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How to Learn Vietnamese? What is the best way?
If you are a traveller and your next destination is Vietnam, chances are you would want to learn their language and communicate with the locals. But most Vietnamese would say that their official language is complicated to learn, making most tourists discouraged and will not proceed with learning the language.
When you hear someone speaking Vietnamese, you would think that it is indeed tough to learn. With its unique tones and more than enough different vowel sounds, it would be challenging to pronounce their language. Pronouncing Vietnamese words is the only tricky thing about learning the language. The whole learning and understanding of Vietnamese are relatively not that hard.
Self Learning How to Speak Vietnamese
The easiest way to learn how to speak Vietnamese is to attend classes where you can experience a person-to-person interaction way of learning. These tutorial classes will also provide you with review materials so you can study at home. You need to have the motivation for why you want to learn the Vietnamese language for you to continue learning by yourself. Your reason for learning will push you to do more than just sitting in class.
How to Self-Learn Speaking Vietnamese
Learning how to speak Vietnamese would take perseverance and practice for you to master the language. You will need to read and understand the words you hear and to speak the words you are learning slowly.
There are tons of review materials available online for download, and most of them are free. Having review materials will allow you to listen to the lines over and over again. You will notice that you are already building a rhythm of the language and the correct pronunciation. You may also use a voice recording device so that you would be able to analyze how well you are doing, or where you need to improve more.
If you have recorded conversations, one way of familiarizing yourself with the language is to repeat it as much as you like until you master their lines. Some even have transcripts of the whole conversation.
You can use your mobile device to download a recorded conversation and be able to access this review material anytime and anywhere. You may sometimes incorporate it into your favorite music playlist.
Ask help from a local to read some lines to understand the pronunciation of the words by having a natural conversation. You may start slowly and progress with an increase in speed.
Fastest Way of Learning Vietnamese
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The quickest way of learning Vietnamese is to have all the resources you can access anytime and anywhere you like. If you have the review materials with you, study phonetics and work on the tones, which will make the locals understand you more. You may also engage with a circle of people you would like to talk to and prolong conversations with them.
You can also create ways on how to memorize Vietnamese words. One way of doing this is to spend more time with your class instructor and learn the extra vowels, tone, and pronunciation.
You have to be firm with your goals on how you would learn the Vietnamese language. Another important reminder that you should know is that the Vietnamese language incorporates a significant amount of Sino-Vietnamese, derived from the Chinese language. They use the Sino-Vietnamese in different circumstances, and it has different characteristics. You will be able to find more connections within the Vietnamese language once you learn about the Sino-Vietnamese.
Phrases to Learn While in Vietnam
When traveling to different places, most people want to adopt the culture for more natural communication, transactions, and how to deal with the locals. Learning a few Vietnamese phrases will help you interact with them. Here are some of the basic phrases you need to know.
- Yes – vang (north), da (south)
- No – khong
- Thank you – Cám ơn
- I’m sorry – Xin lỗi
- Can you help me? – Ban co the giup toi duoc khong?
- No problem/you're welcome – Khong co gi
- Do you speak English? – Ban co noi duoc tieng Anh khong?
- Where's the toilet? – Nha ve sinh… o dau?
You should also learn some basic greetings in Vietnamese to show courtesy to the friendly Vietnamese people.
- Hello – Xin chào
- Goodbye – Tạm biệt
- How are you? – Ban co khoe khong?
Another set of basic Vietnamese phrases is useful when you are going out to eat. You need to know these phrases to avoid confusion when you dine out.
- Nothing too spicy, please. – Lam on moi thu khong qua cay
- I'm vegetarian – Toi an chay
- Hot (spicy) – Cay
- How much? – Bao nhieu?
- Beer – Bia
Here are some Vietnamese phrases if you love to shop.
- How much is it? – Bao nhiêu tiền?
- It is too expensive – Mắc quá
- Do you have something cheaper? – Bạn có cái nào rẻ hơn không?
Some more basic Vietnamese phrases:
- One to ten – Một, hai, ba, Bốn, năm, sáu, Bảy, tám, chín, mừơi
- Oh my god/Oh sh*t! – trời ơi- (pronounced as choy oi)
- Hey friend – Này!, Ê!
- I’m hungry/thirsty – Tôi đói / khát
- Can I have a beer please? – Cho tôi xin một vại bia được không
- I like you – Tôi thích em
- Will you marry me? – Em hãy cưới anh nhé?
- I’m just kidding – Tôi chỉ đùa thôi
Is it Hard to Learn Vietnamese?
Learning the Vietnamese language depends on your reason and motivation. Some reasons may be for work, and some people would like to learn about their trip to the country. There are significant advantages if you master the Vietnamese language, which also extends your connections. If you want to learn the Vietnamese language, you must dedicate your time and energy because it will be hard to determine if you don't have goals.
How Do I Start Learning Vietnamese?
Everybody starts with the alphabet when learning a new language. The Vietnamese alphabet has 29 letters, and it doesn't include the letters W, J, and Z in the English alphabet, which makes it essential to learn first. If you can read and pronounce the Vietnamese alphabet, it would be easier for you to read and pronounce the Vietnamese words even without understanding its meaning.
If you want to pronounce the Vietnamese language well, it would be better to have a local to help you. You may have a conversation with the locals and study the way he/she pronounces the words. Listen carefully and pay attention to how the mouth opens for each word to mark.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Vietnamese Fluently?
The study says that if you are a natural English speaker, you need 1,110 Vietnamese language class hours to learn their language, which means that it would take two to three years for you to speak Vietnamese fluently. If you have a high motivation for learning Vietnamese, you will discover it faster than the average time frame.
What is the Best Vietnamese Learning App?
Many people are becoming more interested in learning the Vietnamese language. There are plenty of reasons and needs on why people need to learn Vietnamese. Some need it for their work, and others for their leisure trip.
The fundamental way of learning Vietnamese is to join a tutorial class with an actual instructor to teach you. But nowadays, people are so dependent on their mobile gadgets in providing almost everything that they need. There are also Vietnamese learning apps that you can download and use, in which people find it convenient to learn the language. You can use the app anytime and anywhere you want, most especially if your motivation is firm. Here are the top Vietnamese learning apps that you can choose.
Bilingua – This app uses a language exchange concept that supports conversations, learning tasks, and tests for better learning. Users of this app can interact with the other users if they wish to learn Vietnamese faster and effectively.
Bilingua lets the users interact with the native speakers, allowing them to talk to each other. The app also guides learners through a language coach-bot named Shiro. Shiro conducts games and other activities to help users learn Vietnamese.
Which is Harder to Learn: Vietnamese or Chinese?
Most people say that the Vietnamese language is more complicated than the Chinese language. Those people who learned both languages would attest that Chinese is far easier than the Vietnamese language in almost all aspects, but reading. The pronunciation of Vietnamese words is also hard to master because of its six tones. Vietnamese grammar is too hard to learn, and its sentence particles make it even challenging to compose. In Chinese sentence construction, once you understand and learn a particular pattern, you can form any sentence you like, but not with Vietnamese grammar. It is better to memorize Vietnamese phrases than composing your sentences.
Vietnamese is indeed a tough language to learn, but if you are willing to learn and understand, you will be able to master the rich and complex language of the Viets.
You Can Learn Vietnamese
You can learn the Vietnamese language no matter how hard it is. There are so many ways for you to study the language and even communicate with the locals. Learning the language can give you an advantage in many aspects of life, especially if you are already fluent.
