The Alphabet
Learn the 29 letters of the Vietnamese alphabet, including unique vowels like ă, â, and ơ, with audio so you can hear how each letter sounds.
Read moreFree Vietnamese lessons
Your Vietnamese learning hub
New to Vietnamese? Start with the alphabet and basic phrases first. Already got the basics? Pick a topic and keep building. All guides are free and written for English speakers.
Start here
If you’re just getting started, these five lessons give you a solid foundation. Learn the sounds and tones first, then pick up the most useful everyday phrases.
How to pronounce Vietnamese words
Vietnamese uses six tones that each change a word's meaning. This guide breaks down all six, explains how vowels and consonants sound, and gives practical examples for English speakers.
Read moreGreetings
Learn how to say hello, goodbye and good morning in Vietnamese. This guide also explains why Vietnamese has different words for 'you' depending on age and relationship.
Read moreYes and No in Vietnamese
Vietnamese does not have a single word for yes or no. This lesson explains how to agree and disagree using context, which is one of the most important things to understand early on.
Read moreHow are you?
Learn the most natural ways to ask how someone is in Vietnamese and how to reply, with examples for both casual and polite situations.
Read moreLearn by topic
Browse all 35 lessons organised by theme. Jump to whichever topic you need, or work through them in order.
Pronunciation
Learn the Vietnamese alphabet and how sounds work before anything else. Getting pronunciation right early makes everything easier.
The Alphabet
Learn the 29 letters of the Vietnamese alphabet, including unique vowels like ă, â, and ơ, with audio so you can hear how each letter sounds.
Read moreHow to pronounce Vietnamese words
Vietnamese uses six tones that each change a word's meaning. This guide breaks down all six, explains how vowels and consonants sound, and gives practical examples for English speakers.
Read moreGreetings & Everyday Phrases
The most practical things to learn first — how to say hello, thank you, sorry and goodbye in Vietnamese.
Greetings
Learn how to say hello, goodbye and good morning in Vietnamese. This guide also explains why Vietnamese has different words for 'you' depending on age and relationship.
Read moreHow are you?
Learn the most natural ways to ask how someone is in Vietnamese and how to reply, with examples for both casual and polite situations.
Read moreYes and No in Vietnamese
Vietnamese does not have a single word for yes or no. This lesson explains how to agree and disagree using context, which is one of the most important things to understand early on.
Read moreSorry and Excuse me
Learn different ways to say sorry and excuse me in Vietnamese.
Read moreHow to say Thank you
There are many ways to say Thank you in Vietnamese. Learn how to use them in this lesson.
Read moreHow to say You're welcome
Learn different ways that you can say You're welcome in Vietnamese.
Read moreSee you...
Learn how to say see you again, see you soon and see you later in Vietnamese.
Read moreDo you speak...?
Learn how to ask and answer the question Do you speak English?.
Read morePronouns
Vietnamese pronouns are one of the first things that surprises English speakers. Learn how age, gender and relationship determine which words you use.
Vietnamese Pronouns
Vietnamese pronouns depend on the relationship between speaker and listener. Learn how age, gender and social context affect which words you use for 'I' and 'you'.
Read moreI and You
A practical guide to the Vietnamese words for 'I' and 'you', with examples showing how to choose the right pronoun depending on who you're talking to.
Read moreHe/She/It
Learn how Vietnamese expresses 'he', 'she', 'they' and 'it', with notes on how third-person pronouns work differently from English.
Read moreNumbers
Count in Vietnamese from 0 to one billion. Numbers are useful from day one for prices, dates, times and phone numbers.
Numbers 0 to 10
A detailed guide on counting in Vietnamese from 0 to 10.
Read moreNumbers 11 to 19
A detailed guide on counting in Vietnamese from 11 to 19.
Read moreNumbers 20 to 99
A detailed guide on counting in Vietnamese from 20 to 99.
Read moreNumbers 100 to 999
A detailed guide on counting from 100 to 999 in Vietnamese.
Read moreThousands in Vietnamese
A detailed guide on counting from 1000 to 999,999 in Vietnamese.
Read moreMillion and Billion
A detailed guide on counting numbers larger than 1000 in Vietnamese.
Read moreOrdinary numbers
A detailed guide to counting ordinary numbers in Vietnamese.
Read moreEveryday Vocabulary
Common words for daily life — adjectives, verbs, family members, jobs, nationalities, colours and more.
30 Basic Adjectives
Learn 30 common Vietnamese adjectives, including words for size, colour, personality and feeling, with example sentences you can start using straight away.
Read more30 Basic Verbs
Learn 30 of the most useful Vietnamese verbs with example sentences. Vietnamese verbs don't conjugate, so the focus is on learning the words and how to use them.
Read moreFamily members
Learn the Vietnamese words for family members, including parents, siblings and grandparents, with a reference table to help you remember each one.
Read moreJobs
Learn how to say different jobs in Vietnamese in this lesson.
Read moreAsking about jobs
Learn how to ask and answer about your jobs, workplace and related questions in Vietnamese.
Read moreWhere are you from?
Learn how to ask the question where are you from in Vietnamese.
Read moreCountry names
Here is the list of Vietnamese names of countries around the world
Read moreContinents & Territories
Check out this article and learn how to say different continents, oceans & territories in Vietnamese.
Read moreWhat color is it?
Learn how to ask and answer about colors in Vietnamese.
Read moreTime & Calendar
Days of the week, months, seasons and how to tell the time in Vietnamese.
Days of the week
Learn the Vietnamese names for all seven days of the week, with examples for how to use them in everyday conversation.
Read moreMonths
Learn the Vietnamese names for all twelve months. They follow a simple numbering pattern, so once you know your numbers, this is quick to pick up.
Read moreSeasons
Learn the four seasons in Vietnamese, with vocabulary for talking about weather and what to expect at different times of year.
Read moreTime of the day
Learn the Vietnamese words for morning, afternoon, evening and night, with examples for common time expressions used in daily conversation.
Read moreWhat time is it?
Learn how to tell the time in Vietnamese.
Read moreWhat day is it?
In this lesson, you will learn how to ask and answer about date in Vietnamese.
Read moreStructured courses
Work through a complete guided sequence with flashcards, examples and practice exercises.
Introducing yourself
A beginner introduction to greeting people and introducing yourself in Vietnamese.
Read moreSuggested study order
Starting from zero? This order gives you the most useful skills first. You can also jump to any topic that interests you — there is no wrong starting point.
- 1The Vietnamese alphabet and letter sounds
Learn the 29 letters and how they sound before anything else.
- 2Vietnamese tones and pronunciation
Vietnamese is tonal — the same syllable has six different meanings depending on tone.
- 3Greetings and saying hello
Learn xin chào, chào and how to greet people in different situations.
- 4Saying yes and no
Vietnamese does not use a single word for yes or no. Understanding this early saves a lot of confusion.
- 5How to ask how someone is
Learn the most common conversation opener and how to reply naturally.
- 6Vietnamese pronouns (I, you, he, she)
Pronouns in Vietnamese depend on age and relationship. Getting this right makes conversations much more natural.
- 7Thank you, sorry and polite expressions
Essential politeness vocabulary for any interaction.
- 8Numbers 0 to 10
Numbers are useful from day one for prices, transport and telling the time.
- 9Days of the week and months
Learn to talk about when things happen.
- 10Basic adjectives and verbs
Build your vocabulary so you can start describing things and people.
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