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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Giang: Hi everyone! Welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. Giang here!
Jason: And I’m Jason! This is Pronunciation, lesson 3, Vietnamese Tones. In the last two lessons, you learned how to pronounce the 17 native consonants and their compounds, 12 single vowels, and the 29 diphthongs that make up the Vietnamese language.

Lesson focus

Giang: That’s right, and in this lesson, we’re going to talk about the tones of words.
Jason: There are 6 tones in Vietnamese that we want to introduce.
Giang: Let’s jump right in.
Jason: First, the unmarked tone, or a mid level tone.You start at the middle of your normal voice range and remain the same.
Giang: This tone is called “ngang” in Vietnamese. For example – ăn cơm, which means “to have a meal” or “quê hương”, which means “hometown”. Again, ăn cơm and quê hương.
Jason: Secondly, the gradual falling tone. You start at a fairly low level and gradually lower your voice to the lowest level.
Giang: This tone is called “huyền”. For example, “nhà hàng” which means “restaurant” or “phàn nàn” which means “to complain”. Again – nhà hàng and phàn nàn.
Jason: Thirdly, the high rising tone.You start at the middle level of your voice range then raise your voice to the highest.
Giang: This tone is called “sắc”. For example “mất tích” which means “missing” or “khóc lóc” which means “cry and cry”. Again–mất tích and khóc lóc.
Jason: Now, the fourth tone the mid-dipping falling tone. You begin at the middle of your voice and lower it quickly.
Giang: This tone is called “hỏi”. For example, bỏ dở which means “to quit in the middle of doing something” and củ tỏi which means “garlic”. Again bỏ dở and củ tỏi.
Jason: The next one is the broken rising tone. Start just a little above the normal voice range, dip down a bit then raise it suddenly.
Giang: This tone is caled “ngã”. For example ngã rẽ which means “a turn in the road” and mẫu mã which means “a model”, usually of a product. Again ngã rẽ and mẫu mã.
Jason: And finally, the heavy falling tone. Start just a little below the middle range, then fall immediately and suddenly to the lowest level. You’ll feel the constriction of the glottis when your voice falls suddenly. Try pronouncing this tone while gradually lowering your head as if you are nodding suddenly
Giang: This tone is called “nặng”. For example “học tập” which means “study” in general and “ục ịch” which means “being too fat to move normally”. Again, học tập and ục ịch.
Jason: Now, let’s practice saying words with different tones at the same time.
Giang: Firstly, combine mid level - gradual falling tone con gà which means “a chicken” and “ông bà” which means “grandparents”
Jason: Secondly, gradual falling and high rising tones.
Giang: màu sắc which means “colors in general” and “nhiều quá” which means “too much”.
Jason: Next, high-rising tone and dipping falling tone
Giang: trái phải which means left and right and “tá lả”, a Vietnamese way of playing cards.
Jason: Then dipping falling tone and broken rising tone.
Giang: “giải mã” which means “to decode” and “bản vẽ” which means “a drawing”.
Jason: Finally, broken rising and heavy falling tones
Giang: “dã ngoại” which means “a picnic” and “xã hội” which means “society”

Outro

Jason: Ok. Well, that’s everything for this lesson. Now you should have a good overall picture of the Vietnamese word structure and sound system.
Giang: Make sure you take a good look at our lesson notes, because that will help you remember better.
Jason: Also check out the lesson notes for information on the tripthongs, which we weren’t able to cover here. We’ll see you again in the next lesson about regional variation of Vietnamese pronunciation.
Giang: Tạm biệt!

Comments

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19 Comments
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VietnamesePod101.com
2013-04-24 12:00:23

Hi everyone!

Do you use tones like this in your language?

VietnamesePod101.com
2022-09-03 16:16:02

Hi Joyce,

Our team would like to send you links to some other lessons about tones below for more examples:

https://www.vietnamesepod101.com/lesson/all-about-4-basic-vietnamese-pronunciation/

https://www.vietnamesepod101.com/lesson/vietnamese-teachers-answer-your-questions-2-what-are-tones-in-vietnamese/

https://www.vietnamesepod101.com/lesson/pronunciation-4-vietnamese-accents/

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to let us know.

Best regards,

Chi

Team VietnamesePod101.com

VietnamesePod101.com
2022-08-28 03:17:08

Hi Joyce,

Thank you for your comment.

I guess your husband speaks Southern dialect, doesn't he?

In Southern dialect, usually mid dipping falling tone and broken rising tone sound quite similar to each other, and similar to how to pronounce broken rising tone in Northern dialect.

Northern dialect seems to show the clearer differences between each tone. And the woman in the audio is speaking in Northern dialect.

In this audio, I think the examples are not enough so that listener may not see the clear differences among each tone.

Our team would send you other lessons shortly for more examples and instructions regarding this topic.

Regards,

Chi

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Joyce
2022-08-22 02:25:44

The 4th tone, mid dipping falling tone, sounds very different from how my husband is pronouncing it as well as on Google Translate. When he speaks this tone, is more similar to the 5th tone, broken rising tone, where the tone is going down and then it rises like a question. But when I listen to the audio, the woman is speaking with just a falling tone like it is huyen, the 2nd tone. Could you please explain this discrepancy?

VietnamesePod101.com
2022-08-05 12:02:09

Hi Peter,

Yes, there are a lot of Vietnamese words originated from Chinese word.

Regarding the list of cognates bet VN and Chinese, you can look for "Từ điển Hán Việt" - the dictionary of Vietnamese words originating from traditional Chinese.

Regards,

Chi P

Team VietnamesePod101.com

VietnamesePod101.com
2022-08-05 11:57:21

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your question.

In Vietnamese, we have specific name for each tone so we do not use first, second, third... tone.

Both local people and Vietnamese teachers do not say like that. 😄

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Best regards,

Chi P

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Peter
2022-07-23 02:37:56

xã hội society sounds like it is related to the Chinese word "society"/"shèhuì" (社会).

Have you ever seen a list of cognates bet VN and Chinese?

Peter
2022-07-23 02:16:34

Thank you, so clear, a question --

You say: "the fourth tone the mid-dipping falling tone."

Question:

Just like the way teachers speak when teaching Mandarin Chinese (I know the Mandarin tones are different from Vietnamese tones) -- For teaching purposes in Mandarin Chinese, teachers say: first tone, second tone, third tone, fourth tone.

And just like the way, when teaching Cantonese Chinese, teachers say: first tone, second tone, third tone, fourth tone, fifth tone, sixth tone.

Is it possible to say / do people say in Vietnamese, when teaching Vietnamese: "first tone, second tone, third tone, fourth tone, fifth tone, sixth tone."

Thank you

VietnamesePod101.com
2018-02-27 11:35:36

Hi Holger,

That is a very useful link! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

Cheers,

Khanh.

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Holger
2018-01-25 02:21:23

ai - au - ay - ây -oi - ui

- ưi (this is just similar).

This makes it much easier. :-)

Holger
2018-01-23 02:16:19

No, we don't use this, no tones in German.

Thanks for the tips here, they are very helpful.

But what would be helpful too, is another example related to German.

Because a lot of times the language is closer to German consonants and vowels.

But I also get that the majority here is English speaking. :-)

Thanks for all the great resrouces, Giang, Laura and all the others.

If I'll find a link where this is compared I'll provide it here.

The best link I've found so far is:

https://people.uwm.edu/tuetrinh/files/2016/11/trinh2014vietnamesische-qxunct.pdf (Written by a native Vietnamese speaker in German)

Where at least some hints are comparing Vietnamese, Chinese and German.

~Holger

VietnamesePod101.com
2015-03-11 18:12:22

Hi Fabio,

Thank you for posting!

This series about "Pronunciation" doesn't have Lesson Materials. It is just an introduction :sunglasses:

After listening to this audio lessons, we recommend you to try this material: https://www.vietnamesepod101.com/2012/01/02/survival-phrases-1-thank-you/

Let us know if you have questions.

Cheers,

Laura

Team VietnamesePod101.com

fabio
2015-03-11 13:25:48

I can not Find Lesson Materials Could you support me?

VietnamesePod101.com
2014-09-25 00:01:37

Hi Gilbert,

Thank you for your question.

Because this is the introduction series, we did not include the audio for triphthongs.

Our purpose is to give learners an overview of Vietnamese pronunciation, so triphthongs are a bit difficult for beginners.

We will soon add it to our audio lessons.

Cheers,

Giang

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Gilbert
2014-09-21 02:22:58

Hi. Where can I find the lesson audio for Triphthongs, if any?

VietnamesePod101.com
2013-06-19 10:46:50

Hi Barry,

Good to hear that you don't have any problem with the tones. And thank you very much for your good feedback. Please continue studying with us and I'm sure you'll find more interesting parts of the Vietnamese language.

Cheers,

Giang

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Barry
2013-06-08 00:34:15

Thanks for your reply Giang, it seems the school system in Vietnam is pretty similar to the one here in England.

Actually, the tones are not a big problem for me because I speak Chinese, so I am familiar with tonal languages. At the moment it is the pronunciation and, in particular, acquiring the vocabulary which daunts me. :smile: But the resources on your website really seem good enough to conquer these problems!

VietnamesePod101.com
2013-06-06 18:36:11

Hi Barry,

Thank you very much for your questions.

Children acquire the tones naturally by listening to others and imitating. The parents only teach them the words and how to say certain words in what situations.

Children in Vietnam usually go to pre-schools from 2-3 years old. They start to learn the alphabets and simple maths at 5 years old and they enter primary school at 6 years old.

The tones are quite difficult for foreigners, but you'll get used to them soon as long as you study the Vietnamese lesson series with us.

Please feel free to leave us any more questions or comments if you have any.

Cheers,

Giang

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Barry
2013-06-06 04:23:59

Do very young Vietnamese children acquire the tones naturally, or do they have to be taught, by their parents, relations, how to say the words with the correct tones? Also, at what age do Vietnamese children begin to attend school? Cảm ơn nhiều lầm.

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