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Northern vs Southern Vietnamese: Pronunciation, Tones and Vocabulary

Northern vs southern Vietnamese: how d, gi, r and v sound, the merged hỏi and ngã tones, final consonants, everyday words that differ, and which to learn.

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Key takeaways

  • Wikipedia describes three traditional dialect regions: North (45%), Central (10%) and South (45%), with standard Vietnamese based on Hanoi.
  • The letters d and gi sound like z in Hanoi and like y in the South; r is z in the North and an r-sound in the South.
  • Southern accents merge the hỏi and ngã tones into one falling-rising tone.
  • Everyday words differ: yes is vâng or dạ, spoon is thìa or muỗng, and dĩa means fork in the North but plate in the South.
  • The varieties are mutually intelligible, so learn the one you will hear most and get used to the other.

Which Vietnamese you are learning matters more for listening than for grammar. Northern and southern speech share one written language and understand each other, but they sound noticeably different, and a few everyday words change. This guide covers the main differences: consonants, tones, final sounds, vocabulary and numbers.

The dialect map

Wikipedia describes three traditional dialect regions: North (45%), Central (10%) and South (45%), and calls the regional varieties mutually intelligible, though it notes that the North-Central and Central varieties, with many vocabulary differences, are generally less mutually intelligible to Northern and Southern speakers. Modern Standard Vietnamese is based on the Hanoi dialect.

Movement has mixed the accents. Wikipedia notes that after the 1954 partition about a million northerners moved south, mainly to Saigon and its surroundings, and about 150,000 moved north, so many southern residents speak with a partly northern accent.

Consonants at the start of a word

Letter North (Hanoi) South (Saigon)
d z y
gi z y
r z an r-sound
v v traditionally y; increasingly v
ch and tr the same sound traditionally distinct, increasingly merging
s and x the same sound traditionally distinct, increasingly merging

The table simplifies Wikipedia's phonetic charts into English approximations. Two points stand out. In Hanoi, d, gi and r all sound like z, so spelling is the only guide to which letter a word uses. In the South, Wikipedia notes, v was historically pronounced like y in everyday speech but is becoming a v again, especially in careful speech and among educated speakers.

Final consonants

The ends of syllables differ too. Wikipedia explains that Hanoi speech keeps its final consonants close to Middle Vietnamese, while in Ho Chi Minh City final n and ng are no longer kept apart, nor t and c: which of the pair you hear depends on the vowel before it.

Southern speech also simplifies one cluster. Wikipedia notes that spellings beginning qu-, hu- or u- followed by a vowel are usually pronounced with a plain w sound in the South, even among educated urban speakers.

Tones: six and five

Vietnamese spelling marks six tones, and northern speech keeps all six apart. Wikipedia's phonology article explains that in southern accents the hỏi and ngã tones merge into a single mid falling-rising tone, which is characteristic of southern speech. So two words that differ only in having ◌̉ or ◌̃ are pronounced alike in a southern accent. Vietnamese tones explained covers all six.

Everyday words that differ

Wikipedia's comparison table, checked against Wiktionary's regional labels, includes:

Meaning North South
yes (polite) vâng dạ
spoon thìa muỗng
bowl bát chén
thousand nghìn ngàn
car ô tô xe hơi
fork dĩa nĩa
plate đĩa dĩa
this này nè
that đấy đó

Note the trap in the last rows: dĩa means "fork" in the North and "plate" in the South. Wikipedia adds that most of these words are understood everywhere, and that mixed forms such as dạ vâng also exist.

Pronouns shift too. Southern speech often merges "that gentleman" into one word: northern ông ấy becomes southern ổng, and bà ấy becomes bả.

A worked example: one answer, two accents

A shopkeeper confirms a price of 50,000 đồng.

  • In Hanoi: Vâng, năm mươi nghìn. The v is a v.
  • In Saigon: Dạ, năm mươi ngàn. The d of dạ sounds like y.

Same meaning, different words for "yes" and "thousand", and a different consonant sound. Numbers differ in one more place: Wikipedia gives 101 as một trăm linh một in the North and một trăm lẻ một in the South. Vietnamese numbers covers the rest.

Which variety should you learn?

Learn the one you will hear: your family's, your partner's, or the city you are moving to. Standard Vietnamese is based on the Hanoi dialect, but Wikipedia notes that the major dialects remain predominant in their own areas, and the varieties are mutually intelligible. Whichever you choose, listen to the other early so that it does not surprise you.

Learning Vietnamese

Learn Vietnamese Language Fast gives tones and pronunciation their own lessons, with listening exercises and dictation, and covers pronouns and forms of address in its grammar lessons. It is one of our language-learning apps. Vietnamese greetings is a useful next step.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between northern and southern Vietnamese?
Mainly pronunciation, plus some vocabulary. Wikipedia notes the regional varieties are mutually intelligible and differ mostly in their sound systems: some letters are pronounced differently, southern speech merges two tones, and everyday words such as 'spoon' and 'yes' differ.
How is d pronounced in Hanoi and Saigon?
Like an English z in Hanoi and like an English y in the South. Wikipedia notes that gi follows the same pattern, while r is a z sound in the North and an r-type sound in the Central and Southern dialects.
Do southern Vietnamese speakers use five tones?
In effect, yes. Wikipedia's article on Vietnamese phonology explains that southern accents merge the hỏi and ngã tones into a single mid falling-rising tone, which is characteristic of southern speech, while the spelling still marks six.
Should I learn northern or southern Vietnamese?
Learn the variety you will hear most, from family, friends or the city you will live in. Standard Vietnamese is based on the Hanoi dialect, and the major varieties are mutually intelligible, so either is a sound starting point.

Sources

  1. Vietnamese language: Language variation (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
  2. Vietnamese phonology (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
  3. muỗng (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
  4. Vietnamese numerals (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed

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