Vietnamese · KNLTV Bậc 1 (A1) · Chapter 1
Xin chàoHello
Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet, but the tone marks and vowel marks ARE the pronunciation. This chapter teaches the first three tones — ngang, huyền, sắc — plus the alphabet and the letter đ, then how to greet. No grammar yet — this is a tone-and-reading foundation chapter.
Dialogue
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Chào hỏi— Saying Hello
- NamXin chào!Hello!
- LinhChào!Hi! (more casual)
Dialogue
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Tạm biệt— Saying Goodbye
- NamTạm biệt!Goodbye!
- LinhChào! Tạm biệt!Bye! ("chào" works as "goodbye" too.)
Vocabulary
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- xin chào
interjectionhello
- chào
interjectionhi / bye
- tạm biệt
interjectiongoodbye
- vâng
particleyes (polite)
- dạ
particleyes (respectful)
- không
adverbno / not
- vui
adjectiveglad, happy
- ạ
particle(sentence-final politeness particle)
Script & tones
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Thanh điệu: ngang, huyền, sắc— Tones: ngang, huyền, sắc
Each tone has its own pitch contour. Say the same syllable "ma" with three different contours and you get three different words.
- no markngang (level)ma = "ghost"; the default pitch, like a held even note · ma · mid-level, flat — start in the middle of your range and hold it steady
- grave accent àhuyền (falling)mà = "but"; like a tired, sighing fall · mà · low, falling — start low and let the pitch sag down gently
- acute accent ásắc (rising)má = "cheek / mum"; like the rise in an English question · má · high, rising — start mid and push the pitch sharply up
The Vietnamese alphabet looks like the Latin one, but a few letters sound different from English. Most important: đ and d are TWO different letters.
- đdwith the bar: like the "d" in English "do" (đây = "this")
- dz (north)no bar: like "z" in the north (da = "skin", sounds like "za")
- aalike the "a" in "father"
- i / yilike the "ee" in "see"
- oolike the "aw" in "law"
- xsalways "s" — xin chào = "sin chao"
- chchlike the "ch" in "chair" (chào)
The same sound "ma", six tones for six words. Today hear the first three — the difference is pitch, not the consonant or vowel.
- mangang (level)ghost
- màhuyền (falling)but / which
- másắc (rising)cheek / mum (southern)
Now read the first greeting, watching the tone on each syllable:
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