Section 7: Single consonants
There are 17 single consonants in Vietnamese. Most of these sounds have similar sounds in English, making them easy to pronounce.
Below are the single consonants, their pronunciation and some examples along with their pronunciation in the Northern accents:
| No | Vietnamese consonant | Name of letter | Pronunciation | Examples | Equivalent sound in English | As in |
| 1 | B – b | bê | bờ | ba – bốn – bánh | /b/ | bed, bad |
| 2 | C – c | xê | cờ | cá – cò – cóc – chắc | /k/ | can, could |
| 3 | D – d | dê | dờ | dê – dám – dành | /z/ | zip, zoo |
| 4 | Đ – đ | đê | đờ | đỏ – đá – định | /d/ | dad, don’t |
| 5 | G – g | giê | gờ | gỗ – gà – gánh | /g/ | go, get |
| 6 | H – h | hát | hờ | hổ – hỏi – học | /h/ | home, hot |
| 7 | K – k | ka | ka | kênh – kiến – kinh | /k/ | cook, can |
| 8 | L – l | e lờ | lờ | lớp – lo – lạnh | /l/ | low, look |
| 9 | M – m | e mờ | mờ | mấy – mình – làm – phim | /m/ | my, meet |
| 10 | N – n | en nờ | nờ | nó – nóng – bán – tồn | /n/ | need, now |
| 11 | P – p | pê | pờ | pao – patê – lắp – chắp | /p/ | paste, pool |
| 12 | Q – q | quy/qu | quờ | quả – quyền – quý | /kw/ | quest, queue |
| 13 | R – r | e rờ | rờ | rắn – rồng – riêng | /r/ | row, red |
| 14 | S – s | ét – xì | sờ | sông – sợ – súng | /ʃ/ | show, shut |
| 15 | T – t | tê | tờ | tiếng – tôi – tốt – mắt | /t/ | two, ten |
| 16 | V – v | vê | vờ | vở – Việt – vào | /v/ | very, vow |
| 17 | X – x | ích – xì | xờ | xu – xanh – xem | /s/ | send, sad |
Some important notes:
- The only consonant that does not appear in English is Đ/đ. To write this letter, add a “-” mark in the middle of the letter D (upper case), or a little near the top of the letter d (lower case).
- When producing sounds such as C, K, P, and T, unlike in English, there is no “explosion” when releasing the air.
- When a consonant stands at the end of a word, we do not let the air flow out like in English. We find ways to stop the airflow from the throat:
- If the word ends with the letter C, the back of the tongue is raised and the pharynx is closed.
- If the word ends with the letters M or P, the lips are sealed.
- If the word ends with the letters N or T, the tip and side of the tongue touch the upper teeth to stop the air from escaping.
Differences in pronunciation:
Some letters may be pronounced differently in specific accents:
- D/d is pronounced /j/ in the Southern accent. For example, for the words “dâu, da, dịch”:
Standard and Northern accent:
Southern accent:
- R/r is turned into /d/ in the Northern accent, making it the same as D/d. For example, for the words “rắn, rồng, rảnh”:
Standard and Southern accent:
Northern accent:
- S/s is turned into /s/ in the Northern accent, making it the same as X/x. For example, for the words “sông, sáng, sửa”:
Standard and Southern accent:
Northern accent:
Let’s have some practice :
LUYỆN TẬP:
