Learn Vietnamese
Vietnamese is written in a Latin-based script, but its six tones and rich system of address terms are new territory for English speakers. This course walks you from pronunciation and tones through grammar to real phrases for food, travel, and transport across Vietnam.
Start here
Your recommended route through the course.
- START Vietnamese for English speakers — where to begin Begin with the big picture — what Vietnamese is, and how this course is organized.
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STEP 1 Sounds and script How chữ Quốc ngữ spelling works, and the sounds English speakers mishear.
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STEP 2 Grammar core Word order, no conjugation, pronouns and address terms.
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STEP 3 Verbs and time đã, đang, sẽ — time and aspect without conjugation.
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STEP 4 Questions and negation Saying no with không and chưa, and asking real questions.
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STEP 5 Classifiers and nouns cái, con, người, cuốn — the little words that count things.
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STEP 6 Vocabulary Core Vietnamese words
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STEP 7 Conversation Useful everyday phrases
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STEP 8 Numbers and time Numbers, đồng prices, telling time and dates.
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STEP 9 Food and restaurants Ordering food and drinks in Vietnam
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STEP 10 Travel Airport, hotel, directions and emergencies
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STEP 11 Transport Buses, trains, taxis and motorbikes
Browse by topic
START
What is Vietnamese?
Pronunciation
chữ Quốc ngữ, vowels and consonants, and the six tones.
- Vietnamese pronunciation for English speakers — the script and the sounds How Vietnamese spelling (chữ Quốc ngữ) works: the alphabet, vowels and combinations, consonants English speakers misread, final consonants, and why spelling is more regular than English.
- The six Vietnamese tones — a beginner's guide Vietnamese has six written tone categories: ngang, sắc, huyền, hỏi, ngã, nặng. What each sounds like, how tone marks differ from vowel marks, real minimal pairs, and the North/South difference.
Grammar
Sentence structure, pronouns and address, verbs and time.
- Basic Vietnamese grammar — the good news for English speakers Core Vietnamese grammar: SVO word order, no verb conjugation, no grammatical gender, modifiers after nouns, possession with của, demonstratives, and location/existence with ở and có.
- Vietnamese pronouns and address — tôi, bạn, and the family-term system How Vietnamese pronouns really work: tôi and bạn as the safe base, then the kinship terms anh, chị, em, cô, chú, bác, ông, bà used as 'you' and 'I' depending on age and relationship.
- Vietnamese verbs and time — no conjugation, just markers Vietnamese verbs never conjugate. How đã, đang, sẽ and time anchors like hôm qua, hôm nay, ngày mai express past, progressive and future — and why they're context-sensitive, not mechanical tense equivalents.
Sentences
Negation, questions, and classifiers.
- Vietnamese questions and negation — không, chưa, and the question words How to say no with không and chưa, how to ask yes/no questions with có...không and được không, and the core question words: ai, gì, ở đâu, khi nào, bao nhiêu, tại sao, như thế nào.
- Vietnamese classifiers — cái, con, người, cuốn and how to count Beginner's guide to Vietnamese classifiers: the counter words that sit between numbers and nouns. The high-frequency set — cái, con, người, quyển/cuốn, chiếc, cây, quả, cốc/ly — and when they appear.
Words, conversation & numbers
Core vocabulary, greetings, numbers, money, and time.
- 100+ basic Vietnamese words for beginners Core Vietnamese vocabulary for English speakers: people, greetings, places, food and drink, money, transport, time, verbs, adjectives, question words and particles — 100+ words with audio.
- 80+ useful Vietnamese phrases for travelers Essential Vietnamese phrases for beginners: greetings, introductions, yes/no answers, thanks and apologies, requests, asking for help, shopping and prices, and closing phrases — 80+ with audio.
- Vietnamese numbers, prices and telling time Vietnamese numbers 0–10, tens, hundreds, thousands and beyond; prices in đồng (₫); telling time, days and dates — with the northern 'nghìn' and southern 'ngàn' note where it matters.
Travel & food
Restaurants, getting around, and traveling in Vietnam.
- Vietnamese food and restaurants — ordering, taste, and paying Essential Vietnamese food vocabulary and restaurant phrases: phở, bánh mì, bún, cơm, cà phê, nước, trà — how to get a table, order, adjust spice and sweetness, and pay the bill.
- Vietnamese for travel — airport, hotel, directions and emergencies Essential Vietnamese travel phrases: airport and immigration, hotel check-in and requests, passport and bookings, wifi and bathrooms, asking directions, pharmacy and emergencies.
- Vietnamese transport — buses, trains, taxis and motorbikes Vietnamese transport vocabulary and phrases: xe buýt, tàu / tàu hỏa / xe lửa (regionally labelled), taxi, xe máy, xe ôm, sân bay, ga, bến xe — tickets, directions and fare talk.