View source for Vietnamese alphabet

{{Short description|Latin script for the Vietnamese language}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox writing system
| name        = Vietnamese alphabet
| altname     = {{lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}
| type        = [[Alphabet]]
| typedesc    = 
| time        = 
| languages   = [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], other indigenous [[languages of Vietnam]]
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| fam4        = [[Greek alphabet]]
| fam5        = [[Latin script|Latin alphabet]]
| fam6        = [[Portuguese orthography#Diacritics|Portuguese alphabet]]
| children    = [[Bahnar language|Bahnar alphabet]], [[Cham language|Cham alphabet]], [[Nùng language (Tai)|Nùng alphabet]], [[Tày language|Tày alphabet]]<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Sidwell|editor-first=Paul|editor-last2=Jenny|editor-first2=Mathias|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia|publisher=De Gruyter|date=2021|isbn=978-3-11-055814-2|doi=10.1515/9783110558142|s2cid=242359233 |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/205815/1/10.1515_9783110558142-fm.pdf|pages=898–899}}</ref>
| creator     = [[Francisco de Pina]] and other [[Jesuits]]<ref name="Jacques 2002">{{cite book|last1=Jacques|first1=Roland|title=Portuguese Pioneers of Vietnamese Linguistics Prior to 1650 – Pionniers Portugais de la Linguistique Vietnamienne Jusqu'en 1650|date=2002|publisher=Orchid Press|location=Bangkok, Thailand|isbn=974-8304-77-9|language=en, fr}}</ref><ref name="Jacques 2004">Jacques, Roland (2004). "[http://ttntt.free.fr/archive/Roland4.html Bồ Đào Nha và công trình sáng chế chữ quốc ngữ: Phải chăng cần viết lại lịch sử?]" Translated by Nguyễn Đăng Trúc. In ''Các nhà truyền giáo Bồ Đào Nha và thời kỳ đầu của Giáo hội Công giáo Việt Nam (Quyển 1)'' – ''Les missionnaires portugais et les débuts de l'Eglise catholique au Viêt-nam (Tome 1)'' (in Vietnamese & French). Reichstett, France: Định Hướng Tùng Thư. {{ISBN|2-912554-26-8}}.</ref><ref name="Tran 2019">{{cite conference |url = https://www.academia.edu/41197889 |title = Từ Nước Mặn đến Roma: Những đóng góp của các giáo sĩ Dòng Tên trong quá trình La tinh hoá tiếng Việt ở thế kỷ 17 |last1 = Trần | first1 = Quốc Anh| last2 = Phạm | first2 = Thị Kiều Ly | date = October 2019 |publisher = Ủy ban Văn hóa, [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam]] |conference= Conference 400 năm hình thành và phát triển chữ Quốc ngữ trong lịch sử loan báo Tin Mừng tại Việt Nam |location = Ho Chi Minh City}}</ref>{{sfnp|Tran|2022}}
| sample      = 
| imagesize   = 
| note        = none
}}

The '''Vietnamese alphabet''' ({{langx|vi|''chữ Quốc ngữ'', [[chữ Nôm]]: {{Vi-nom|𡨸國語}}|lit=script of the national language|italic=unset}}, {{IPA|vi|t͡ɕɨ˦ˀ˥ kuək̚˧˦ ŋɨ˦ˀ˥|IPA}}) is the modern writing script for the [[Vietnamese language]]. It is a [[Latin script|Latin-based script]] whose spelling conventions are derived from the [[orthography]] of [[Romance languages]] such as [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[French language|French]].<ref name="Haud">Haudricourt, André-Georges (2010). [https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/92/00/64/PDF/Haudricourt1949_Peculiarities_MonKhmerStudies2010.pdf "The Origin of the Peculiarities of the Vietnamese Alphabet."] ''[[Mon-Khmer Studies]]'' 39: 89–104. Translated by Alexis Michaud from: Haudricourt, André-Georges [1949]. "L'origine Des Particularités de L'alphabet Vietnamien." ''Dân Việt Nam'' 3: 61–68.</ref>  It was originally developed by [[Francisco de Pina]] and other Jesuit missionaries in the early 17th century.<ref name="Jacques 2002" />

The Vietnamese alphabet contains 29 [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bảng chữ cái tiếng Việt có bao nhiêu chữ? |trans-title=Vietnamese alphabet |url=https://baodongnai.com.vn/doanh-nhan-doanh-nghiep/dich-vu/202406/bang-chu-cai-tieng-viet-co-bao-nhieu-chu-34611e4/ |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=baodongnai.com.vn |language=vi-VN}}</ref> including 7 letters using four [[diacritic]]s: {{vr|ă}}, {{vr|â}}, {{vr|ê}}, {{vr|ô}}, {{vr|ơ}}, {{vr|ư}}, and {{vr|đ}}. There are an additional 5 diacritics used to designate [[Tonal language|tone]] (as in {{vr|à}}, {{vr|á}}, {{vr|ả}}, {{vr|ã}}, and {{vr|ạ}}). The complex vowel system and the large number of letters with diacritics, which can stack twice on the same letter (e.g. {{lang|vi|nhất}} meaning 'first'), makes it easy to distinguish the Vietnamese orthography from other writing systems that use the [[Latin alphabets|Latin alphabet]].<ref name="Friederichsen2009">{{cite book |last1=Friederichsen |first1=Jakob Rupert |title=Opening Up Knowledge Production Through Participatory Research?: Agricultural Research for Vietnam's Northern Uplands |date=2009 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-631-58842-0 |page=126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_g8yi6E0pDAC&q=%22French+colonial+science+in+Vietnam%22&pg=PA126 |access-date=1 November 2024 |language=en|quote="[6.1.2 French colonial science in Vietnam]: With the colonial era, deep changes took place in education, communication, and ... French colonizers installed a modern European system of education to replace the literary and Confucianism-based model, they promoted a romanized Vietnamese script (Quốc Ngữ) to replace the Sino-Vietnamese characters (Hán Nôm)"}}</ref>

The Vietnamese system's use of diacritics produces an accurate transcription for [[Tonal Languages|tones]] despite the limitations of the Roman alphabet. On the other hand, sound changes in the spoken language have led to different letters, digraphs and trigraphs now representing the same sounds.

__TOC__

==Letter names and pronunciation==
{{IPA notice}}

Vietnamese uses 22 letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]]. The 4 remaining letters aren't considered part of the Vietnamese alphabet although they are used to write [[loanword]]s, languages of other ethnic groups in the country based on Vietnamese phonetics to differentiate the meanings or even Vietnamese dialects, for example: {{vr|dz}} or {{vr|z}} for southerner pronunciation of {{vr|v}} in standard Vietnamese.

In total, there are 12 vowels ({{lang|vi|nguyên âm}}) and 17 consonants ({{lang|vi|phụ âm}}, literally 'extra sound').

[[File:Vietnamese Decision 31 Cursive Chart.svg|thumb|Cursive Vietnamese alphabet]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Vietnamese alphabet<ref name="Vietnam Alphabet">{{cite web |title=Vietnam Alphabet |url=https://vietnamesetypography.com/alphabet/ |publisher=vietnamesetypography}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" scope="col" |Letter
! colspan="2" |[[Vietnamese language and computers|Input keys]]
! rowspan="2" |Name
! colspan="3" |IPA
|-
![[Telex (input method)|TELEX]]
![[VNI]]
![[Hanoi]]
![[Nghệ An province|Nghệ An]]
![[Sài Gòn]]
|-
|'''''[[A]], a'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi|a}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[Ă]], ă'''''
|<code>AW</code>
|<code>A8</code>
|{{lang|vi|á}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˩˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔaː˧˥}}
|-
|'''''[[Â]], â'''''
|<code>AA</code>
|<code>A6</code>
|{{lang|vi|ớ}}
| colspan="1" |{{IPA|ʔəː˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔəː˩˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔəː˧˥}}
|-
|[[B]], b
|
|
|{{lang|vi|bê}}
| colspan="1" |{{IPA|ʔɓe˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɓe˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔɓe˧˧}}
|-
|[[C]], c
|
|
|{{lang|vi|xê}}
|{{IPA|se˧˧}}
|{{IPA|se˧˥}}
|{{IPA|se˧˧}}
|-
|[[D]], d
|
|
|{{lang|vi|dê}}
|{{IPA|ze˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ze˧˥}}
|{{IPA|je˧˧}}
|-
|[[Đ]], đ
|<code>DD</code>
|<code>D9</code>
|{{lang|vi|đê}}
|{{IPA|ʔɗe˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɗe˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔɗe˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[E]], e'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi|e}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[Ê]], ê'''''
|<code>EE</code>
|<code>E6</code>
|{{lang|vi|ê}}
|{{IPA|ʔe˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔe˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔe˧˧}}
|-
|[[G]], g
|
|
|{{lang|vi|giê}}
|{{IPA|zə˧˧}}
|{{IPA|zə˧˥}}
|{{IPA|jə˧˧}}
|-
|[[H]], h
|
|
|{{lang|vi|hát}}
| colspan="1" |{{IPA|haːt˧˥}}
|{{IPA|haːt˩˩}}
|{{IPA|haːk˧˥}}
|-
|'''''[[I]], i'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi|i}} ngắn
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˧}}
|-
|[[K]], k
|
|
|ca
|{{IPA|kaː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|kaː˧˥}}
|{{IPA|kaː˧˧}}
|-
|[[L]], l
|
|
|e-lờ
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧ lə̤ː˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˥ ləː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧ ləː˨˩}}
|-
|[[M]], m
|
|
|em-mờ
|{{IPA|ʔɛm˧˧ mə̤ː˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛm˧˥ məː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛm˧˧ məː˨˩}}
|-
|[[N]], n
|
|
|en-nờ
|{{IPA|ʔɛn˧˧ nə̤ː˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛn˧˥ nəː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛŋ˧˧ nəː˨˩}}
|-
|'''''[[O]], o'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi| o}}
|{{IPA|ʔɔ˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɔ˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔɔ˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[Ô]], ô'''''
|<code>OO</code>
|<code>O6</code>
|{{lang|vi|ô}}
|{{IPA|ʔo˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔo˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔo˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[Ơ]], ơ'''''
|<code>OW</code>
|<code>O7</code>
|{{lang|vi|ơ}}
|{{IPA|ʔəː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔəː˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔəː˧˧}}
|-
|[[P]], p
|
|
|{{lang|vi|pê}}
|{{IPA|pe˧˧}}
|{{IPA|pe˧˥}}
|{{IPA|pe˧˧}}
|-
|[[Q]], q
|
|
|{{lang|vi|quy}}
| colspan="1" |{{IPA|kwi˧˧}}
|{{IPA|kwi˧˥}}
|{{IPA|wi˧˧}}
|-
|[[R]], r
|
|
|e-rờ
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧ zə̤ː˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˥ ɹəː˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛ˧˧ ɹəː˨˩}}
|-
|[[S]], s
|
|
|ét-si
|{{IPA|ʔɛt˧˥ si̤˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛt˩˩ si˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛk˧˥ ʂi˨˩}}
|-
|[[T]], t
|
|
|{{lang|vi|tê}}
|{{IPA|te˧˧}}
|{{IPA|te˧˥}}
|{{IPA|te˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[U]], u'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi|u}}
|{{IPA|ʔu˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔu˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔu˧˧}}
|-
|'''''[[Ư]], ư'''''
|<code>UW/W</code>
|<code>U7</code>
|{{lang|vi|ư}}
|{{IPA|ʔɨ˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɨ˧˥}}
|{{IPA|ʔɨ˧˧}}
|-
|[[V]], v
|
|
|{{lang|vi|vê}}
|{{IPA|ve˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ve˧˥}}
|{{IPA|je˧˧}}
|-
|[[X]], x
|
|
|ích-xì
|{{IPA|ʔik˧˥ si̤˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔik˩˩ si˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔɨt˧˥ si˨˩}}
|-
|'''''[[Y]], y'''''
|
|
|{{lang|vi|i dài}}
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˧ za̤ːj˨˩}}
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˥ zaːj˧˧}}
|{{IPA|ʔi˧˧ jaːj˨˩}}
|}
;Notes:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Vietnamese unused letters
|-
! rowspan="2" |Letter
! rowspan="2" |Name (when<br />pronounced)
! colspan="2" |[[Hà Nội]]
! colspan="2" |[[Nghệ An province|Nghệ An]]
! colspan="2" |[[Sài Gòn]]
|-
!IPA
!Phoneme
!IPA
!Phoneme
!IPA
!Phoneme
|-
|[[F]], f
|{{lang|vi|ép}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛp˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛp˩˩}}
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|{{IPA|ʔɛp˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|-
|[[J]], j
|{{lang|vi|gi}}
|{{IPA|zi̤˧˧}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{IPA|ji˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{IPA|ji˧˧}}
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|-
|[[W]], w
|{{lang|vi|vê kép}} / đớp lưu
|{{IPA|ve˧˧ kɛp˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|{{IPA|ve˧˥ kɛp˩˩}}
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|{{IPA|je˧˧ kɛp˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|-
|[[Z]], z
|dét
|{{IPA|zɛt˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{IPA|zɛt˩˩}}
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|{{IPA|jɛk˧˥}}
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|}

* The vowels in the table are bolded and italicized.
* The use of the terms {{lang|vi|bê bò}} or {{lang|vi|bờ bò}} to refer to {{vr|b}} and as {{lang|vi|pê phở}} or {{lang|vi|pờ phở}} to refer to {{vr|p}} is to avoid confusion in some contexts, the same for {{vr|s}} as {{lang|vi|sờ mạnh}} or {{lang|vi|sờ nặng}} (literally, 'strong s' or 'heavy s') and {{vr|x}} as {{lang|vi|xờ nhẹ}} (literally, 'light x'), {{vr|i}} as {{lang|vi|i ngắn}} (literally, 'short i') and {{vr|y}} as {{lang|vi|y dài}} (literally, 'long y').
* {{vr|q}} is always followed by {{vr|u}} in every word and phrase in Vietnamese, e.g. {{lang|vi|quần}} 'trousers', {{lang|vi|quyến rũ}} 'to attract', etc.
* The name {{lang|vi|i-cờ-rét}} for {{vr|y}} is from the French name for the letter: {{lang|fr|i grec}} (literally, 'Greek i'),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.howtopronounce.com/french/igrec/|title=Do you know How to pronounce Igrec?|website=HowToPronounce.com|language=en|access-date=2017-10-30}}</ref> referring to the letter's origin from the [[Greek alphabet|Greek letter]] ''[[upsilon]]''. The other obsolete French pronunciations include {{vr|e}} ({{IPA|/əː˧/}}) and {{vr|u}} ({{IPA|/wi˧/}}).
* The Vietnamese alphabet lacks the 4 letters {{vr|f}} ({{lang|vi|ép}}, {{lang|vi|ép-phờ}}), {{vr|j}} ({{lang|vi|gi}}), {{vr|w}} ({{lang|vi|đớp lưu}} 'double u', {{lang|vi|vê kép}}, {{lang|vi|vê đúp}} 'double v') and {{vr|z}} ({{lang|vi|giét}}). However, these letters are often used for foreign loanwords (even partially adapted ones: {{lang|vi|flo}} 'fluorine', {{lang|vi|jun}} 'joule', {{lang|vi|bazơ}} 'base') or may be kept for foreign names.
* {{vr|y}} is most commonly treated as a vowel along with {{vr|i}}. {{vr|i}} represents 'short {{IPA|/i˧/}}' and {{vr|y}} represents 'long {{IPA|/i˧/}}'. {{vr|y}} can have tones as well as other vowels ({{vr|ý}}, {{vr|ỳ}}, {{vr|ỹ}}, {{vr|ỷ}}, {{vr|ỵ}}) e.g. {{lang|vi|Mỹ}} 'America'. It may also act as a consonant (when used after {{vr|â}} and {{vr|a}}). It can sometimes be used to replace {{vr|i}}, e.g. {{lang|vi|bánh mì}} 'bread' can sometimes be written {{lang|vi|bánh mỳ}} by some people, but it is not generally considered standard or accurate.
* {{vr|s}} and {{vr|x}} are similar to each other in sound in Northern Vietnamese dialects or with some Southern Vietnamese speakers  (especially in the [[Mekong Delta|Mekong Delta region]]) and can sometimes be used interchangeably between these speakers, e.g. {{lang|vi|sương xáo}} or {{lang|vi|sương sáo}} '[[grass jelly]]'.

=== Middle Vietnamese alphabet ===
The Vietnamese alphabet in the ''[[Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum]]'' of [[Alexandre de Rhodes]] has 23 letters:
{| class="wikitable"
!Upper case
|A
|B
| rowspan="2" |ꞗ
|C
|D
| rowspan="2" |đ
|E
|G
|H
|I
|K
|L
|M
|N
|O
|P
|Q
|R
|S
|T
|V
|X
|Y
|-
!Lower case
|a
|b
|c
|d
|e
|g
|h
|i
|k
|l
|m
|n
|o
|p
|q
|r
|ſ/s
|t
|v/u
|x
|y
|}
In this dictionary, there are fewer letters than the modern alphabet. The letters ''ă'', ''â'', ''ê'', ''ô'', ''ơ'', and ''ư'' are regarded as separate letters in the modern alphabet and are used in the dictionary, but Rhodes (the author) does not regard them as separate letters. In the dictionary, a letter with diacritics, like ''à'', ''ạ'', ''ă'', ''ằ'', and ''ặ'', are not separate from the letter {{Lang|vi|a}}; ''à'', ''ạ'', ''ă'', ''ằ'', and ''ặ'' are just regarded as the letter {{Lang|vi|a}} with diacritics.

In the alphabet, there is a letter, the [[B with flourish|letter b with flourish]] ''ꞗ'', that has fallen out of use. It was used to represents the [[voiced bilabial fricative]] /β/.<ref>André-Georges Haudricourt. [https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01631486v2/document "The two b's in the Vietnamese dictionary of Alexandre de Rhodes"]. ''HAL'', Alexis Michaud dịch, trang 1.</ref>

Two letters, ''ꞗ'' and ''đ'', are neither upper nor lower case.<ref>Alexandre de Rhodes. ''Dictionarium Anamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum''. Romae, Sacra Congregationis de propaganda fide, năm 1651, trang chứa cột 65, cột 191 trong phần chính văn của sách (sách không được đánh số trang).</ref> So according to that orthography, the names of the two provinces [[Đồng Nai province|Đồng Nai]] and [[Lâm Đồng province|Lâm Đồng]] will be ''đồng Nai'' and ''Lâm đồng''. In the modern alphabet, the lower case version of ''đ'' is ''đ'', and upper case version of ''đ'' is ''Đ''.

There are two variants of minuscule ''s'': the long s, ''ſ'', and the short s, ''s''. In the modern alphabet, the long s, ''ſ'', is no longer used, and the short s, ''s'', is the only variant of s.

Normal ''v'' in the dictionary has two variants: the normal v, ''v'', and the curving-bottom v, ''u''.<ref>Kenneth J. Gregerson. "A study of Middle Vietnamese phonology". ''Bulletin de la Société des Études Indochinoises'', Nouvelle Série – Tome XLIV, Nº 2, 1969, page 151, 173.</ref> In the 17th century, ''v'' and ''u'' were not different letters, ''v'' being a variant of ''u''.<ref name="Haud" />

==Consonants==
The alphabet is largely derived from [[Portuguese orthography|Portuguese]] with some influence from [[French orthography|French]],{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} although the usage of {{vr|gh}} and {{vr|gi}} was borrowed from [[Italian orthography|Italian]] (compare {{wikt-lang|it|ghetto}}, {{wikt-lang|it|Giuseppe}}) and that for {{vr|c, k, qu}} from (Latinised) Greek and Latin (compare {{wikt-lang|la|canis}}, {{lang|la|[[wikt:κίνησις|kinesis]]}}, {{wikt-lang|la|quō vādis}}), mirroring the [[English language|English]] usage of these letters (compare {{wikt-lang|en|cat}}, {{wikt-lang|en|kite}}, {{wikt-lang|en|queen}}).

There is one [[Trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]], {{vr|ngh}}, and ten [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s: {{vr|ch}}, {{vr|gh}}, {{vr|gi}}, {{vr|kh}}, {{vr|ng}}, {{vr|nh}}, {{vr|ph}}, {{vr|qu}}, {{vr|th}}, {{vr|tr}}.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Consonants
! rowspan="3" |Grapheme
! colspan="6" |Pronunciation ([[Help:IPA/Vietnamese|IPA]])
! rowspan="3" |Notes
|-
! colspan="3" | Syllable-initial
! colspan="3" | Syllable-final
|-
! Northern
!Central
! Southern
! Northern
!Central
! Southern
|-
! B b
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ɓ}}
| colspan="3" style="background-color: #ccc;" |
|
|-
! C c
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|k}}
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|k̚}}~{{IPAslink|k̚ʷ}}
| {{vr|k}} is used instead when preceding {{vr|i, y, e, ê}}.<br />{{vr|qu}} is used instead of {{vr|co, cu}} if a {{IPA|/w/}} on-glide exists.<br />Realized as {{IPAblink|k̚ʷ}} or {{IPAblink|k͡p̚}} word-finally following rounded vowels {{vr|u, ô, o}}.
|-
! Ch ch
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}}
| colspan="2"  style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|c}}
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|k̟̚}}
| colspan="2"  style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|t̚}}
| [[Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ch.2C nh|Multiple phonemic analyses of the Northern realization of final {{vr|ch}} have been proposed]].
|-
! D d
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|z}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|j}}
| colspan="3" rowspan="9" style="background-color: #ccc;" |
| In [[Middle Vietnamese]], {{vr|d}} represented {{IPAslink|ð}}. The distinction between {{vr|d}} and {{vr|gi}} is now purely etymological in most modern dialects, although it is noted that some Southerners may pronounce {{vr|gi}} as {{IPAslink|z}} if distinction from {{vr|d}} is strictly necessary.
|-
! Đ đ
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ɗ}}
| rowspan="2" |
|-
! G g
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ɣ}}
|-
! Gh gh
| Used instead of {{vr|g}} before {{vr|i, e, ê}}, seemingly to follow the [[Italian orthography#C and G|Italian convention]]. {{vr|g}} is not allowed in these environments.
|-
! Gi gi
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|z}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|j}}~{{IPAslink|z}}
| In Middle Vietnamese, {{vr|gi}} represented {{IPAslink|ʝ}}. The distinction between {{vr|d}} and {{vr|gi}} is now purely etymological in most modern dialects, although it is noted that some Southerners may pronounce {{vr|gi}} as {{IPAslink|z}} if distinction from {{vr|d}} is strictly necessary.
Spelled {{vr|g}} before another {{vr|i}}.{{efn|This causes some ambiguity with the diphthong {{vr|ia, iê}}, for example {{lang|vi|gia}} could be either {{vr|gi}}+{{vr|a}} {{IPA|[za ~ ja]}} or {{vr|gi}}+{{vr|ia}} {{IPA|[ziə̯ ~ jiə̯]}}. If there is a [[#Tone marks|tone mark]] the ambiguity is resolved: {{lang|vi|giá}} is {{vr|gi}}+{{vr|á}} and {{lang|vi|gía}} is {{vr|gi}}+{{vr|ía}}.}}
|-
! H h
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|h}}
|
|-
! K k
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|k}}
| Used instead of {{vr|c}} before {{vr|i, y, e, ê}} to follow the [[Hard and soft C|European tradition]]. {{vr|c}} is not allowed in these environments.
|-
! Kh kh
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|x}}
| In Middle Vietnamese, {{vr|kh}} represented {{IPAblink|kʰ}}
|-
! L l
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|l}}
| rowspan="2" |
|-
! M m
| colspan="6" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|m}}
|-
! N n
| colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|n}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ŋ}}~{{IPAslink|n}}
| In Southern Vietnamese, word-final {{vr|n}} is realized as {{IPAblink|ŋ}} if not following {{vr|i, ê}}.
|-
! Ng ng
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ŋ}}
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ŋ}}~{{IPAslink|ŋʷ}}
| Realized as {{IPAblink|ŋʷ}} or {{IPAblink|ŋ͡m}} word finally after rounded vowels {{vr|u, ô, o}}.
|-
! Ngh ngh
| colspan="3" style="background-color: #ccc;" |
| Spelling used instead of {{vr|ng}} before {{vr|i, e, ê}} in accordance with {{vr|gh}}.
|-
! Nh nh
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ɲ}}
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ŋ̟}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|n}}
| [[Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ch.2C nh|Multiple phonemic analyses of the Northern realization of final {{vr|nh}} have been proposed]].
|-
! P p
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|p}}~{{IPAslink|ɓ}}
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|p̚}}
| Only occurs initially in loanwords. Some Vietnamese pronounce it as a {{vr|b}} sound instead (a similar process occurs among speakers of [[Arabic]], which lacks an unvoiced counterpart to {{IPAslink|b}}).
|-
! Ph ph
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|f}}
| colspan="3" rowspan="4" style="background-color: #ccc;" |
| In Middle Vietnamese, {{vr|ph}} represented {{IPAblink|pʰ}}
|-
! Qu qu
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | /{{IPA|[[Voiceless velar plosive|k]]}}{{IPA|[[Voiced labial–velar approximant|w]]}}/
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|w}}
| Used in place of {{vr|co, cu}} if a {{IPA|/w/}} on-glide exists.
|-
! R r
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|z}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|r}}
| Realized as {{IPAblink|ʒ}} in Northern [[spelling pronunciation]].
In southern speech, the phoneme /r/, generally represented in Vietnamese linguistics by the letter ⟨r⟩, has a number of variant pronunciations. It may occur as a retroflex fricative {{IPAblink|ʐ}}, an alveolar approximant {{IPAblink|ɹ}}, an alveolar flap {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, a trill {{IPAblink|r}}, a velar fricative {{IPAblink|ɣ}}, and a palatal approximant {{IPAblink|j}}. The last two are not considered standard.
|-
! S s
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|s}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ʂ}}
| Realized as {{IPAblink|ʃ}} in Northern [[spelling pronunciation]].
|-
! T t
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|t}}
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|t̚}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|k̚}}~{{IPAslink|t̚}}
| In Southern Vietnamese, word-final {{vr|t}} is realized as {{IPAblink|k̚}} if not following {{vr|i, ê}}.
|-
! Th th
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|tʰ}}
| colspan="3" rowspan="4" style="background-color: #ccc;" |
|
|-
! Tr tr
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|ʈ}}
| Realized as {{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}} in Northern [[spelling pronunciation]].
|-
! V v
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|v}}
| style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|j}}~{{IPAslink|v}}
| In Middle Vietnamese, it was spelled with the now-obsolete letter {{vr|[[ꞗ]]}} to represent {{IPAblink|β}}.<br />Can be realized as {{IPAblink|v}} in Southern speech through [[spelling pronunciation]] and in loanwords. In traditional performance including Cải lương, Đờn ca tài tử, Hát bội and some old speakers of Overseas Vietnamese, it is pronounced as consonant cluster {{IPA|[bj], [βj]}} or {{IPA|[vj]}}.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thompson|first=Laurence C.|date=July 1959|title=Saigon Phonemics|journal=Language|volume=35|issue=3|pages=454–476|doi=10.2307/411232|jstor=411232}}</ref>
|-
! X x
| colspan="3" style="text-align: center;" | {{IPAslink|s}}
| In Middle Vietnamese, {{vr|x}} was pronounced {{IPAblink|ɕ}}.
|}

* The consonants also called with its phoneme with {{Lang|vi|ờ}}, except {{Lang|vi|k}}. So {{Lang|vi|b}} will be {{Lang|vi|bờ}}, {{Lang|vi|c}} will be {{Lang|vi|cờ}} and so on.
{{notelist}}

==Vowels==

===Pronunciation===

The correspondence between the orthography and pronunciation is somewhat complicated. In some cases, the same letter may represent several different sounds, and different letters may represent the same sound. This is because the orthography was designed centuries ago and the spoken language has changed, as shown in the chart directly above that contrasts the difference between Middle and Modern Vietnamese.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

{{vr|i}} and {{vr|y}} are mostly equivalent, and there is no concrete rule that says when to use one or the other, except in sequences like {{vr|ay}} and {{vr|uy}} (i.e. {{lang|vi|tay}} 'arm, hand' is read as {{IPA|/tă̄j/}} while {{lang|vi|tai}} 'ear' is read as {{IPA|/tāj/}}). There have been attempts since the late 20th century to standardize the orthography by replacing {{vr|y}} with {{vr|i}} when it represents a vowel, the latest being a decision from the Vietnamese Ministry of Education in 1984. These efforts seem to have had limited effect. In textbooks published by Nhà Xuất bản Giáo dục ('Publishing House of Education'), {{vr|y}} is used to represent {{IPA|/i/}} only in [[Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary|Sino-Vietnamese]] words that are written with one letter {{vr|y}} alone (diacritics can still be added, as in {{vr|ý}}, {{vr|ỷ}}), at the beginning of a syllable when followed by {{vr|ê}} (as in {{lang|vi|yếm}}, {{lang|vi|yết}}), after {{vr|u}} and in the sequence {{vr|ay}}; therefore such forms as *{{lang|vi|lý}} and *{{lang|vi|kỹ}} are not "standard", though they are much preferred elsewhere. Most people and the popular media continue to use the spelling that they are most accustomed to.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Spelling and pronunciation in Vietnamese
|-
!scope="col"| Spelling
!scope="col"| Sound
|-
!scope="row"| a
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/a/}} ({{IPA|[æ]}} in some dialects) except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ă/}} in ''au'' {{IPA|/ăw/}} and ''ay'' {{IPA|/ăj/}} (but {{IPA|/a/}} in ''ao'' {{IPA|/aw/}} and ''ai'' {{IPA|/aj/}})<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ăj/}} before syllable-final ''nh'' {{IPA|/ŋ/}} and ''ch'' {{IPA|/k/}}, see<br>&nbsp;[[Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ch, nh|Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ''ch'', ''nh'']]<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̯/}} in ''ưa'' {{IPA|/ɨə̯/}}, ''ia'' {{IPA|/iə̯/}} and ''ya'' {{IPA|/iə̯/}}<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̯/}} in ''ua'' except after ''q''<ref group=note>''qua'' is pronounced {{IPA|/kwa/}} except in ''quay'', where it is pronounced {{IPA|/kwă/}}. When not preceded by ''q'', ''ua'' is pronounced {{IPA|/uə̯/}}.</ref>
|-
!scope="row"| ă
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ă/}}
|-
!scope="row"| â
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̆/}}
|-
!scope="row"| e
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|-
!scope="row"| ê
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/e/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̆j/}} before syllable-final ''nh'' {{IPA|/ŋ/}} and ''ch'' {{IPA|/k/}}, see<br>&nbsp;[[Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ch, nh|Vietnamese phonology#Analysis of final ''ch'', ''nh'']]<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̯/}} in ''iê'' {{IPA|/iə̯/}} and ''yê'' {{IPA|/iə̯/}}
|-
!scope="row"| i
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/i/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/j/}} after any vowel letter
|-
!scope="row"| o
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ɔ/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ăw/}} before ''ng'' and ''c''<ref group=note>However, ''oong'' and ''ooc'' are pronounced {{IPA|/ɔŋ/}} and {{IPA|/ɔk/}}.</ref><br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/w/}} after any vowel letter (= after ''a'' or ''e'')<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/w/}} before any vowel letter except ''i'' (= before ''ă'', ''a'' or ''e'')
|-
!scope="row"| ô
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/o/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̆w/}} before ''ng'' and ''c'' except after a ''u'' that is not preceded by a ''q''<ref group=note>''uông'' and ''uôc'' are pronounced {{IPA|/uə̯ŋ/}} and {{IPA|/uə̯k/}} when not preceded by a ''q''.</ref><br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̯/}} in ''uô'' except after ''q''<ref group=note>''quô'' is pronounced {{IPA|/kwo/}} except in ''quông'' and ''quôc'', where it is pronounced {{IPA|/kwə̆w/}}. When not preceded by ''q'', ''uô'' is pronounced {{IPA|/uə̯/}}.</ref>
|-
!scope="row"| ơ
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ə/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/ə̯/}} in ''ươ'' {{IPA|/ɨə̯/}}
|-
!scope="row"| u
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/u/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/w/}} after ''q'' or any vowel letter<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/w/}} before any vowel letter except ''a'', ''ô'' and ''i''<br>&nbsp;Before ''a'', ''ô'' and ''i'': {{IPA|/w/}} if preceded by ''q'', {{IPA|/u/}} otherwise
|-
!scope="row"| ư
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/ɨ/}}
|-
!scope="row"| y
| &nbsp;{{IPA|/i/}} except as below<br>&nbsp;{{IPA|/j/}} after any vowel letter except ''u'' (= after ''â'' and ''a'')
|}
{{reflist|group=note}}

The uses of {{vr|i}} and {{vr|y}} to represent the phoneme {{IPA|/i/}} can be categorized as "standard" (as used in textbooks published by Nhà Xuất bản Giáo dục) and "non-standard" as follows.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Standard spellings in Vietnamese
|-
! scope="col" | Context
! scope="col" | "Standard"
! scope="col" | "Non-standard"
|-
|In one-lettered non-Sino-Vietnamese syllables
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: í ới)
|-
|In one-lettered Sino-Vietnamese syllables
|colspan=2|y (e.g.: y học)
|-
|Syllable-initial, not followed by ''ê''
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: im lặng)
|-
|Syllable-initial, followed by ''ê''
|colspan=2|y (e.g.: yết hầu)
|-
|After ''u''
|colspan=2|y (e.g.: khuyết tật)
|-
|After ''qu'', not followed by ''ê, nh''
|y (e.g.: quý giá)
|i (e.g.: quí giá)
|-
|After ''qu'', followed by ''ê, nh''
|colspan=2|y (e.g.: xảo quyệt)
|-
|After ''b, d, đ, r, x''
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: địch thủ)
|-
|After ''g'', not followed by ''a, ă, â, e, ê, o, ô, ơ, u, ư''
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: giữ gìn)
|-
|After ''h, k, l, m, t'', not followed by any letter, in non-Sino-Vietnamese syllables
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: mí mắt)
|-
|After ''h, k, l, m, t'', not followed by any letter, in Sino-Vietnamese syllables
|i (e.g.: kì thú)
|y (e.g.: kỳ thú)
|-
|After ''ch, gh, kh, nh, ph, th''
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: ý nghĩa)
|-
|After ''n, s, v'', not followed by any letter, in non-proper-noun syllables
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: ni cô)
|-
|After ''n, s, v'', not followed by any letter, in [[proper noun]]s
|i (e.g.: Vi)
|y (e.g.: Vy)
|-
|After ''h, k, l, m, n, s, t, v'', followed by a letter
|colspan=2|i (e.g.: ngôi miếu)
|-
|In Vietnamese [[personal name]]s, after a consonant
|i
|''either'' i ''or'' y, ''depending on personal preference''
|}

This "standard" set by Nhà Xuất bản Giáo dục is not definite. It is unknown why the literature books use ''Lí'' while the history books use ''Lý''.

===Spelling===

====Vowel nuclei====

The table below shows the vowels of Hanoi Vietnamese (written in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]) and the corresponding orthographic symbols.

:{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! Sound
! Spelling
! Sound
! Spelling
! Sound
! Spelling
|- align=center
! [[Centering diphthong|Centering]]
| align=center | {{IPA|/iə̯/}} || iê/ia*
| align=center | {{IPA|/ɨə̯/}} || ươ/ưa*
| align=center | {{IPA|/uə̯/}} || uô/ua*
|- align=center
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| align=center | {{IPA|/i/}} || i, y
| align=center | {{IPA|/ɨ/}} || ư
| align=center | {{IPA|/u/}} || u
|- align=center
! rowspan="2" | [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]/<br>[[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| align=center rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/e/}} || rowspan="2" | ê
| align=center | {{IPA|/ə/}} || ơ
| align=center rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/o/}} || rowspan="2" | ô
|- align=center
| align=center | {{IPA|/ə̆/}} || â
|- align=center
! rowspan="2" | [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]/<br>[[Open vowel|Open]]
| align=center rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ɛ/}} || rowspan="2" | e
| align=center | {{IPA|/a/}} || a
| align=center rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/ɔ/}} || rowspan="2" | o
|- align=center
| align=center | {{IPA|/ă/}} || ă
|}

'''Notes''':
*The vowel {{IPA|/i/}} is:
**usually written {{vr|i}}: {{IPA|/sǐˀ/}} = {{lang|vi|sĩ}} (a suffix indicating profession, similar to the English suffix ''-er'').
**sometimes written {{vr|y}} after {{vr|h}}, {{vr|k}}, {{vr|l}}, {{vr|m}}, {{vr|n}}, {{vr|s}}, {{vr|t}}, {{vr|v}}, {{vr|x}}: {{IPA|/mǐˀ/}} = {{lang|vi|Mỹ}} 'America'
***It is always written {{vr|y}} when:
::# preceded by an orthographic vowel: {{IPA|/xwīə̯n/}} = {{lang|vi|khuyên}} 'to advise';
::# at the beginning of a word derived from Chinese (written as {{vr|i}} otherwise): {{IPA|/ʔīə̯w/}} = {{lang|vi|yêu}} 'to love'.
*The vowel {{IPA|/ɔ/}} is written {{vr|oo}} before {{vr|c}} or {{vr|ng}} (since {{vr|o}} in that position represents {{IPA|/ăw/}}): {{IPA|/ʔɔ̌k/}} = {{lang|vi|oóc}} 'organ (musical)'; {{IPA|/kǐŋ kɔ̄ŋ/}} = {{lang|vi|kính coong}}. This generally only occurs in recent loanwords or when representing dialectal pronunciation.
*Similarly, the vowel {{IPA|/o/}} is written {{vr|ôô}} before {{vr|c}} or {{vr|ng}}: {{IPA|/ʔōŋ/}} = {{wikt-lang|vi|ôông}} ([[Nghệ An]]/[[Hà Tĩnh]] variant of {{lang|vi|ông}} {{IPA|/ʔə̆̄wŋ/}}). But unlike {{vr|oo}} being frequently used in onomatopoeia, [[Orthographic transcription|transcriptions]] from other languages and words "borrowed" from Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh dialects (such as {{wikt-lang|vi|voọc}}), {{vr|ôô}} seems to be used solely to convey the feel of the Nghệ An/Hà Tĩnh accents. In transcriptions, {{vr|ô}} is preferred (e.g. {{lang|vi|các-tông}} 'cardboard', {{lang|vi|ắc-coóc-đê-ông}} 'accordion').

====Diphthongs and triphthongs====
:{| class="wikitable" align="center"
|- align="center"
! colspan="2" |
! Rising Vowels
! Rising-Falling Vowels
! colspan="2" | Falling Vowels
|- align="center"
!
! nucleus (V)
! {{IPA|/w/}} on-glides
! {{IPA|/w/}} + V + off-glide
! {{IPA|/j/}} off-glides
! {{IPA|/w/}} off-glides
|- align="center"
! rowspan="4" | [[Front vowel|front]]
! e
| {{IPA|/wɛ/}} oe/(q)ue* || {{IPA|/wɛw/}} oeo/(q)ueo* || || {{IPA|/ɛw/}} eo
|- align="center"
! ê
| {{IPA|/we/}} uê || || || {{IPA|/ew/}} êu
|- align="center"
! i
| {{IPA|/wi/}} uy || {{IPA|/wiw/}} uyu || || {{IPA|/iw/}} iu
|- align="center"
! ia/iê/yê*
| {{IPA|/wiə̯/}} uyê/uya* || || || align="center" | {{IPA|/iə̯w/}} iêu/yêu*
|- align="center"
! rowspan="6" | [[Central vowel|central]]
! a
| {{IPA|/wa/}} oa/(q)ua* || {{IPA|/waj/}} oai/(q)uai, {{IPA|/waw/}} oao/(q)uao* || {{IPA|/aj/}} ai || {{IPA|/aw/}} ao
|- align="center"
! ă
| {{IPA|/wă/}} oă/(q)uă* || {{IPA|/wăj/}} oay/(q)uay* || {{IPA|/ăj/}} ay || {{IPA|/ăw/}} au
|- align="center"
! â
| {{IPA|/wə̆/}} uâ || {{IPA|/wə̆j/}} uây || {{IPA|/ə̆j/}} ây || {{IPA|/ə̆w/}} âu
|- align="center"
! ơ
| {{IPA|/wə/}} uơ || || {{IPA|/əj/}} ơi || {{IPA|/əw/}} ơu
|- align="center"
! ư
| || || {{IPA|/ɨj/}} ưi || {{IPA|/ɨw/}} ưu
|- align="center"
! ưa/ươ*
| || || {{IPA|/ɨə̯j/}} ươi || {{IPA|/ɨə̯w/}} ươu
|- align="center"
! rowspan="4" | [[Back vowel|back]]
! o
| || || {{IPA|/ɔj/}} oi ||
|- align="center"
! ô
| || || {{IPA|/oj/}} ôi ||
|- align="center"
! u
| || || {{IPA|/uj/}} ui ||
|- align="center"
! ua/uô*
| || || {{IPA|/uə̯j/}} uôi ||
|}

'''Notes''':

The glide {{IPA|/w/}} is written:
*{{vr|u}} after {{IPA|/k/}} (spelled {{vr|q}} in this instance)
*{{vr|o}} in front of {{vr|a}}, {{vr|ă}}, or {{vr|e}} except after {{vr|q}}
*{{vr|o}} following {{vr|a}} and {{vr|e}}
* {{vr|u}} in all other cases; {{IPA|/ăw/}} is written as {{vr|au}} instead of *{{vr|ăw}} (cf. {{vr|ao}} {{IPA|/aw/}}), and that {{IPA|/i/}} is written as {{vr|y}} after {{vr|y}}

The off-glide {{IPA|/j/}} is written as {{vr|i}} except after {{vr|â}} and {{vr|ă}}, where it is written as {{vr|y}}; {{IPA|/ăj/}} is written as {{vr|ay}} instead of *{{vr|ăy}} (cf. {{lang|vi|ai}} {{IPA|/aj/}}).

The diphthong {{IPA|/iə̯/}} is written:
*{{vr|ia}} at the end of a syllable: {{IPA|/mǐə̯/}} = {{lang|vi|mía}} 'sugar cane'
*{{lang|vi|iê}} before a consonant or off-glide: {{IPA|/mǐə̯ŋ/}} = {{lang|vi|miếng}} 'piece'; {{IPA|/sīə̯w/}} = {{lang|vi|xiêu}} 'to slope, slant'
:The {{vr|i}} of the diphthong changes to {{vr|y}} after {{vr|u}}:
:*{{vr|ya}}: {{IPA|/xwīə̯/}} = {{lang|vi|khuya}} 'late at night'
:*{{vr|yê}}: {{IPA|/xwīə̯n/}} = {{lang|vi|khuyên}} 'to advise'
:{{vr|iê}} changes to {{vr|yê}} at the beginning of a syllable ({{vr|ia}} does not change):
:*{{IPA|/īə̯n/}} = {{lang|vi|yên}} 'calm'; {{IPA|/ǐə̯w/}} {{lang|vi|yếu}} 'weak, feeble'

The diphthong {{IPA|/uə̯/}} is written:
*{{vr|ua}} at the end of a syllable: {{IPA|/mūə̯/}} = {{lang|vi|mua}} 'to buy'
*{{vr|uô}} before a consonant or off-glide: {{IPA|/mūə̯n/}} = {{lang|vi|muôn}} 'ten thousand'; {{IPA|/sūə̯j/}} = {{lang|vi|xuôi}} 'down'

The diphthong {{IPA|/ɨə̯/}} is written:
*{{vr|ưa}} at the end of a syllable: {{IPA|/mɨ̄ə̯/}} = {{lang|vi|mưa}} 'to rain'
*{{vr|ươ}} before a consonant or off-glide: {{IPA|/mɨ̄ə̯ŋ/}} = {{lang|vi|mương}} 'irrigation canal'; {{IPA|/tɨ̌ə̯j/}} = {{lang|vi|tưới}} 'to water, irrigate, sprinkle'

==Tone marks==
Vietnamese is a [[tonal language]], so the meaning of each word depends on the pitch in which it is pronounced. Tones are marked in the IPA as [[suprasegmentals]] following the phonemic value. Some tones are also associated with a [[glottalization]] pattern.

There are six distinct tones in the standard northern dialect. The first one ("level tone") is not marked and the other five are indicated by diacritics applied to the vowel part of the syllable. The tone names are chosen such that the name of each tone is spoken in the tone it identifies.

In the south, there is a merging of the {{lang|vi|hỏi}} and {{lang|vi|ngã}} tones, in effect leaving five tones.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
! rowspan="2" | Order
! rowspan="2" align="center" | Diacritic
! rowspan="2" | Symbol
! colspan="2" | [[Vietnamese language and computers|Input keys]]
! rowspan="2" align="center" | Name
! rowspan="2" align="center" | IPA diacritic
! rowspan="2" align="center" | Vowels with diacritic
|-
! [[Telex (input method)|TELEX]]
! [[VNI]]
|-
| 1
| align="left" | unmarked
| N/A
| <code>Z</code>*
| <code>0</code>*
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|ngang}}
| align="left" | mid level, {{IPA|˧}}|| A/a, Ă/ă, Â/â, E/e, Ê/ê, I/i, O/o, Ô/ô, Ơ/ơ, U/u, Ư/ư, Y/y
|-
| 2
| align="left" | [[acute accent]]
| <big>á</big>
| <code>S</code>
| <code>1</code>
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|sắc}}
| align="left" | high rising, {{IPA|˧˥}}|| Á/á, Ắ/ắ, Ấ/ấ, É/é, Ế/ế, Í/í, Ó/ó, Ố/ố, Ớ/ớ, Ú/ú, Ứ/ứ, Ý/ý
|-
| 3
| align="left" | [[grave accent]]
| <big>à</big>
| <code>F</code>
| <code>2</code>
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|huyền}}
| align="left" | low falling, {{IPA|˨˩}}|| À/à, Ằ/ằ, Ầ/ầ, È/è, Ề/ề, Ì/ì, Ò/ò, Ồ/ồ, Ờ/ờ, Ù/ù, Ừ/ừ, Ỳ/ỳ
|-
| 4
| align="left" | [[hook above]]
| <big>ả</big>
| <code>R</code>
| <code>3</code>
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|hỏi}}
| align="left" | mid falling, {{IPA|˧˩}} (Northern); dipping, {{IPA|˨˩˥}} (Southern)|| Ả/ả, Ẳ/ẳ, Ẩ/ẩ, Ẻ/ẻ, Ể/ể, Ỉ/ỉ, Ỏ/ỏ, Ổ/ổ, Ở/ở, Ủ/ủ, Ử/ử, Ỷ/ỷ
|-
| 5
| align="left" | [[perispomeni]]{{efn|1=Mistakenly encoded in Unicode (and Vietnamese modifications of [[ISO-8859-1]] such as [[VISCII]], [[VPS character encoding|VPS]] or [[Windows-1258]]) as the [[tilde]]. However, the tilde (in a contemporaneous [[Portuguese alphabet|Portuguese]] typographical style with a flattened left-hand side) was used for something different in [[Middle Vietnamese]], the so-called [[Vietnamese apex]], while the tone mark was initially equated with the Greek circumflex (i.e. [[perispomeni]]), despite the "Latin [[circumflex]]" also being used for a different purpose as it still is today.{{refn|1={{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24111-vietnamese-apex.annot.pdf#page=2 |id=[[Unicode Technical Committee|UTC]] L2/24-111 |work=Annotation request for Vietnamese apex |date=2024-04-05 |first1=Minh |last1=Nguyen |first2=Kirk |last2=Miller |title=Conflict with the Unicode tilde |pages=2–3}} [Note that equating specifically U+1DD1 with the Vietnamese Apex, as proposed in that document, was opposed by the [[Medieval Unicode Font Initiative]].]{{refn|{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24103-mufi-clarification.pdf |id=[[Unicode Technical Committee|UTC]] L2/24-103 |first=Tarrin |last=Wills |date=2024-04-09 |title=Clarification of use and forms of certain combining characters}}}}}}}}
| <big>ã</big>
| <code>X</code>
| <code>4</code>
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|ngã}}
| align="left" | glottalized rising, {{IPA|˧˥ˀ}} (Northern); slightly lengthened {{lang|vi|dấu hỏi}} tone (Southern)|| Ã/ã, Ẵ/ẵ, Ẫ/ẫ, Ẽ/ẽ, Ễ/ễ, Ĩ/ĩ, Õ/õ, Ỗ/ỗ, Ỡ/ỡ, Ũ/ũ, Ữ/ữ, Ỹ/ỹ
|-
|6
| align="left" | [[dot (diacritic)#Underdot|dot below]]
| <big>ạ</big>
| <code>J</code>
| <code>5</code>
| align="center" | {{lang|vi|nặng}}
| align="left" | glottalized falling, {{IPA|˧˨ˀ}} (Northern); low rising, {{IPA|˩˧}} (Southern)|| Ạ/ạ, Ặ/ặ, Ậ/ậ, Ẹ/ẹ, Ệ/ệ, Ị/ị, Ọ/ọ, Ộ/ộ, Ợ/ợ, Ụ/ụ, Ự/ự, Ỵ/ỵ
|}

* ''*'': <code>Z</code> (in [[Telex (input method)|TELEX]]) and <code>0</code> (in [[VNI]]) keys are used to remove the mark. For example, in VNI, <code>U2</code> → {{vr|ù}}, then press <code>0</code> → {{vr|u}}.
* Unmarked vowels are pronounced with a level voice, in the middle of the speaking range.
* The grave accent indicates that the speaker should start somewhat low and drop slightly in tone, with the voice becoming increasingly [[breathy voice|breathy]].
* The hook indicates in Northern Vietnamese that the speaker should start in the middle range and fall, but in Southern Vietnamese that the speaker should start somewhat low and fall, then rise (as when asking a question in English).
* In the North, a perispomeni indicates that the speaker should start mid, break off (with a [[glottal stop]]), then start again and rise like a question in tone. In the South, it is realized identically to the Hỏi tone.
*The acute accent indicates that the speaker should start mid and rise sharply in tone.
*The dot or cross signifies in Northern Vietnamese that the speaker starts low and fall lower in tone, with the voice becoming increasingly [[creaky voice|creaky]] and ending in a [[glottal stop]].

In syllables where the vowel part consists of more than one vowel (such as diphthongs and triphthongs), the placement of the tone is still a matter of debate. Generally, there are two methodologies, an "old style" and a "new style". While the "old style" emphasizes aesthetics by placing the tone mark as close as possible to the center of the word (by placing the tone mark on the last vowel if an ending consonant part exists and on the next-to-last vowel if the ending consonant does not exist, as in {{lang|vi|hóa}}, {{lang|vi|hủy}}), the "new style" emphasizes linguistic principles and tries to apply the tone mark on the main vowel (as in {{lang|vi|hoá}}, {{lang|vi|huỷ}}). In both styles, when one vowel already has a quality diacritic on it, the tone mark must be applied to it as well, regardless of where it appears in the syllable (thus {{lang|vi|thuế}} is acceptable while {{lang|vi|*thúê}} is not). In the case of the {{vr|ươ}} diphthong, the mark is placed on the {{vr|ơ}}. The {{vr|u}} in {{vr|qu}} is considered part of the consonant. Currently, the new style is usually used in textbooks published by {{lang|vi|Nhà Xuất bản Giáo dục}}, while most people still prefer the old style in casual uses. Among Overseas Vietnamese communities, the old style is predominant for all purposes.

In lexical ordering, differences in letters are treated as primary, differences in tone markings as secondary and differences in case as tertiary differences. (Letters include for instance {{vr|a}} and {{vr|ă}} but not {{vr|ẳ}}. Older dictionaries also treated digraphs and trigraphs like {{vr|ch}} and {{vr|ngh}} as base letters.<ref>See for example {{cite book |author1=Lê Bá Khanh |author2=Lê Bá Kông |title=Vietnamese–English / English–Vietnamese Dictionary |orig-year=1975 |edition=7th |year=1998 |publisher=[[Hippocrene Books]] |location=New York City |isbn=0-87052-924-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780870529245 }}</ref>) Ordering according to primary and secondary differences proceeds syllable by syllable. According to this principle, a dictionary lists {{lang|vi|tuân thủ}} before {{lang|vi|tuần chay}} because the secondary difference in the first syllable takes precedence over the primary difference in the second syllable.

==Structure==
In the past, syllables in multisyllabic words were concatenated with hyphens, but this practice has died out and hyphenation is now reserved for word-borrowings from other languages. A written syllable consists of at most three parts, in the following order from left to right:
#An optional beginning consonant part
#A required vowel [[syllable nucleus]] and the tone mark, if needed, applied above or below it
#An ending consonant part, can only be one of the following: {{vr|c}}, {{vr|ch}}, {{vr|m}}, {{vr|n}}, {{vr|ng}}, {{vr|nh}}, {{vr|p}}, {{vr|t}}, or nothing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://omniglot.com/writing/vietnamese.htm|title=vietnamese Alphabet|language=en|website=Omniglot.com|date=2014}}</ref>

==History==
{{further|History of writing in Vietnam|Vietnamese language and computers}}
[[File:L-2360-a 0008 1 t24-C-R0072.jpg|thumb|upright|A page from Alexandre de Rhodes' 1651 dictionary]]
Since the beginning of the [[Han dynasty|Chinese]] rule in 111 BC, literature, government papers, scholarly works, and religious scripture were all written in [[classical Chinese]] ({{Vi-nom|漢文}}, {{lang|vi|[[Literary Chinese in Vietnam|Hán văn]]}}) while indigenous writing with {{Lang|vi|[[chữ Hán]]}} started around the ninth century.{{sfn|Kornicki|2017|p=568}} In the 12th century, several Vietnamese words began to be written in ''{{lang|vi|[[chữ Nôm]]}}'', adapted from [[Chinese characters]]. The system was based on Chinese characters but supplemented with Vietnamese-invented characters to represent native Vietnamese words. These characters were adapted or created [[Chinese character classification|using methods]] such as phono-semantic compounds ({{Vi-nom|形聲}}, {{lang|vi|hình thanh}}), double-phonetic compounds ({{Vi-nom|會音}}, {{lang|vi|hội âm}}), and borrowing the character for its pronunciation ({{Vi-nom|假借}}, {{lang|vi|giả tá}}).

=== Name ===
People have called the Latinized script of Vietnamese {{lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}} at least since 1867.<ref>John DeFrancis. ''Colonialism and Language Policy in Viet Nam''. The Hague, Mouton Publishers, 1977, page 82–84.</ref> In 1867, scholar [[Trương Vĩnh Ký]] published two grammar books. The first book is {{lang|vi|Mẹo luật dạy học tiếng pha-lang-sa}} (Tips to teach and learn French), a Vietnamese book written in {{lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ|italics=no}} about French grammar. In this book, the Latinized script of Vietnamese was called {{lang|vi|chữ quốc ngự}} (not {{lang|vi|ngữ}}). The second book is {{lang|fr|Abrégé de grammaire annamite}} (Simplification of Annamite grammar), a French book about Vietnamese grammar. In this book, the Latinized script of Vietnamese was called {{lang|fr|l'alphabet européen}} (European alphabet), {{lang|fr|les caractères latins}} (Latin characters). On [[Gia Dinh Bao]] April 15th issue of 1867, when mentioned the French book about Vietnamese grammar, the name {{lang|vi|chữ quốc ngữ}} was used to indicate the Latinized script of Vietnamese.<ref>John DeFrancis. ''Colonialism and Language Policy in Viet Nam''. The Hague, Mouton Publishers, 1977, page 82.</ref>

=== Creation of {{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}} ===
As early as 1620, with the work of [[Francisco de Pina]], Portuguese and Italian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[missionary|missionaries]] in Vietnam began using Latin script to transcribe the Vietnamese language as an assistance for learning the language.<ref name="Jacques 2002" /><ref name="Tran 2019" /> The work was continued by the Avignonese [[Alexandre de Rhodes]]. Building on previous dictionaries by [[Gaspar do Amaral]] and [[António Barbosa (missionary)|António Barbosa]], Rhodes compiled the {{lang|la|[[Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum]]}}, a Vietnamese&ndash;Portuguese&ndash;Latin dictionary, which was later printed in Rome in 1651, using their spelling system.<ref name="Jacques 2002" /><ref name="Tran 2018">{{cite journal |last1=Tran|first1=Anh Q. |title=The Historiography of the Jesuits in Vietnam: 1615–1773 and 1957–2007 |journal=Jesuit Historiography Online |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/jesuit-historiography-online/the-historiography-of-the-jesuits-in-vietnam-16151773-and-19572007-COM_210470 |publisher=Brill |date=October 2018 }}</ref> These efforts led eventually to the development of the present Vietnamese alphabet. For 200 years, {{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}} was used within the Catholic community.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=106}}<ref name="Ostrowski">{{cite book |last1=Ostrowski|first1=Brian Eugene |editor1-last=Wilcox|editor1-first=Wynn |title=Vietnam and the West: New Approaches |date=2010|publisher=SEAP Publications, Cornell university Press |location=Ithaca, New York|isbn=9780877277828|pages=23, 38 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EvqKqpSCpaEC&pg=PA23|chapter=The Rise of Christian Nôm Literature in Seventeenth-Century Vietnam: Fusing European Content and Local Expression}}</ref> However, works written in the Vietnamese alphabet saw limited use, while Catholic texts in ''chữ Nôm'' were significantly more widespread. {{lang|vi|Chữ Nôm}} thus remained the principal writing system used by Vietnamese Catholics during this period.<ref name="Ostrowski" />

=== Colonial period ===
In 1910, the [[French Indochina|French colonial administration]] enforced {{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quoc-ngu|title=Quoc-ngu {{!}} Vietnamese writing system|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref> The Latin alphabet then became a means to publish Vietnamese popular literature, which was disparaged as vulgar by the Chinese-educated imperial elites.<ref name="Nguyên Tùng pp. 135-149">Nguyên Tùng, "Langues, écritures et littératures au Viêt-nam", ''Aséanie, Sciences humaines en Asie du Sud-Est'', Vol. 2000/5, pp. 135-149.</ref> Historian Pamela A. Pears asserted that by instituting the Latin alphabet in Vietnam, the French cut the Vietnamese from their traditional Hán Nôm literature.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0InWkpBI0wC&q=vietnamese+alphabet&pg=PA18|title=Remnants of Empire in Algeria and Vietnam: Women, Words and War|author=Pamela A. Pears|year=2006|publisher=Lexington Books|page=18|isbn=0-7391-2022-0|access-date=2010-11-28}}</ref> An important reason why Latin script became the standard writing system in Vietnam but not in [[Cambodia]] and [[Laos]], which were both dominated by the French for a similar amount of time under the same colonial framework, had to do with the [[Nguyễn dynasty|Nguyễn Emperors]] of Vietnam heavily promoting its usage.<ref name="Người-Việt-Daily-News-Thoát-Hán-2018">{{cite web|url= https://www.nguoi-viet.com/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/quoc-ngu-va-no-luc-thoat-han-cua-cac-vua-nha-nguyen/|title= Quốc ngữ và nỗ lực 'thoát Hán' của các vua nhà Nguyễn.|date=12 September 2018|accessdate=15 September 2021|author= Nguyễn Quang Duy|publisher= Người Việt Daily News|language=vi}}</ref> According to the historian [[Liam Kelley (historian)|Liam Kelley]] in his 2016 work "Emperor Thành Thái’s Educational Revolution" neither the French nor the revolutionaries had enough power to spread the usage of {{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}} down to the village level.<ref name="Người-Việt-Daily-News-Thoát-Hán-2018"/> It was by the imperial decree of Emperor [[Thành Thái]] in 1906 that parents could decide whether their children would follow a curriculum in {{Lang|vi|Hán văn}} ({{Vi-nom|漢文}}) or {{Lang|vi|Nam âm}} ({{Vi-nom|南音}}, 'Southern sound', the contemporary Vietnamese name for ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'').<ref name="Người-Việt-Daily-News-Thoát-Hán-2018"/> This decree was issued at the same time when other social changes, such as the cutting of long male hair, were occurring.<ref name="Người-Việt-Daily-News-Thoát-Hán-2018"/> The main reason for the popularisation of the Latin alphabet in Vietnam/Đại Nam during the Nguyễn dynasty (the [[Annam (French protectorate)|French protectorates of Annam]] and [[Tonkin (French protectorate)|Tonkin]]) was because of the pioneering efforts by intellectuals from [[French Cochinchina]] combined with the progressive and scientific policies of the French government in French Indochina that created the momentum for the usage of ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'' to spread.<ref name="Người-Việt-Daily-News-Thoát-Hán-2018"/>

{{blockquote|From the first days it was recognized that the Chinese language was a barrier between us and the natives; the education provided by means of the hieroglyphic characters was completely beyond us; this writing makes possible only with difficulty transmitting to the population the diverse ideas which are necessary for them at the level of their new political and commercial situation. Consequently we are obliged to follow the traditions of our own system of education; it is the only one which can bring close to us the Annamites of the colony by inculcating in them the principles of European civilization and isolating them from the hostile influence of our neighbors.{{sfn|Li|2020|p=107}}|In a letter dated January 15, 1866, Paulin Vial, Directeur du Cabinet du Gouverneur de la Cochinchine}}

Since the 1920s, the Vietnamese mostly use ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'', and new Vietnamese terms for new items or words are often calqued from Hán Nôm. Some French had originally planned to replace Vietnamese with French, but this never was a serious project, given the small number of French settlers compared with the native population. The French had to reluctantly accept the use of ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'' to write Vietnamese since this writing system, created by Portuguese missionaries, is based on Portuguese orthography, not French.<ref name="TBS">{{cite web |author1=Trần Bích San |title=Thi cử và giáo dục Việt Nam dưới thời thuộc Pháp |url=http://www.vanhoanghean.com.vn/component/k2/28-van-hoa-hoc-duong/11200-thi-cu-va-giao-duc-viet-nam-duoi-thoi-thuoc-phap |language=vi |access-date=2020-09-24 |archive-date=2020-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924164125/http://www.vanhoanghean.com.vn/component/k2/28-van-hoa-hoc-duong/11200-thi-cu-va-giao-duc-viet-nam-duoi-thoi-thuoc-phap |url-status=dead }} Note 3. "The French had to accept reluctantly the existence of chữ quốc ngữ. The propagation of chữ quốc ngữ in Cochinchina was, in fact, not without resistance [by French authority or pro-French Vietnamese elite] [...] Chữ quốc ngữ was created by Portuguese missionaries according to the phonemic orthography of Portuguese language. The Vietnamese could not use chữ quốc ngữ to learn French script. The French would mispronounce chữ quốc ngữ in French orthography, particularly people's names and place names. Thus, the French constantly disparaged chữ quốc ngữ because of its uselessness in helping with the propagation of French script."</ref>

==== Mass education ====
Between 1907 and 1908, the short-lived [[Tonkin Free School]] promulgated ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'' and taught French language to the general population.

In 1917, the French system suppressed Vietnam's [[Imperial examination|Confucian examination system]], viewed as an aristocratic system linked with the "ancient regime", thereby forcing Vietnamese elites to educate their offspring in the French language education system. 
While traditional nationalists favoured the Confucian examination system and the use of [[chữ Hán]], Vietnamese revolutionaries, progressive nationalists, and pro-French elites viewed the French education system as a means to "liberate" the Vietnamese from old Chinese domination and the unsatisfactory "outdated" Confucian examination system, to democratize education and to help bridge Vietnamese to European philosophies.

The French colonial system then set up another educational system, teaching Vietnamese as a first language using ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'' in primary school and then the French language (taught in ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}''). Hundreds of thousands of textbooks for primary education began to be published in ''{{Lang|vi|chữ Quốc ngữ}}'', with the unintentional result of turning the script into the popular medium for the expression for Vietnamese culture.<ref name="Anderson, Benedict. 1991, pp. 128">Anderson, Benedict. 1991. ''Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism''. London: Verso. pp. 127-128.</ref>

=== Late 20th century to present ===
Typesetting and printing Vietnamese has been challenging due to its number of accents/diacritics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wellisch |first=Hans H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVRiAAAAMAAJ&q=printer's+nightmare |title=The Conversion of Scripts, Its Nature, History, and Utilization |date=1978 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-01620-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXxkAAAAMAAJ&q=typesetting+nightmare |title=Language Monthly |date=1987 |publisher=Praetorius |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sassoon |first=Rosemary |url=http://archive.org/details/acquisitionofsec0000sass |title=The acquisition of a second writing system |date=1995 |publisher=Oxford [England] : Intellect |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-871516-43-2}}</ref> This had led to the use of accent and diacritic-less names in [[Overseas Vietnamese]], such as ''Viet'' instead of the proper ''Việt''. Contemporary Vietnamese texts sometimes include words which have not been adapted to modern Vietnamese orthography, especially for documents written in [[chữ Hán]]. The Vietnamese language itself has been likened to a system akin to [[ruby character]]s elsewhere in Asia. French, which left a mark on the Vietnamese language in the form of [[French language in Vietnam|loanwords and other influences]], is no longer as widespread in Vietnam, with [[English language|English]] or [[International English]] the preferred European language for commerce.

====Computing====
{{main|Vietnamese language and computers}}
[[File:Về.png|thumb|Different ways in which tone marks can be presented on letters that already have diacritic, e.g. (`) on letter ê when computerising Vietnamese]]
The universal character set [[Unicode]] has full support for the Latin Vietnamese writing system, although it does not have a separate segment for it. The required characters that other languages use are scattered throughout the [[Basic Latin (Unicode block)|Basic Latin]], [[Latin-1 Supplement]], [[Latin Extended-A]] and [[Latin Extended-B]] blocks; those that remain (such as the letters with ''dau hoi'') are placed in the [[Latin Extended Additional]] block. An [[ASCII]]-based writing convention, [[VIQR|Vietnamese Quoted Readable]] and several byte-based encodings including [[VSCII|VSCII (TCVN)]], VNI, [[VISCII]] and [[Windows-1258]] were widely used before Unicode became popular. Most new documents now exclusively use the Unicode format [[UTF-8]].

Unicode allows the user to choose between [[precomposed character]]s and [[combining character]]s in inputting Vietnamese. Because in the past some fonts implemented combining characters in a nonstandard way (see [[Verdana#Combining characters bug|Verdana font]]), most people use precomposed characters when composing Vietnamese-language documents (except on Windows where [[Windows-1258]] used combining characters).

Most keyboards on modern phone and computer operating systems, including iOS,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anh |first=Hao |date=2021-09-21 |title=Hướng dẫn gõ tiếng Việt trên iOS 15 bằng tính năng lướt phím QuickPath |url=https://ictnews.vietnamnet.vn/san-pham-so/thu-thuat/huo-ng-da-n-go-tie-ng-vie-t-tren-ios-15-ba-ng-quickpath-393644.html |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=VietNamNet |language=vi}}</ref> Android<ref>{{Cite web |title=Set up Gboard on Android |url=https://support.google.com/gboard/answer/6380730?visit_id=636779931281375154-2572284319&rd=1#languages&zippy=,find-supported-languages |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=Google Support}}</ref> and MacOS,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phan |first=Kim Long |title=UniKey in macOS and iOS |url=https://www.unikey.org/en/apple.html |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=UniKey |language=en}}</ref> have now supported the Vietnamese language and direct input of diacritics by default. Previously, Vietnamese users had to manually install [[free software]] such as [[UniKey (software)|Unikey]] on computers or Laban Key on phones to type Vietnamese diacritics. These keyboards support input methods such as [[Telex (IME)|Telex]].

=====Unicode code points=====
The following table provides Unicode code points for all non-ASCII Vietnamese letters.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! Unmarked !! Grave !! Hook !! Perispomeni !! Acute !! Dot
|-
| || ̀ (U+0300) || ̉ (U+0309) || ̃ (U+0303) || ́ (U+0301) || ̣ (U+0323)
|-
! colspan="6" | Uppercase letters
|-
| A || À (U+00C0) || Ả (U+1EA2) || Ã (U+00C3) || Á (U+00C1) || Ạ (U+1EA0)
|-
| Ă (U+0102) || Ằ (U+1EB0) || Ẳ (U+1EB2) || Ẵ (U+1EB4) || Ắ (U+1EAE) || Ặ (U+1EB6)
|-
| Â (U+00C2) || Ầ (U+1EA6) || Ẩ (U+1EA8) || Ẫ (U+1EAA) || Ấ (U+1EA4) || Ậ (U+1EAC)
|-
| Đ (U+0110) || colspan="5" |
|-
| E || È (U+00C8) || Ẻ (U+1EBA) || Ẽ (U+1EBC) || É (U+00C9) || Ẹ (U+1EB8)
|-
| Ê (U+00CA) || Ề (U+1EC0) || Ể (U+1EC2) || Ễ (U+1EC4) || Ế (U+1EBE) || Ệ (U+1EC6)
|-
| I || Ì (U+00CC) || Ỉ (U+1EC8) || Ĩ (U+0128) || Í (U+00CD) || Ị (U+1ECA)
|-
| O || Ò (U+00D2) || Ỏ (U+1ECE) || Õ (U+00D5) || Ó (U+00D3) || Ọ (U+1ECC)
|-
| Ô (U+00D4) || Ồ (U+1ED2) || Ổ (U+1ED4) || Ỗ (U+1ED6) || Ố (U+1ED0) || Ộ (U+1ED8)
|-
| Ơ (U+01A0) || Ờ (U+1EDC) || Ở (U+1EDE) || Ỡ (U+1EE0) || Ớ (U+1EDA) || Ợ (U+1EE2)
|-
| U || Ù (U+00D9) || Ủ (U+1EE6) || Ũ (U+0168) || Ú (U+00DA) || Ụ (U+1EE4)
|-
| Ư (U+01AF) || Ừ (U+1EEA) || Ử (U+1EEC) || Ữ (U+1EEE) || Ứ (U+1EE8) || Ự (U+1EF0)
|-
| Y || Ỳ (U+1EF2) || Ỷ (U+1EF6) || Ỹ (U+1EF8) || Ý (U+00DD) || Ỵ (U+1EF4)
|-
! colspan="6" | Lowercase letters
|-
| a || à (U+00E0) || ả (U+1EA3) || ã (U+00E3) || á (U+00E1) || ạ (U+1EA1)
|-
| ă (U+0103) || ằ (U+1EB1) || ẳ (U+1EB3) || ẵ (U+1EB5) || ắ (U+1EAF) || ặ (U+1EB7)
|-
| â (U+00E2) || ầ (U+1EA7) || ẩ (U+1EA9) || ẫ (U+1EAB) || ấ (U+1EA5) || ậ (U+1EAD)
|-
| đ (U+0111) || colspan="5" |
|-
| e || è (U+00E8) || ẻ (U+1EBB) || ẽ (U+1EBD) || é (U+00E9) || ẹ (U+1EB9)
|-
| ê (U+00EA) || ề (U+1EC1) || ể (U+1EC3) || ễ (U+1EC5) || ế (U+1EBF) || ệ (U+1EC7)
|-
| i || ì (U+00EC) || ỉ (U+1EC9) || ĩ (U+0129) || í (U+00ED) || ị (U+1ECB)
|-
| o || ò (U+00F2) || ỏ (U+1ECF) || õ (U+00F5) || ó (U+00F3) || ọ (U+1ECD)
|-
| ô (U+00F4) || ồ (U+1ED3) || ổ (U+1ED5) || ỗ (U+1ED7) || ố (U+1ED1) || ộ (U+1ED9)
|-
| ơ (U+01A1) || ờ (U+1EDD) || ở (U+1EDF) || ỡ (U+1EE1) || ớ (U+1EDB) || ợ (U+1EE3)
|-
| u || ù (U+00F9) || ủ (U+1EE7) || ũ (U+0169) || ú (U+00FA) || ụ (U+1EE5)
|-
| ư (U+01B0) || ừ (U+1EEB) || ử (U+1EED) || ữ (U+1EEF) || ứ (U+1EE9) || ự (U+1EF1)
|-
| y || ỳ (U+1EF3) || ỷ (U+1EF7) || ỹ (U+1EF9) || ý (U+00FD) || ỵ (U+1EF5)
|}

==See also==
*[[Portuguese orthography]]
*Special characters:
**[[Ă]], [[Â]], [[Đ]], [[Ê]], [[Ô]], [[Ơ]], [[Ư]]
**[[Dot (diacritic)]]
**[[Hook above]]
**[[Horn (diacritic)]]
*Historic Writing
**"[[Chữ Hán]]", classical Chinese written in Vietnam (Han characters)
**"[[Chữ Nôm]]", former script used to write Vietnamese using Han and Nom (invented characters) words
*Coding and Input Methods:
**[[Telex (input method)|Telex]], the oldest standard input method for the Vietnamese alphabet on electronic devices.
**[[VNI]], another input ''and'' encoding convention for Vietnamese alphabet.
**[[VIQR]], another standard 7-bit ''input method'' for Vietnamese alphabet.
**[[VISCII]], another standard 8-bit ''encoding'' for Vietnamese alphabet.
**[[Unicode]], character encoding standard for most of the world's writing systems
*[[Vietnamese Braille]]
*[[Vietnamese calligraphy]]
*[[Vietnamese phonology]]
*[[Vietnamese punctuation]]
* [[Francisco de Pina]]
* [[Alexandre de Rhodes]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
*Gregerson, Kenneth J. (1969). A study of Middle Vietnamese phonology. ''Bulletin de la Société des Etudes Indochinoises'', ''44'', 135–193. (Published version of the author's MA thesis, University of Washington). (Reprinted 1981, Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics).
*{{Cite journal | last1 = Haudricourt | first1 = André-Georges | year = 1949 | title = Origine des particularités de l'alphabet vietnamien (English translation as: The origin of the peculiarities of the Vietnamese alphabet) | url =https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/92/00/64/PDF/Haudricourt1949_Peculiarities_MonKhmerStudies2010.pdf | journal = Dân Việt-Nam | volume = 3 | pages = 61–68 }}
*Healy, Dana.(2003). ''Teach Yourself Vietnamese'', Hodder Education, London.
*{{citation| surname = Kornicki | given = Peter | chapter = Sino-Vietnamese literature | pages = 568–578| title = The Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature (1000 BCE-900 CE)| editor-given1 = Wai-yee | editor-surname1 = Li | editor-given2 = Wiebke | editor-surname2 = Denecke| editor-given3 = Xiaofen | editor-surname3 = Tian| location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 2017 |isbn=978-0-199-35659-1}}.
*{{Cite book|title=The Chinese Writing System in Asia: An Interdisciplinary Perspective |last=Li |first=Yu |year=2020|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-00-069906-7}}
*Nguyen, Đang Liêm. (1970). ''Vietnamese pronunciation''. PALI language texts: Southeast Asia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|0-87022-462-X}}.
*Nguyễn, Đình-Hoà. (1955). ''Quốc-ngữ: The modern writing system in Vietnam''. Washington, D. C.: Author.
*{{Cite journal | last1 = Nguyễn | first1 = Đình-Hoà | year = 1992 | title = Vietnamese phonology and graphemic borrowings from Chinese: The Book of 3,000 Characters revisited | journal = [[Mon-Khmer Studies]] | volume = 20 | pages = 163–182 }}
*Nguyễn, Đình-Hoà. (1996). Vietnamese. In P. T. Daniels, & W. Bright (Eds.), ''The world's writing systems'', (pp.&nbsp;691–699). New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-507993-0}}.
*Nguyễn, Đình-Hoà. (1997). ''Vietnamese: Tiếng Việt không son phấn''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. {{ISBN|1-55619-733-0}}.
*Pham, Andrea Hoa. (2003). ''Vietnamese tone: A new analysis.'' Outstanding dissertations in linguistics. New York: Routledge. (Published version of author's 2001 PhD dissertation, University of Florida: Hoa, Pham. ''Vietnamese tone: Tone is not pitch''). {{ISBN|0-415-96762-7}}.
* {{cite book |last=Phạm |first=Thị Kiều Ly |title=Histoire de l'écriture romanisée du vietnamien (1615−1919) |date=2022 |publisher=Les Indes savantes |isbn=9782846546164 |url=https://www.lesindessavantes.com/ouvrage/histoire-de-lecriture-romanisee-du-vietnamien-1615-1919/ }}
*{{cite book|title=The Acquisition of a Second Writing System|first=Rosemary|last=Sassoon|edition=illustrated, reprint|year=1995|publisher=Intellect Books|url=https://archive.org/details/acquisitionofsec0000sass|url-access=registration|isbn=1871516439|access-date=24 April 2014}}
*Thompson, Laurence E. (1991). ''A Vietnamese reference grammar''. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|0-8248-1117-8}}. (Original work published 1965).
* {{cite journal |last=Tran |first=Anh Q. |date=2022 |title=Catholicism and the Development of the Vietnamese Alphabet, 1620–1898 |journal=Journal of Vietnamese Studies |volume=17 |issue=2–3 |pages=9–37 |doi=10.1525/vs.2022.17.2-3.9 }}
*{{cite book|title=The conversion of scripts, its nature, history and utilization|series=Information sciences series|first=Hans H.|last=Wellisch|edition=illustrated|year=1978|publisher=Wiley|url=https://archive.org/details/conversionofscri0000well|url-access=registration|isbn=0471016209|access-date=24 April 2014}}

==Further reading==
* Nguyen, A. M. (2006). ''Let's learn the Vietnamese alphabet''. Las Vegas: Viet Baby. {{ISBN|0-9776482-0-6}}
* Shih, Virginia Jing-yi. ''Quoc Ngu Revolution: A Weapon of Nationalism in Vietnam''. 1991.

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Vietnamese writing}}
*[https://vietunicode.sourceforge.net/ Vietnamese Unicode FAQs]

{{Vietnamese alphabet}}
{{Language orthographies}}
{{Vietnam topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Writing systems introduced in the 17th century]]
[[Category:Latin alphabets]]
[[Category:Vietnamese writing systems]]
[[Category:Latin-script orthographies]]
[[Category:Writing systems without word boundaries]]