Central Vietnamese is the speech of Huế, Đà Nẵng, and the provinces between Hanoi and Saigon. It has its own words, such as for "so" and for "where", and its own tone sounds. Most Vietnamese apps teach the Hanoi or Saigon accent, so this page checks which apps teach the center and what the others are still good for. For courses, books, news, and media, see our guide to Central Vietnamese resources.
Our Vietnamese app comparison covers every accent, and our Central Vietnamese comprehensible input guide covers what to read and watch.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Central Vietnamese. You learn from Central Vietnamese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Central Vietnamese lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
Try asking what adds to a question.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking. The voices are directed toward a Huế accent but are not native Huế speakers, so check the sound with a person from the center, as below.
- Lessons are in Central Vietnamese, read aloud by voices directed to a Huế accent.
- The Quốc Ngữ course has a Central version, with the letters and tones as Central speakers say them.
- Grammar cards show the Central word when it's different, such as next to the Northern .
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter and its sound in the free Vietnamese Quốc Ngữ course.
- You can't turn an article you find into a lesson. However, you can paste the lines that confuse you in the chat, and Poppy will explain them.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Quốc Ngữ
Mobile
These apps are good Vietnamese courses, but their audio is Northern or Southern. Use them for words and grammar, and get your listening from Central speakers.
SVFF
SVFF is a school in Ho Chi Minh City. If you start with it, use the Huế materials for Central words and ask a Central speaker to check how they sound.
- More than 180 self-study courses from A0 to C2, plus live one-to-one lessons.
- Its site lists Northern and Huế course materials as a secondary track.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Glossika
Glossika suits learners who want a lot of sentence practice. Pick the course whose accent is closer to the one you hear around you.
- Separate Northern and Southern Vietnamese courses, with more than 5,000 words and sentences from A1 to C1.
- You listen to each sentence, then repeat it out loud.
MobileWeb
Learner reviews say Duolingo's Vietnamese course follows the Hanoi accent, which makes it a start on basic words only. See Is Central Vietnamese on Duolingo? for what to use instead. Pimsleur offers 30 half-hour Vietnamese audio lessons and a 7-day free trial; its page names no accent, so listen for what you hear.
italki
Many tutors teach the Hanoi or Saigon accent whatever their hometown, so ask a tutor from Huế or Đà Nẵng to speak Central with you, and to say and for "this" and "that".
- Some Vietnamese tutors come from a central city, such as Đà Nẵng.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- VietlingoVietlingo is new and growing. Its App Store page says it has dedicated content for the Northern (Hanoi), Southern (Saigon), and Central (Huế) accents, with podcast lessons, self-paced courses, and live lessons with its teachers.
| App | Teaches Central Vietnamese | Accent You Hear |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Yes | Aimed at Huế |
| Vietlingo | Yes | Hanoi, Saigon, and Huế content |
| SVFF | PartlyA secondary track | Mostly Southern |
| Glossika | No | Northern or Southern |
| Duolingo | No | Northern (Hanoi) |
| Pimsleur | PartlyPage names no accent | Not stated |
| italki | PartlyWith a tutor from the center | The tutor's own |
| Tandem | PartlyWith a partner in Huế or Đà Nẵng | The partner's own |
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. |
| SVFF | Some lessons free | Nine starter episodes are free to play, with no account. The full podcast library needs a subscription. |
| Glossika | Free trial | You can try Glossika free for 7 days without a credit card. After that, you need a subscription. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| Tandem | Free version | Signing up is free, and Tandem reviews each new member first. Many features are free, and Tandem Pro gives you all of them. |
| Vietlingo | Free | The whole app is free, with no in-app purchases. |
The number of languages you can use an app in isn't the same as the languages its lessons explain things in, so check one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
| Glossika | 2 | Full list |
| SVFF | 1 | Full list |
| Vietlingo | 1 | Full list |
Which Central Vietnamese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Central Vietnamese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If you would rather hear Central speech from a person first, book a tutor from Huế or Đà Nẵng. For a plan that adds news and media, see the best way to learn Central Vietnamese.
Can I use a Northern or Southern course for Central Vietnamese?
Yes, for most of the words, the grammar, and the spelling, which are the same everywhere. What changes is the sound and a set of local words, so listen to Central speakers in Bubblegum or with a tutor as well. The Central Vietnamese guide lists where to find them.
Which Central words will a standard course not teach?
Four you will hear often are (where), (so, like that), (this), and (that, there). Look them up before a trip to Huế, because a Hanoi-based course will not list them.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Vietnamese language, regional variation (Central mô, răng, rứa)
- Wiktionary: rứa (Central Vietnam: so, like that)
- Wiktionary: mô (central Vietnam: where)
- Wiktionary: ni (Central Vietnam: this)
- Wiktionary: tê (Central Vietnam: that, there)
- Bubblegum: Central Vietnamese lessons and the Central Quốc Ngữ course
- Bubblegum: Central Quốc Ngữ course, chapter 3 (hỏi and ngã sound the same)
- Vietlingo on the App Store (Northern, Southern and Central accents)
- SVFF: a Southern Vietnamese school with a secondary Northern and Huế track
- SVFF: what's free
- SVFF: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Glossika: Learn Vietnamese (Southern)
- Glossika: Learn Vietnamese (Northern)
- Glossika: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Pimsleur: Learn Vietnamese (the page does not name an accent)
- Duolingo: Vietnamese course for English speakers
- Migaku: Duolingo Vietnamese review ("The course focuses on Northern Vietnamese")
- Nutty Vietnamese: Does Duolingo Have Vietnamese? ("It teaches the Northern (Hanoi) dialect")
- italki: Vietnamese teachers (profiles name a home city, such as Da Nang)
- italki: home page (what is free)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Tandem: Language exchange in Hue
- Tandem: Language exchange in Da Nang
- Tandem: home page
- Tandem: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Vietlingo: what's free
- Bubblegum
- Tandem
