English pronunciation · Words Starting with V

Vietnamese Pronunciation

Vietnamese is pronounced vee-et-nah-MEES, IPA /viˌɛtnɑˈmis/.

vee-et-nah-MEES

US /viˌɛtnɑˈmis/

Syllables: vee · et · nah · MEES (4 syllables, stress on syllable 4)

adjective and noun: Belonging to Vietnam, or the language spoken there.

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Vietnamese in a Sentence

  • The Vietnamese place on the corner does a good pho.
  • He speaks Vietnamese at home and English at work.
  • Vietnamese coffee is brewed slowly with condensed milk.

Common Mispronunciations of Vietnamese

Not vee-ET-nuh-meez

The ending -ese takes the main beat in nationality words, so the loud part is MEES at the very end.

Not vyet-nuh-MEEZ

The opening vee is its own syllable rather than a glide into the next one. That gives four parts, not three.

Tip: The final sound is a hissed s here, unlike Japanese and Chinese, which buzz. Dictionaries record both for all three.

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