Are consonants hard for you? Actually, they have the reputation to be, in any language, the “strict” letters, the “hard” ones, comparing to the soft and tender vowels. Is it true? Take a look and a listen at our new serie of consonants: S,T,V and X. You will quickly see that they are soft as a caress, sweet as a kiss. You bet?

Lesson 8: Vietnamese consonants: S,T,V,X

1/S- ét-sờ  sờ

Sô (Coarse gauze) Sả (citronella)

S produces very light sound. To remember this, keep in mind that “sờ” means to touch/caress in Vitenamese, and no one caresses the others violently, right? S also looks like the shape of Vietnam, didn't you notice?

2/T- tê tờ

Tô (bowl) Từ (from)

T is the letter than can go with consonants H, R or other vowels to make complex letter combinations. That is why many words contain “T” in Vietnamese vocabulary.

3/V- vê vờ

Về (to go back/About) Vì (because)

To pronounce “V”, your maxilla slightly touches your lower lip and produces a small flow of air out of your mouth. Some Japanese find it hard to say “V” and they replace it with “B” instead.

4/X- ít-xờ xờ

Xô (Basket) Xả (to let [liquid] out)

X in opposite produce “heavy” sound. To remember this, keep in mind that “X” is a kiss and when you kiss your lover, you want to do it passionately, right?

However, despite its distinctiveness, a great number of Vietnamese people (especially southerners) make no difference in pronouncing S and X. This may cause difficulties to foreigners as they have to depend on context to understand the word.

That is the end of our lessons on Vietnamese consonants. Next week, we’ll make one step higher: letter combination in Vietnamese.

See you then.