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Home » Most Spoken Languages » 🇻🇳 Vietnamese #17 Most Spoken Language (97M speakers)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese #17 Most Spoken Language (97M speakers)

Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

Vietic • Latin alphabet (Chữ Quốc Ngữ) • Tonal • SVO (topic-comment friendly)
Number of Speakers (est.)
Native ~75–85M • Total 95M+ (diaspora across US, France, Australia)
VietnamHanoi (North)Ho Chi Minh City (South)
Family / Branch
Austroasiatic → Vietic (neighbors: Khmer, Mon)
Sino-Vietnamese layerCham & French influence
Writing System
Chữ Quốc Ngữ (Latin) with tone marks and base vowels: ă â ê ô ơ ư
6 tonesPrecomposed UnicodeNo inflectional endings
Typical Word Order
SVO, analytic grammar, classifiers, and aspect particles (đã / đang / sẽ)
Measure wordsReduplication
ISO Codes
ISO 639-1: vi • 639-2: vie • 639-3: vie
Standard: Hanoi (reference)
Difficulty (for English speakers)
Medium: tones + diacritics + classifiers; conjugation is easy
Phonemic tonesTransparent spacing
Quick Overview

Vietnamese is a tonal, analytic language written with the Latin script called Chữ Quốc Ngữ. Words don’t inflect: grammar leans on particles (đã past, đang progressive, sẽ future), sentence order, and classifiers (con, cái, chiếc, quyển/cuốn). Northern and Southern accents diverge in tone realization (notably hỏi vs ngã).

Sound & Spelling Tips
  • Six tones: ngang (no mark), sắc (´), huyền (`), hỏi (ˇ/ˀ), ngã (˜/ˀ), nặng (̣ + glottal stop).
  • Finals: m, n, ng, nh, p, t, c, ch; no clusters at word end.
  • “qu” & “gi” traps: in qu- the u is a glide; in gi- the i can be part of the consonant—tone may fall on the next vowel.
  • Core vowels: a ă â e ê i o ô ơ u ư y (tone stacks on these).
Grammar Snapshot
  • Analytic: no verb conjugation; aspect via particles: đã / đang / sẽ.
  • Classifiers: con (animals), cái (general objects), chiếc (vehicles/one item), quyển/cuốn (books), bức/tấm (flat items, photos).
  • Politeness: pronouns double as kinship terms (anh/chị/em/bác/cô/chú), shaping tone and formality.
  • Topic–comment: fronting is common for emphasis and flow.
Dialects & Register

Hanoi (North) keeps six distinct tones; Ho Chi Minh City (South) typically merges hỏi and ngã. Formal vocabulary often uses Sino-Vietnamese roots (học study, văn literature), while daily speech prefers native forms.

Sample & Breakdown

Hôm nay tôi đang học tiếng Việt.
hôm nay tôi đang học tiếng Việt
today I PROG study Vietnamese → “I’m studying Vietnamese today.”

Classifier in action: ba con mèo = “three cats”; một chiếc xe đạp = “one bicycle.”

Common Phrases
Xin chào (Hello)Chào buổi sáng (Good morning) Bạn khỏe không? (How are you?)Cảm ơn (Thank you) Làm ơn (Please)Hẹn gặp lại (See you)

Xin chào! • Cảm ơn • Tạm biệt

SEO-Friendly Notes
  • Keywords to know: Vietnamese tones, Chữ Quốc Ngữ, Hanoi vs Saigon accent, Vietnamese classifiers, tonal language.
  • Entity cues: Quốc Ngữ alphabet, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, aspect particles (đã/đang/sẽ), measure words.
  • Search intent fit: pronunciation guide, tone chart, quick classifier picker, regional differences.
FAQ (Quick)
Are tones and accents the same thing?
Tones are pitch/phonation patterns on syllables; accents refer to regional pronunciation differences.
Do verbs change with tense?
No—use particles: đã (past), đang (progressive), sẽ (future).
Do I always need a classifier?
With numerals and demonstratives, yes (e.g., ba con mèo). In general statements you can omit them.
Tone Composer (Lightweight)

Type a base syllable (with or without diacritics), pick a tone and region hint. The composer places the tone mark on the likely nucleus. (Try ma, hoa, quoc, ban, thuan.)

Note: This is a simplified model. It ignores some complex placement rules (e.g., iê/ươ/uô) and special clusters. Use it as a quick guide, not a phonological authority.

Classifier Helper (Common Patterns)

Enter a noun and a number, pick a classifier (or let the tool suggest a likely one). Region toggles quả (North) vs trái (South) for fruits.

Note: Heuristics only. Vietnamese has many nuanced classifier choices depending on context and style.

Learning Tips
  • Shadow native audio to internalize tone contours—minimal pairs like ma/má/mà/mả/mã/mạ.
  • Collect classifier phrases as chunks: một chiếc xe, hai con chó, ba quyển sách.
  • Use aspect particles early: đã ăn, đang học, sẽ đi.
Numbers (1–10)

một, hai, ba, bốn, năm, sáu, bảy, tám, chín, mười

Common Borrowings

French (ga tô < gâteau), Chinese (Sino-Vietnamese: học, văn, quốc, ngữ), English (tivi).