section, the extended vocabulary items are separated by semi-colons:
ra 1 v. [SV xuaát] to exit, to go out, to come out; to go [out] into, to come [out] into; to look, to become; to issue [order leänh], to give [signal hieäu, assignment baøi]: ra beå to go to the sea 2 adv. out, outside, forth: khoâng ra gì, chaúng ra gì to amount to nothing; baøy ra to display, to show off; ñoû ra to become red; noùi ra to speak up; nhôù ra to remember, to call forth; tìm ra, kieám ra to find out; cöûa ra vaøo door; hieän ra to appear; hoaù ra to become; it turns out that; thaønh ra to come out; chia ra to divide up, to divide into
5. There is a variety of terms used to address the first and second persons in Vietnamese. As shown by the following example:
baø 1 n. [SV toå maãu] grandmother; female: baøngoaïi maternal grandmother; baønoäi paternal grandmother; ñaøn baø woman, women 2 pron. lady/you [used by grandchild to grandmother, first person pronoun being chaùu]; I [used by grandmother to grandchild, second person pronoun being chaùu]; you [used to refer to women of a certain age, first person pronoun being toâi]
toâi is used for the first person and chaùu for the second person. The reader can replace these terms with oâng, baø, anh, chò, em, tau, maøy... depending on the age and relationship between the first and second persons.
6. Vietnamese words that are loanwords have their Vietnamese pronunciation connected by hyphens (-), for example:
centimeter n. xen-ti-met, phaân
ki-loâ n. [Fr. kilogram] kilogram
7. List of abbreviations used in this Dictionary are as follows:
A Guide to Vietnamese Pronunciation
Like Chinese and Thai, Vietnamese is a tonal language where no word is conjugated. The Vietnamese alphabet has 29 letters:
a, aê, aâ, b, c, d, ñ, e, eâ, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, oâ, ô, p, q, r, s, t, u, ö, v, x, y.
The Vietnamese consonants are written as single letters or a cluster of two or three letters, as follows:
b, c, ch, d, ñ, g, gh, gi, h, k, kh, l, m, n, ng, ngh, nh, p, ph, qu, r, s, t, th, tr, v, x.
The vowels in Vietnamese are the following: a, aê, aâ, e, eâ, i/y, o, oâ, ô, u, ö. Vowels can also be grouped together to form a cluster or a word.
The following tables show the vowels and consonants in Vietnamese pronunciation with their English equivalents.
Tones
The standard Vietnamese language has six tones. Each tone is a meaningful and integral part of the syllable. Every syllable must have a tone. The tones are indicated in conventional Vietnamese spelling by diacritic marks placed over (aù, aø, aû, aõ) or under (aï) single vowels or the vowel in a cluster that bears the main stress (v).
Tone Symbols
The six tones just described are summarized in the following chart to illustrate the differences between them as they are associated with individual words.
The Vietnamese language has its national standard syntax, morphology and the tone system, although there are some regional variations in pronunciation and accents. The significant differences in pronunciation and accents between the Northern and Southern people (represented by Hanoi and Saigon respectively) are as follows:
1. There is no difference in the single vowels between Hanoi and Saigon.
2. There are two vowel clusters /öu/ and /öôu/ which are pronounced /iu/ and /ieâ u/ by Hanoi, and /öu/ and /öôu/ by Saigon.
3. Differences in the pronunciation of consonants:
4. Saigonese do not differentiate between the two tones /?/ and /~/; these are pronounced alike.
VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH
VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH
A
a 1 n. acre [100 square meters] chöõ vieát taét maãu Taây 2 a! intj. Oh! [exclamation term]
a dua v. to flatter, to follow
a-loâ! intj. Hello!
a phieán n. (= thuoác phieän) opium
A-Phuù-Haûn n. Afghanistan, Afghan
a toøng v. to act as an accomplice
aù! intj. Oh! Ouch!
Aù n. Asia, Asian: Ñoâng Nam AÙ Southeast Asia
AÙ-Caên-Ñình n. Argentina, Argentine
Aù Chaâu n. Asia, Asian: Ñoâng Nam Aù Chaâu Southeast Asia
Aù Ñoâng n. Asia, The East, The Orient, Asian, Eastern, Oriental
aø intj. Oh! Ah!: Theá aø? Is that so?
aû n. lass, gal, dame, damsel
aû ñaøo n. traditional song female singer
Aû Raäp n. Arabia, Arab, Arabian
aï intj. polite particle: vaâng aï Yes sir
aùc adj. cruel [opp. hieàn], severe, fierce; R evil [opp. thieän]
aùc caûm n. antipathy, ill-feeling, dislike
aùc chieán n. a bloody fight
aùc lieät adj. [of a fight, battle, war] very violent, very fierce
aùc mieäng adj. foul-mouthed
aùc moäng n. nightmare
aùc oân n. wicked thug
aùc thuù n. wild animal
