Vietnamese phonology

This article is a technical description of the sound system of the Vietnamese language, including phonetics and phonology. Two main varieties of Vietnamese, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, are described
below.

Contents
Initial consonants
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Reduction of consonant clusters
Comparison of initials
Vowels
Vowel nuclei
Closing sequences
Final stops
Hanoi finals
Analysis of final ch, nh
Saigon finals
Comparison of finals
Tone
Six-tone analysis
Northern varieties
Southern varieties
North-central and Central varieties
Eight-tone analysis
Syllables and phonotactics
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

Initial consonants
Initial consonants which exist only in the Hanoi dialect are in red, while those that exist only in the Saigon dialect are in blue.

Dental/
Labial Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Alveolar

Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
plain (p) t ʈʂ c k (ʔ)
Stop/
aspirated tʰ
Affricate
glottalized ɓ ɗ
plain f s ʂ x h
Fricative
voiced v z ʐ ɣ
Approximant l j w

/p/ occurs syllable-initially only inloan words, and is mostly converted into/ɓ/ (as in sâm banh, derived from French champagne).
/m, ɓ/ are bilabial, while /f, v/ are labiodental.
The glottalized stops are preglottalized and voiced:[ʔɓ, ʔɗ] (the glottis is always closed before the oral closure). This glottal closure is often not released before the release of the
oral closure, resulting in the characteristicimplosive pronunciation. However, sometimes the glottal closure is released prior to the oral release in which case the stops are
pronounced [ʔb, ʔd]. Therefore, the primary characteristic is preglottalization with implosion being secondary .
/tʰ, t/ are denti-alveolar ([t̪ʰ, t ̪]), while /ɗ, n/ are apico-alveolar.[1]
/c, ɲ/ are phonetically lamino-palatoalveolar (the blade of the tongue makes contact behind thealveolar ridge).
/c/ is often slightly affricated [t͡ɕ], but it is unaspirated. (Note that the English affricate is aspirated [t͡ʃʰ] and usually apical, unlike Vietnamese).
A glottal stop [ʔ] is inserted before words that begin with a vowel, and additionally before /w/ in the Hanoian dialect:

ăn 'to eat' /ăn/ → [ʔăn]

uỷ 'to delegate' /wi/ → [ʔwi]

Hanoi
/ʐ/ and /j/ exist only in loan words.
/s, z/ are dentalized laminal alveolar: [s̪, z̪].[2]
/l/ is apico-alveolar.[1]

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

/v/ is generally pronounced[j] in informal speech, but the speakers generally pronounce[v] when they read a text. It is always pronounced[v] in loan words (va li, ti vi etc.), even in
informal speech. There is[vj, bj, βj] that is also present among other speakers. These pronunciations are remnants of a merger and sound change involving /v/ in southern speech
(but /v/ is always present in the northern and central regions).
 Some speakers do not distinguish/s/ and /ʂ/.
Some speakers do not distinguish/c/ and /ʈʂ/.
Some speakers pronounced as [j], and gi as [z], whereas many speakers pronounce both as[j].
/s/ is apico-alveolar.[2]
/l/ is lamino-palatoalveolar: [lʲ].[2]
In southern speech, the phoneme/ʐ/, generally represented in Vietnamese linguistics by the letter ⟨r⟩, has a number of variant pronunciations that depend on the speaker . More
than one pronunciation may even be found within a single speaker. It may occur as a retroflex fricative [ʐ], an alveolar approximant [ɹ], a flap [ɾ], a trill [r], or a fricative tap/trill [ɾ̞ , r ̝].
/w/ cannot form consonant clusters.

Reduction of consonant clusters

In the Saigonese dialect, some initial consonant + u clusters have been reduced

hu /hw/ → u /w/
qu /kw/ → u /w/

Comparison of initials
In Hanoian Vietnamese, d, gi and r are all pronounced /z/, while x and s are both pronounced /s/. The table below summarizes these sound correspondences:

Syllable onsets
Example
Hanoi Saigon
word Hanoi Saigon
/v/ vợ 'wife' /vəˀ/ /və/ or /jə/
/j/ da 'skin' /ja˧/
/z/ gia 'to add' /za˧/ /za˧/ or /ja˧/
/ʐ/ ra 'to go out' /ʐa˧/
/c/ chẻ 'split' /cɛ/
/c/ /cɛ/
/ʈʂ/ trẻ 'young' /ʈʂɛ/
/s/ xinh 'beautiful' /sɨn˧/
/s/ /siŋ˧/
/ʂ/ sinh 'born' /ʂɨn˧/

Vowels

Vowel nuclei

Front Central Back

Centering /iə̯ / ⟨ia~iê⟩ /ɨə̯ / ⟨ưa~ươ⟩ /uə̯ / ⟨ua~uô⟩

Close /i/ ⟨i, y⟩ /ɨ/ ⟨ư⟩ /u/ ⟨u⟩

/ə/ ⟨ơ⟩
Close-mid/
/e/ ⟨ê⟩ /o/ ⟨ô⟩
Mid
/ə̆ / ⟨â⟩

/a/ ⟨a⟩
Open-mid/
/ɛ/ ⟨e⟩ /ɔ/ ⟨o⟩
Open
/ă/ ⟨ă⟩

The IPA chart of vowel nuclei to the right is based on the sounds in Hanoi Vietnamese; other regions may have different inventories. Vowel nuclei consist of monophthongs (simple vowels) and three
centering diphthongs.

All vowels are unrounded except for the three back rounded vowels:/u, o, ɔ/.
/ə̆ / and /ă/ are pronounced short — shorter than the other vowels.
[3]
While there are small spectral differences between /ə̆ / and /ə/, it has not been established that they are perceptually significant.
/ɨ/: Many descriptions, such as Thompson,[2] Nguyễn (1970), Nguyễn (1997), consider this vowel to beclose back unrounded: [ɯ]. However, Han's[4] instrumental analysis
indicates that it is more central than back.Hoang (1965), Brunelle (2003) and Phạm (2006) also transcribe this vowel as central.
According to Hoang (1965), /ə, ə̆ , a/ are phonetically central[ɘ, ɐ, ä], whereas /ă/ is back [ɑ].[5]
The vowels /i, u, ɨ/ become [ɪ, ʊ, ɪ̈] before /k, ŋ/: lịch /lik˩/ → [lɪk˩], chúc /cuk/ → [cʊk], thức /tʰɨk/ → [tʰɪ̈k] etc.
Thompson (1965) notes that in Hanoi the diphthongs,iê /iə̯ /, ươ /ɨə̯ /, uô /uə̯ /, may be pronounced [ie̯, ɨə̯ , uo̯ ], respectively (as the spelling in some cases suggests), but before/k,
ŋ/ and in open syllables these are always pronounced[iə̯ , ɨə̯ , uə̯ ].
In Southern Vietnamese, the high and upper-mid vowels /i, ɨ, u, e, ə, o/ are diphthongized in open syllables:[ɪi ̯, ɪ̈ɨ ̯, ʊu̯ , ɛe̯, ɜɘ̯ , ɔo̯ ]:

chị ('elder sister') /ci/ → [cɪi ̯] quê ('countryside') /we/ → [wɛe̯ ]

tư ('fourth') /tɨ/ → [tɪ̈ɨ ̯] mơ ('to dream') /mə/ → [mɜɘ̯ ]
thu ('autumn') /tʰu/ → [tʰʊu̯ ] cô ('paternal aunt') /ko/ → [kɔo̯ ]

Closing sequences
In Vietnamese, vowel nuclei are able to combinewith offglides /j/ or /w/ to form closing diphthongs and triphthongs. Below is a chart[6] listing the closing sequences of general northern speech.

/w/ offglide /j/ offglide

Front Central Back
Centering /iə̯ w/ ⟨iêu⟩ /ɨə̯ w/ ⟨ươu⟩ /ɨə̯ j/ ⟨ươi⟩ /uə̯ j/ ⟨uôi⟩
Close /iw/ ⟨iu⟩ /ɨw/ ⟨ưu⟩ /ɨj/ ⟨ưi⟩ /uj/ ⟨ui⟩
– /əj/ ⟨ơi⟩
Close-mid/
/ew/ ⟨êu⟩ /oj/ ⟨ôi⟩
Mid
/ə̆ w/ ⟨âu⟩ /ə̆ j/ ⟨ây⟩

/aw/ ⟨ao⟩ /aj/ ⟨ai⟩

Open-mid/
/ɛw/ ⟨eo⟩ /ɔj/ ⟨oi⟩
Open
/ăw/ ⟨au⟩ /ăj/ ⟨ay⟩

Thompson (1965) says that in Hanoi, words spelled withưu and ươu are pronounced /iw, iəw/, respectively, whereas other dialects in the Tonkin delta pronounce them as /ɨw/ and /ɨəw/. Hanoi speakers
that do pronounce these words with/ɨw/ and /ɨəw/ are using only a spelling pronunciation.

Final stops
When stops /p, t, k/ occur at the end of words, they haveno audible release ([p̚, t̚, k̚]):

đáp 'to reply' /ɗap/ → [ɗap̚]

mát 'cool' /mat/ → [mat̚]
khác 'different' /xak/ → [xak̚]

When the velar consonants/k, ŋ/ are after /u/, /ɔ/ and /o/, they are articulated with a simultaneous bilabial closure[k͡p,̚ ŋ͡m] (i.e. doubly articulated) or are strongly labialized [kʷ̚, ŋʷ].

đọc 'to read' /ɗɔk/ → [ɗău̯ k͡p]̚ , [ɗău̯ kʷ̚]

độc 'poison' /ɗok/ → [ɗə̆ u̯k͡p̚], [ɗə̆ u̯kʷ̚]
đục 'muddy' /ɗuk/ → [ɗʊk͡p̚], [ɗʊkʷ̚]
phòng 'room' /fɔŋ/ → [fău̯ ŋ͡m], [fău̯ ŋʷ]
ông 'man' /oŋ/ → [ə̆ u̯ŋ͡m], [ə̆ u̯ŋʷ]
ung 'cancer' /uŋ/ → [ʔʊŋ͡m], [ʔʊŋʷ]

Hanoi finals
Vietnamese rimes ending with velar consonants have been diphthongized in the Hanoian dialect:[7]

ong, oc /ɔŋ/, /ɔk/ → [ău̯ ŋm

͡ ], [ău̯ k͡p]̚
ông, ôc /oŋ/, /ok/ → [ə̆ u̯ŋ͡m], [ə̆ u̯k͡p̚]
anh, ach /ɛŋ/, /ɛk/ → [ăi ̯ŋ], [ăi ̯k̚]
ênh, êch /eŋ/, /ek/ → [ə̆ i ̯ŋ], [ə̆ i ̯k̚]

The monophthongal variants are now mainly heard in the Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh ([ɔːŋ], [ɔːk], [oːŋ], [oːk]) and a few South Central Coast dialects ([eːŋ], [eːk]), and have been diphthongized in most
Northern and Southern varieties (not to be confused with the palatalized renditions of
on [ɔːŋ], ot [ɔːk], ôn [oːŋ], ôt [oːk] in Southern varieties).

Analysis of final ch, nh

The pronunciation of syllable-final ch and nh in Hanoi Vietnamese has had different analyses. One analysis, that of Thompson (1965) has them as being phonemes /c, ɲ/, where /c/ contrasts with both
syllable-final t /t/ and c /k/ and /ɲ/ contrasts with syllable-finaln /n/ and ng /ŋ/. Final /c, ɲ/ is, then, identified with syllable-initial/c, ɲ/.

Another analysis has final ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨nh⟩ as representing predictable allophonic variants of the velar phonemes /k/ and /ŋ/ that occur after upper front vowels /i/ (orthographic ⟨i⟩) and /e/ (orthographic
⟨ê⟩). This analysis interprets orthographic⟨ach⟩ and ⟨anh⟩ as an underlying /ɛ/, which becomes phonetically open and diphthongized:/ɛk/ → [ăi̯k̟], /ɛŋ/ → [ăi̯ŋ]̟ .[8]

Arguments for the second analysis include the limited distribution of final[c] and [ɲ], the gap in the distribution of[k] and [ŋ] which do not occur after[i] and [e], the pronunciation of ⟨ach⟩ and ⟨anh⟩ as
[ɛc] and [ɛɲ] in certain conservative central dialects,[7] and the patterning of [k]~[c] and [ŋ]~[ɲ] in certain reduplicated words. Additionally, final [c] is not usually articulated as far forward as the initial
[c]: [c] and [ɲ] are pre-velar [k̟, ŋ̟].

The first analysis closely follows the surface pronunciation of a slightly different Hanoi dialect than the second. In this dialect, the /a/ in /ac/ and /aɲ/ is not diphthongized but is actually articulated more
forward, approaching a front vowel[æ]. This results in a three-way contrast between the rimesăn [æ̈n] vs. anh [æ̈ɲ] vs. ăng [æ̈ŋ]. For this reason, a separate phonemic/ɲ/ is posited.

Saigon finals
While the variety of Vietnamese spoken in Hanoi has preserved finals faithfully from old Vietnamese, the variety spoken in Saigon has drastically changed its finals. There were two steps in the
development of rimes in the Saigonese dialect from old Vietnamese. In the first step, -ch and -nh merged with -t and -n, while rimes ending in /t, n/ (except after /i, e/) merged with /k, ŋ/. In the second
step, vowels in alveolar rimes became centralized,[9] analogous to the diphthongization in the Hanoian dialect.

Comparison of finals
Below is a table of rimes ending in/n, t, ŋ, k/ for the Hanoian dialect:
 /ă/ /a/ /ɛ/ /ɔ/ /ə̆ / /ə/ /e/ /o/ /i/ /ɨ/ /u/ /iə̯ / /ɨə̯ / /uə̯ /
/n/ ăn an en on ân ơn ên ôn in ưn un iên ươn uôn
/t/ ăt at et ot ât ơt êt ôt it ưt ut iêt ươt uôt
/ŋ/ ăng ang anh ong âng – ênh ông inh ưng ung iêng ương uông
/k/ ăc ac ach oc âc – êch ôc ich ưc uc iêc ươc uôc

In the Saigonese dialect,/k, ŋ/ merged with /t, n/ after /a, i, ɛ/, and vice versa in the rest of the cases:

/ă/ /a/ /ɛ/ /ɔ/ /ə̆ / /ə/

ên
/n/ anh ênh

êt
/t/ ach êch

ăn an en on ân ơn
/ŋ/ ăng ang eng ong âng ơng

ăt at et ot ât ơt
/k/ ăc ac ec oc âc ơc

Note:

1. Combinations that changed their pronunciation due to mer

ger are bolded.

2. The Northern (Hanoian)anh, ênh and inh have a /j/ glide after the vowel.

3. The Southern (Saigonese) ot retains a regular (elongated) o vowel with a /k/ ending as opposed to the orthographic oc. Similarly, the Southern ôt retains its regular (elongated) ô vowel but bilabial
closure occurs as with the orthographicôc.

Tone
Vietnamese vowels are all pronounced with an inherent tone. Tones differ in

pitch
length
contour melody
intensity
phonation (with or without accompanying constricted vocal cords)
Unlike many Native American, African, and Chinese languages, Vietnamese tones do not rely solely on pitch contour. Vietnamese often uses instead a register complex (which is a combination of
phonation type, pitch, length, vowel quality,etc.). So perhaps a better description would be that V [10]
ietnamese is a register language and not a "pure" tonal language.

In Vietnamese orthography, tone is indicated by diacritics written above or below the vowel.

Six-tone analysis
There is much variation among speakers concerning how tone is realized phonetically. There are differences between varieties of Vietnamese spoken in the major geographic areas (northern, central,
southern) and smaller differences within the major areas (e.g. Hanoi vs. other northern varieties). In addition, there seems to be variation among individuals. More research is needed to determine the
remaining details of tone realization and the variation among speakers.

Northern varieties
The six tones in the Hanoi and other northern varieties are:

Tone name Tone ID Description Chao Tone Contour Diacritic Example

ngang "level" A1 mid level ˧ (33) (no mark) ba ('three')
huyền "hanging" A2 low falling (breathy)  (21) or (31) ` bà ('lady')
sắc "sharp" B1 mid rising, tense  (35) ´ bá ('governor')
nặng "heavy" B2 mid falling, glottalized, short ˧ˀ˨ʔ (3ˀ2ʔ) or ˧ˀ˩ʔ (3ˀ1ʔ)  ̣ bạ ('at random')
hỏi "asking" C1 mid falling(-rising), harsh  (313) or (323) or (31)  ̉ bả ('poison')
ngã "tumbling" C2 mid rising, glottalized ˧ˀ˥ (3ˀ5) or (4ˀ5) ˜ bã ('residue')

Ngang tone:

The ngang tone is level at around the mid level (33) and is produced withmodal voice phonation (i.e. with "normal" phonation). Alexandre de Rhodes (1651) describes this as
"level"; Nguyễn (1997) describes it as "high (or mid) level".
Huyền tone:

The huyền tone starts low-mid and falls (21). Some Hanoi speakers start at a somewhat higher point (31). It is sometimes accompanied breathy
by voice (or lax) phonation in
some speakers, but this is lacking in other speakers:bà = [ɓa].[11] Alexandre de Rhodes (1651) describes this as "grave-lowering";Nguyễn (1997) describes it as "low falling".
Hỏi tone:

The hỏi tone starts a mid level and falls. It starts with modal voice phonation, which moves increasingly toward tense voice with accompanying harsh voice (although the harsh
voice seems to vary according to speaker). In Hanoi, the tone is mid falling (31). In other northern speakers, the tone is mid falling and then rises back to the mid level (313 or
323). This characteristic gives this tone its traditional description as "dipping". However
, the falling-rising contour is most obvious in citation forms or when syllable-final; in other

positions and when in fast speech, the rising contour is negligible. Thehỏi also is relatively short
 positions and when in fast speech, the rising contour is negligible. Thehỏi also is relatively short
compared with the other tones, but not as short as thenặng tone. Alexandre de Rhodes (1651)
describes this as "smooth-rising";Nguyễn (1997) describes it as "dipping-rising".
Ngã tone:

The ngã tone is mid rising (35). Many speakers begin the vowel with modal voice, followed by
strong creaky voice starting toward the middle of the vowel, which is then lessening as the end of
the syllable is approached. Some speakers with more dramatic glottalization have glottal
a stop
closure in the middle of the vowel (i.e. as[VʔV]). In Hanoi Vietnamese, the tone starts at a higher
pitch (45) than other northern speakers. Alexandre de Rhodes (1651) describes this as "chesty-
raised"; Nguyễn (1997) describes it as "creaking-rising".
Sắc tone:

The sắc tone starts as mid and then rises (35) in much the same way as thengã tone. It is
accompanied by tense voice phonation throughout the duration of the vowel. In some Hanoi
speakers, the ngã tone is noticeably higher than thesắc tone, for example: sắc =  (34); ngã = ˦ˀ˥
(45). Alexandre de Rhodes (1651) describes this as "acute-angry";Nguyễn (1997) describes it as
"high (or mid) rising".
Nặng tone: Northern Vietnamese (non-Hanoi) tones as uttered by a male speaker in
isolation. From Nguyễn & Edmondson (1998)
The nặng tone starts mid or low-mid and rapidly falls in pitch (32 or 21). It starts with tense voice
that becomes increasingly tense until the vowel ends in a glottal stop closure. This tone is
noticeably shorter than the other tones. Alexandre de Rhodes (1651) describes this as "chesty-
heavy"; Nguyễn (1997) describes it as "constricted".

Southern varieties
The Southern variety is similar through all tones except for the nặng tone, which is pronounced [˨˧]. Many of
those speaking Southern dialects will omit using thengã tone and replace it with thehỏi tone.

North-central and Central varieties

North-central and Central Vietnamese varieties are fairly similar with respect to tone although within the North-
central dialect region there is considerable internal variation.
Hanoi tones as uttered by a female speaker in isolation. FromNguyễn &
It is sometimes said (by people from other provinces) that people from Nghệ An pronounce every tone as a nặng Edmondson (1998)
tone.

Eight-tone analysis
[12] This follows the lead of traditional Chinese phonology
An older analysis assumes eight tones rather than six. . In
Middle Chinese, normal syllables allowed for three tonal distinctions, but syllables ending with
/p/, /t/ or /k/ had no
tonal distinctions. Rather, they were consistently pronounced with a short high tone, which was called the entering
tone and considered a fourth tone. Similar considerations lead to the identification of two additional tones in
Vietnamese for syllables ending in /p/, /t/ and /k/. These are not phonemically distinct, however, and hence not
considered as separate tones by modern linguists.

Syllables and phonotactics

Hanoi tones as uttered by a different female speaker in isolation. From
According to Hannas (1997), there are 4,500 to 4,800 possible spoken syllables (depending on dialect), and the Nguyễn & Edmondson (1998)
standard national orthography (Quốc Ngữ) can represent 6,200 syllables (Quốc Ngữ orthography represents more
phonemic distinctions than are made by any one dialect).[13] A description of syllable structure and exploration of
[14]
its patterning according to the Prosodic Analysis approach of J.R. Firth is given in Henderson (1966).

The Vietnamese syllable structure follows the scheme:

Hanoi: (C1)(w)V(G|C2)+T

Saigon: (C1)V(G|C2)+T

where

C1 = initial consonant onset G = off-glide coda (/j/ or /w/)

w = labiovelar on-glide /w/ C2 = final consonant coda
V = vowel nucleus T = tone.

In other words, a syllable has an obligatory nucleus and tone, and can have an optional consonant
onset, an optional on-glide /w/ (Hanoi only), and an optionalcoda or off-glide.

More explicitly, the syllable types are as follows:

Syllable Example Syllable Example

V ê "eh" wV uể "sluggish"
VC ám "possess (by ghosts,.etc)" wVC oán "bear a grudge"
VC ớt "capsicum" wVC oắt "little imp"
CV nữ "female" CwV huỷ "cancel"
CVC cơm "rice" CwVC toán "math"
CVC tức "angry" CwVC hoặc "or"

C1: Any consonant may occur in as an onset with the following exceptions:

/p/ does not occur in native Vietnamese words

w: the onglide /w/ (sometimes transcribed instead aslabialization [ʷ] on a preceding consonant):

does not occur after labial consonants/ɓ, f, v, m/

does not occur after /n/ in native Vietnamese words (it occurs in uncommon Sino-Vietnamese borrowings)
absent in Saigonese, where/w/ behaves as an initial consonant: clusters/kw, hw, ŋw/ are all [w]
/i, ɨ, u, e, ə, o, ɛ, ə̆, ɔ, ă, a, iə̯, ɨə̯, uə̯/.
V: The vowel nucleus V may be any of the following 14 monophthongs or diphthongs:

G: The offglide may be /j/ or /w/. Together, V and G must form one of the diphthongs or triphthongs listed in the section onowels.
V

offglide /j/ does not follow the front vowels/i, e, ɛ, iə̯ /

offglide /w/ does not follow the rounded vowels/u, o, ɔ, uə̯ /
with some exceptions (such askhuỷu tay "elbow"), the offglide /w/ cannot occur if the syllable contains a/w/ onglide
C2: The optional coda C2 is restricted to labial, coronal, and velar stops and nasals/p, t, k, m, n, ŋ/, which cannot cooccur with the offglides /j, w/.

T: Syllables are spoken with an inherenttone contour:

Six tone contours are possible for syllables with of fglides /j, w/, closed syllables with nasal codas/m, n, ŋ/, and open syllables—i.e., those without consonant codas/p, t, k/.
If the syllable is closed with one of the oral stops/p, t, k/, only two contours are possible: thesắc and the nặng tones.

Common Vietnamese rimes [Notes]

Zero coda Off-glide coda Nasal consonant coda Stop consonant coda
∅ /j/ /w/ /m/ /n/ /ɲ/ /ŋ/ /p/ /t/ /c/ /k/
ạy ạu ặm ặn ạnh ặng ặp ặt ạch ặc
/ă/
[ăj] [ăw] [ăm] [ăn] [ăɲ] [ăŋ] [ăp] [ăt] [ăc] [ăk]
ạ, (gi)à, (gi)ả, (gi)ã,
ại ạo ạm ạn ạng ạp ạt ạc
/a/ (gi)á
[aj] [aw] [am] [an] [aŋ] [ap] [at] [ak]
[a]
ẹ ẹo ẹm ẹn ẹng ẹp ẹt ẹc
/ɛ/
[ɛ] [ɛw] [ɛm] [ɛn] [ɛŋ] [ɛp] [ɛt] [ɛk]
ọ ọi ọm ọn ọng, oọng ọp ọt ọc, oọc
/ɔ/
[ɔ] [ɔj] [ɔm] [ɔn] [ɔŋ] [ɔp] [ɔt] [ɔk]
ậy ậu ậm ận ậng ập ật ậc
/ə̆ /
[ə̆ j] [ə̆ w] [ə̆ m] [ə̆ n] [ə̆ ŋ] [ə̆ p] [ə̆ t] [ə̆ k]
ợ ợi ợm ợn ợp ợt
/ə/
[ə] [əj] [əm] [ən] [əp] [ət]
ệ ệu ệm ện ệnh ệp ệt ệch
Vowel /e/
[e] [ew] [em] [en] [??] [ep] [et] [??]
nucleus
ộ ội ộm ộn ộng, ôộng ộp ột ộc, ôộc
/o/
[o] [oj] [om] [on] [oŋ] [op] [ot] [ok]
ị, ỵ ịu ịm, ỵm ịn ịnh ịp, ỵp ịt ịch, ỵch
/i/
[i] [iw] [im] [in] [ɪɲ] [ip] [it] [ɪc]
ự ựi ựu ựng ựt ực
/ɨ/
[ɨ] [ɨj] [ɨw] [ɪ̈ŋ] [ɨt] [ɪ̈k]
ụ ụi ụm ụn ụng ụp ụt ục
/u/
[u] [uj] [um] [un] [ʊŋ] [up] [ut] [ʊk]
ịa, (g)ịa, yạ iệu, yệu iệm, yệm iện, yện iệng, yệng iệp, yệp iệt, yệt iệc
/iə/
[iə] [iəw] [iəm] [iən] [iəŋ] [iəp] [iət] [iək]
ựa ượi ượu ượm ượn ượng ượp ượt ược
/ɨə/
[ɨə] [ɨəj] [ɨəw] [ɨəm] [ɨən] [ɨəŋ] [ɨəp] [ɨət] [ɨək]
ụa uội uộm uộn uộng uột uộc
/uə/
[uə] [uəj] [uəm] [uən] [uəŋ] [uət] [uək]
oạy, oặm, oặn, oạnh, oặng, oặp, oặt, oạch, oặc,
/ʷă/ (q)uạy (q)uặm (q)uặn (q)uạnh (q)uặng (q)uặp (q)uặt (q)uạch (q)uặc
[ʷăj] [ʷăm] [ʷăn] [ʷăɲ] [ʷăŋ] [ʷăp] [ʷăt] [ʷăc] [ʷăk]
oại, oạo, oạm, oạn, oạng, oạp, oạt, oạc,
oạ, (q)uạ
/ʷa/ (q)uại (q)uạo (q)uạm (q)uạn (q)uạng (q)uạp (q)uạt (q)uạc
[ʷa]
[ʷaj] [ʷaw] [ʷam] [ʷan] [ʷaŋ] [ʷap] [ʷat] [ʷak]
oẹo, oẹm, oẹn, oẹng, oẹt,
oẹ, (q)uẹ
/ʷɛ/ (q)uẹo (q)uẹm (q)uẹn (q)uẹng (q)uẹt
[ʷɛ]
[ʷɛw] [ʷɛm] [ʷɛn] [ʷɛŋ] [ʷɛt]
Labiovelar uậy uận uậng uật
on-glide /ʷə̆ /
[ʷə̆ j] [ʷə̆ n] [ʷə̆ ŋ] [ʷə̆ t]
followed
by vowel uợ
/ʷə/
nucleus [ʷə]
uệ uệu uện uệnh uệt uệch
/ʷe/
[ʷe] [ʷew] [ʷen] [??] [ʷet] [??]
uội uộm uộn uộng uột uộc
/ʷo/
[ʷoj] [ʷom] [ʷon] [ʷoŋ] [ʷot] [ʷok]
uỵ uỵu uỵn uỵnh uỵp uỵt uỵch
/ʷi/
[ʷi] [ʷiw] [ʷin] [ʷɪɲ] [ʷip] [ʷit] [ʷɪc]
/ uỵa uyện uyệt
ʷiə/ [ʷiə] [ʷiən] [ʷiət]
Tone a /a/, à /â/, á /ǎ/, ả /a᷉ /, ã /ǎˀ/, ạ /âˀ/ á /á/, ạ /à/

^ Notes:
 Less common rimes may not be represented in this table.
The nặng tone mark (dot below) has been added to all rimes in this table for illustration purposes only
. It indicates which letter tone marks in general are added to, largely
according to the "new style" rules of Vietnamese orthography as stated inQuy tắc đặt dấu thanh trong chữ quốc ngữ. In practice, not all these rimes have real words or syllables
that have the nặng tone.
The IPA representations are based onWikipedia's conventions. Different dialects may have different pronunciations.

Notes
2

Below is a table comparing four linguists' different transcriptions of Vietnamese vowels as well as the orthographic representation. Notice that this article mostly follows Han (1966), with the exception
of marking short vowels short.

comparison of orthography & vowel descriptions

Orthography Wikipedia Thompson[2] Han[4] Nguyễn[15] Đoàn[16]

i/y i iː i i i
ê e eː e e e
e ɛ ɛː ɛ a ɛ
ư ɨ ɯː ɨ ɯ ɯ
u u uː u u u
ô o oː o o o
o ɔ ɔː ɔ ɔ ɔ
ơ ə ɤː ɜː əː ɤː
â ə̆ ʌ ɜ ə ɤ
a a æː ɐː ɐː aː
ă ă ɐ ɐ ɐ a

Thompson (1965) says that the vowels [ʌ] (orthographic â) and [ɐ] (orthographic ă) are shorter than all of the other vowels, which is shown here with the length mark [ː] added to the other vowels. His
vowels above are only the basic vowel phonemes. Thompson gives a very detailed description of each vowel's various allophonic realizations.

Han (1966) uses acoustic analysis, including spectrograms and formant measuring and plotting, to describe the vowels. She states that the primary difference between orthographic ơ & â and a & ă is a
difference of length (a ratio of 2:1). ơ = /ɜː/, â = /ɜ/; a = /ɐː/, ă = /ɐ/. Her formant plots also seem to show that /ɜː/ may be slightly higher than /ɜ/ in some contexts (but this would be secondary to the
main difference of length).

Another thing to mention about Han's studies is that she uses a rather small number of participants and, additionally, although her participants are native speakers of the Hanoi variety, they all have lived
outside of Hanoi for a significant period of their lives (e.g. inFrance or Ho Chi Minh City).

Nguyễn (1997) has a simpler, more symmetrical description. He says that his work is not a "complete grammar" but rather a "descriptive introduction." So, his chart above is more a phonological vowel
chart rather than a phonetic one.

References
1. Kirby (2011:382) 9. Phạm, Andrea Hòa (2013),"Synchronic evidence for historical hypothesis –
2. Thompson (1965) Vietnamese palatals" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278035542_SYNCHR
ONIC_EVIDENCE_FOR_HISTORICAL_HYPOTHESIS_VIETNAMESE_PALATALS),
3. Kirby (2011:384)
Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States Forum , 39
4. Han (1966)
10. Phạm (2003:93)
5. Hoang (1965:24)
11. For example, Nguyễn & Edmondson (1998)show a male speaker fromNam Định
6. From Nguyễn (1997) with lax voice and a female speaker from Hanoi with breathy voice for thehuyền tone
7. Phạm (2006) while another male speaker from Hanoi has modal voice for thehuyền.
8. Although there are some words where orthographic⟨c⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ occur after /ɛ/, these 12. Phạm (2003:45)
words are few and are mostly loanwords oronomatopoeia 13. Hannas (1997:88)
14. Henderson (1966)
15. Nguyễn (1997)
16. Đoàn (1980)

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