Vietnamese by construction
Vietnamese · The method

Bricks, rules, and sentences of your own.

Every word you learn is a reusable brick. Checked rules combine them: you build correct sentences you never learnt by heart, then you transform them, listen to them and meet them again in real situations.

The method

Six families of bricks

Every word comes with its phonetic transcription (IPA, Hanoi accent), its audio and a meaning in context. The tone of each syllable is marked.

People
tôitoj˧ bạnɓaːn˨ˀ˩ anh ấyʔajŋ˧ ʔəj˧˥ cô ấyko˧ ʔəj˧˥ chúng tôit͡ɕuŋ˧˥ toj˧

The pronoun depends on the age of the speakers and their relationship (anh, chị, em, cô…). In the demo, bạn serves as a neutral “you”.

Actions
uốnguəŋ˧˥ ănʔan˧ điɗi˧ cókɔ˧˥ thíchtʰik˧˥

Verbs never change: tôi uống, cô ấy uống, chúng tôi uống.

Objects and places
tràt͡ɕaː˨˩ nướcnɨək˧˥ bánh mìɓajŋ˧˥ mi˨˩ Việt Namviət˨ˀ˩ naːm˧ nhà hàngɲaː˨˩ haːŋ˨˩

No articles, no gender, no plural. The place follows the verb directly: đi nhà hàng.

Operators
khôngxoŋ˧ có … khôngkɔ˧˥ … xoŋ˧ muốnmuən˧˥ gìzi˨˩ đâuɗəw˧

không goes before the verb to make it negative; a yes/no question wraps around the verb: có … không.

Patterns
Tôi uống tràS + V + O Tôi muốn uốngmuốn + V Bạn có uống không?có … không

The rules for putting bricks together. Nothing is glued word for word.

Tones
mamaː˧ màmaː˨˩ mámaː˧˥ mảmaː˧˩˧ mãmaː˧ˀ˥ mạmaː˨ˀ˩

Six tones, marked by accents. The tone is part of the word: ma, má and mạ are three different words.

In real life

The same bricks, everywhere

At a restaurant, on the move or meeting someone new, a few bricks are enough to make yourself understood.

a woman serves a steaming bowl of phở at a small street stall in Hanoi, low plastic stools, a large pot of broth
At a street stall
Chị ơi, cho tôi một bát phở.t͡ɕi˨ˀ˩ ʔəːj˧ t͡ɕɔ˧ toj˧ mot˨ˀ˩ ɓaːt˧˥ fəː˧˩˧Excuse me, miss, a bowl of phở, please.
the traveller, map in hand, asks a passer-by for directions outside Hanoi railway station, yellow façade, motorbikes and taxis
Getting around
Xin lỗi, ga Hà Nội ở đâu ạ?sin˧ loj˧ˀ˥ ɣaː˧ haː˨˩ noj˨ˀ˩ ʔəː˧˩˧ ɗəw˧ ʔaː˨ˀ˩Excuse me, where is Hanoi station?
two young people chatting on a shady bench by Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the red Thê Húc bridge in the distance
Meeting people
Bạn có thích Việt Nam không?ɓaːn˨ˀ˩ kɔ˧˥ tʰik˧˥ viət˨ˀ˩ naːm˧ xoŋ˧Do you like Vietnam?
A session

Fifteen minutes a day

Adjustable from 5 to 30 minutes. Missing a day costs you nothing: your progress waits for you.

Learner with earphones, phone in hand
3 min
Review
Today’s reviews, spaced according to how well you did.
4 min
New bricks
Two or three words, with their audio, their tone and their phonetic transcription.
5 min
Build
Five sentences to build or transform, with mistakes explained.
3 min
Listen
A question you hear, an answer to give.
the same traveller sharing a meal with Vietnamese friends around a low table, in the evening, on a busy Hanoi street; bowls of phở, fresh herbs, lanterns

Lay your first brick.

Choose your goal and your pace, and the first lesson starts straight away.

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