Comments on: Pronunciation of Pho and Other Vietnamese Words and Phrases

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:11:02 +0000

Hi John: Thanks for your request. I’m sure you now are a lot more confident hitting a pho place knowing exactly what’s going on! More power to ya. Chanh muối and the other salted preserved citrus soda varieties are my summer favorites! Refer to #37, 38 and 39 above for chanh muối/soda chanh muối (salted preserved lemonade in soda,) soda chanh (fresh lemonade in soda) and sữa đậu nành (fresh soybean milk,) respectively.

I’ll have to defer boba tea and the other drinks for the next round of recordings.

By: John

John — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:09:04 +0000

I appreciate the site very much. I work around an area with at least a dozen vietnamese restaurants but never felt comfortable going inside without having a clue what was on the menus. After going through the site I can now read and understand most of what they offer. Could you pronounce “chanh muoi”, the lemonade drink (sorry if I misspelled)? Could you post a few other beverages as well like bubble tea etc? Thanks!!

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:22:33 +0000

Hello PHO AP CHAO BO GA TOM: Please see #36 for pronunciation of Phở áp chảo bò gà tôm (Pan fried flat rice noodle with beef, chicken, shrimp.) Thank for requesting.

By: PHO AP CHAO BO GA TOM

PHO AP CHAO BO GA TOM — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:29:00 +0000

IM WORKING IN A VIENAMESE RESTAURANUNT AND THE PROOBMLEM IS I DONT KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE THESE WORDS HELP

By: darius

darius — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:58:05 +0000

wow! this is great! Do you mind if I put some of these on flashcards for your readers? I think Quizlet supports audio. I’ll send you a link.

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:56:59 +0000

Hi Melissa: You did not mention where you have heard this but I believe what you heard as something like “chia” was actually a Vietnamese way of saying “cheers” itself. We Vietnamese have a tendency to adopt English (or French) words into Vietnamese use without translating them. Other examples that come to mind include “nhà băng” for the bank, “xe Xích lô” for the cyclo, etc.

Thanks for your question.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:30:28 +0000

Love your Web site. Would you please demonstrate how to say cheers in Vietnamese with a southern accent? I believe the word is Chia.

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:47:23 +0000

Hi Richard: Please see pronunciation #35 for “hello,” “goodbye,” “please” and “thank you.” Please note that the first three have a number of translational variations, and I only included the most common translations. You may run across different usage for hello, goodbye and please. Enjoy.

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 06:25:27 +0000

Hi Richard Friedenberg: I do not recognize On Toy Phi Cone as Vietnamese, but would venture to say it is a non-Viet’s interpretation of Vietnamese. I would guess Phi Cone is actually Phi Cong which means pilot, one who flies an airplane. Dai-uy is the Army rank of Captain, so that is straightforward. These are pronounced as indicated in #34 above.

If you can clarify or provide more info on On Toy Phi Cone then I can do a pronunciation for you. Have a great day!

By: Cuong Huynh

Cuong Huynh — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:19:28 +0000

Richard, Christian, and Jim Fung: Thanks so much for your request. I will need a few more days to get the recordings posted per your request on both the greetings/salutation and banh mi, so please bear with me. The banh mi request will probably deserve its own post and I’ll have that up within the week. So while you wait, why not go for some banh mi.