vietnamese.
| s | s | Regular s | s |
There is at least 1 z sound in Vietnamese.
| z | z | Regular z | z |
There is at least 1 j sound in Vietnamese.
| j4 | J | Retroflex j | ʐ |
There is at least 1 r sound in Vietnamese.
| G | G | Velar r like the French r sound | ɣ ʁ |
There are at least 2 ch sounds in Vietnamese.
| t4x4 | TX | Retroflex ch sound (used in Chinese and Indian, for example) | ʈʂ |
| tx5 | txy~ | Palatalized ch sound (Used in Chinese, for example) | tɕ |