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Learn Vietnamese

Vietnamese or tiếng Việt is the official language of Vietnam and is spoken in parts of China, Cambodia and Laos. There are also large groups of speakers in other countries in the world - including the Czech Republic, which recognises Vietnamese as a minority language. Vietnamese is a tonal language: its northern varieties have 6 different tones which may affect the meaning of words. There are several dialects which are all mutually understandable but may have quite different accents. The Hanoi variant is considered the standard.

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Fun facts — Vietnamese

  • Over half the vocabulary comes from Chinese. There are also many French borrowings e.g. chocolate is 'so co la'.
  • The phrase 'nồi cơm điện', meaning 'electric rice cooker', is also a slang term for a motorbike helmet.
  • Motorcycle taxis are known in Vietnam as xe ôm, which literally translates as 'hug vehicle'.

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