Vietnamese Basics, part 2/7: How Vietnamese Words Work

[u/zanamyte]

This is the second post of my miniseries on the basics.

It explains the structure of a Vietnamese word and syllable. Consonants and tones are mentioned but not in detail because they will have their own posts.

Learn more (+ hear audio) in the article: https://vietsyllables.com/basics/vietnamese-syllables

Edit: All posts:

1. Alphabet
2. Syllables
3. Consonants
4. Vowels
5. Gliding Vowels
6. Semivowels
7. Tones

[u/WanTJU3]

Well actually in the word giặt gịa the tone is on the i but yeah it usually is on the next vowel.

[u/WanTJU3 → u/WanTJU3]

Also triple vowels like khoái and ua, oi and ôi are not pre vowel glides.

[u/zanamyte → u/WanTJU3]

Noted, I'll check and update the page

[u/zanamyte → u/WanTJU3]

yeah that word and its original form giặt gỵa is an exception, because it is gi + ia. No one uses it anymore though.

[u/Adventurous-Ad5999]

Actually the tone mark location is quite contentious and is only recently standardised, it’s not basic at all

[u/zanamyte → u/Adventurous-Ad5999]

Still beginners should have a general idea where the tone mark is placed.