Syllable (Vowels with vowels)¶
We can combine vowels together to form rhymes:
a, ă, â, e, ê, o, ô, ơ, i, y, u, ư
Examples for common rhymes with pictures¶
AO, AU, ÂU¶
Tip
AO, AU sounds similar with “AO” and ÂU sounds similar with “AU” in English
The difference of these 3 is mainly based on the length of the sound
Chào – Hi¶
/Chao/¶
Tàu – Ship¶
/Tao/¶
Cầu – Bridge¶
/Kau/¶
AI, AY, ÂY¶
Tip
AI sounds similar with “AI” AY sounds similar with “AY” Â* sounds similar with “EI” in English
The difference of these 3 is mainly based on the length of the sound
Hai – Two¶
/Hai/¶
Cay – Spicy¶
/Kay/¶
Tây – West¶
/Tei/¶
Vietnamese use “Tây” to call westerner or white people too
OI, ÔI¶
Tip
OI, ÔI sounds similar with “OI” in English
The difference of these 2 is based on the length of the sound.
Nói – Speak¶
/Noi/¶
Tôi – I/me/myself¶
/Toi/¶
OE, OA¶
Tip
OE and OA have O as middle vowel so E and A are the main vowels, it sounds like W in between
Khoẻ – Fine (Greeting)¶
/Khwe/¶
Hoa – Flower¶
/Hwa/¶
EO, ÊU and ƠI¶
Tip
EO sounds similar with “EL” in English
Tip
ÊU sounds similar with “EW” in English but with Ê mouth shape
Tip
ƠI sounds similar with “OI” in English but with Ơ mouth shape
Heo – Pig (Southern Vietnamese)¶
/Hel/¶
Lều – Tent¶
/Leu/¶
Trời ơi – OMG¶
/Troi oi/¶
