Is Vietnamese Hard To Learn?

Learning any language has its difficulties and Vietnamese is certainly no different. People ask all the time, “Is Vietnamese hard to learn”? By the end of this guide you should be able to determine for yourself if Vietnamese is out of your league.

The Main Features Of The Vietnamese Language

With around 80 million native speakers, Vietnamese is one of the most important languages in Asia. Interestingly, you’ll find many locals proud of the fact that the language is hard to learn.

At first glance, the features and complexities of the language can be discouraging for first-time learners. But dig deeper and you’ll find that the most difficult aspect for native English speakers is pronunciation. The rest of it actually isn’t so difficult at all.

Here are some of the main features of the Vietnamese language.

• There are multiple dialects spoken across the country. The Northern or Hanoi dialect is the official one. Besides that, there’s the central (Hue) and southern (Saigon) dialects. However, the same Latin Alphabet with diacritic marks is used in all the dialects. Even though the accent of the speakers changes from one region to the other, the vocabulary remains the same.

• The most critical aspect is learning pronunciation. There are six different tones in the language. The difference in tone determines the exact meaning of a word. Same words are written with different accent marks which results in different pronunciations. So mastering the tone is extremely important to communicate properly.

• Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language. Only a few words are composed of two syllables. The good news is there are no irregular verbs and the words don’t change based on the gender of a noun.

Why Is Vietnamese Not So Difficult To Learn?

If you think Vietnamese is hard to learn, a quick look at some of these points can change your mind.

Short Words

The majority of words used in Vietnamese are short and some are very short. In fact, the average word length in Vietnamese is one of the shortest in the world. Most of the words used in daily language are monosyllabic and even the disyllabic words are quite short.

Smaller words like đi, ăn, cá, or có make up a major chunk of the language. As a result, it is easier to memorize and write.

No Use Of Gender

In many languages, gender variations can be extremely complicated. But you won’t face such problems with Vietnamese as the language has no variations of “masculine” or “feminine” words.

Quite simply, being gender-neutral, the language is easier to learn. In case gender has to be specified, an extra word is used along with the noun.

There Are No Plurals

Another interesting fact is that Vietnamese words have no plurals. So unlike English, there are no separate words like “dog” and “dogs”. The word “chó” can be used for both “dog” and “dogs”. Again, an extra word is used with the noun when one has to be more specific.

For example, một người means one person, nhũng người means some people, and các người means all the people. However, there are a few pronouns that have plural forms, but they are limited in number.

Simple Verbs

There are no verb conjugations in Vietnamese. So the verbs have a single invariable form, unlike most European languages where verbs change form.

Take the example of the word “nói”, which means “speak”. There are no other variations of the word like “spoke”, “spoken’, or “speaks”. This makes learning the language simpler.

The Grammar Is Simple

It turns out the overall structure of Vietnamese grammar is much easier than that of other languages. One reason is the optional use of articles and tenses. In addition to that, the language doesn’t make it compulsory to deliver unnecessary information like gender and plurality. The result is that learners will need less time to learn as they don’t need to pay attention to minute details.

Easy To Read And Write

Vietnamese has its roots in Chinese and French, but the alphabet structure is based on the Latin script. That means you don’t need to learn a new alphabet. So unlike other Asian languages, it’s easy to comprehend.

Even though many diacritics are used, the pattern of use is logical and not difficult to remember. In addition, Vietnamese orthography is also easy to learn.

Beyond that, Vietnamese packs more information in its syllables than languages like Japanese and English. That makes the language concise and it also delivers a higher density of information. Also, a major segment of the vocabulary is formed by combining two words logically. This results in an easier learning curve for beginners.

How Hard Is It Really To Learn Vietnamese?

By now you should have realized that learning Vietnamese isn’t so hard at all. That being said, there are some aspects of the language that can take some time to learn.

• There are 20 consonants in Vietnamese and a few of them are difficult to pronounce.

• It has 11 vowels of various types. The combination of vowels and consonants can make pronunciation difficult.

• Vietnamese syllables have a complex structure and can contain up to 5 different components. This adds to the overall difficulty of pronunciation.

• Due to the presence of multiple tones, learning the right tone is difficult for learners not used to tonal variations.

Conclusion

By now you should have realized that the myth of Vietnamese being difficult to learn isn’t true at all. Fact is, it’s a fascinating language that can be great fun to learn. So what’s the best way to learn Vietnamese fast?

Like any other language, you need patience, persistence, and the right amount of effort. With daily practice, you can easily grasp the basics of the language within a year.

If you’re planning to learn a new language you can choose from some of the best language learning software that offers a wide range of options. With digital lessons, advanced speech recognition technology, and interactive learning tools, you can develop your language skills in the best possible manner.