Southern Vietnamese you can mostly follow teaches you more than Vietnamese you have to decode word by word. Comprehensible input is Vietnamese like that: you understand most of it, so the words you know show you what a new one means. Pick input recorded in the South, so the tones and words you hear match the people you'll talk with.
What Comprehensible Input Looks Like
About one unfamiliar word per sentence, while you still follow the meaning.
Here's a sentence we wrote for this guide: Cho em một ly cà phê sữa đá nha. If you know cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk), ly is the only new word, and it sits where the amount goes. It means a glass or a cup, and Hanoi would say cốc. The nha at the end makes the request friendly.
Your Roadmap by Level
Pick the row that sounds like you. The podcasts and shows don't use these levels, so treat each link as a place to start.
- Start With the Tone Marks
I can't read Quốc Ngữ yet.
Bubblegum's Southern Quốc Ngữ course teaches the letters that sound different from English, then the tones as the South says them, in four chapters.
Southern Quốc Ngữ course - Level 1
I can sound out words but not much else.
Read the greetings lesson further down this page at Level 1. Then ask Poppy, your AI tutor in Bubblegum, for very short scenes like it about your own plans.
Level 1 greetings lessons - Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Try one of Learn Vietnamese With Annie's free Southern dialogues, and play it until you can follow every line.
Learn Vietnamese With Annie's free sample lessons - Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Start SVFF's story podcast at the series that fits you, and read the transcript the second time you listen.
SVFF Podcast - Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
Keep going with SVFF's later series, and pause after each scene to say in Vietnamese what just happened.
SVFF Podcast - Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Pick an HTV report on news you already know, and watch it twice: once for the gist and once for the words.
HTV - Level 6
I can read almost anything.
Read a long feature in Tuổi Trẻ about life in Ho Chi Minh City, and note the Southern words you meet.
Tuổi Trẻ
When a row feels easy, try the next one. If almost every line sends you to the dictionary, go back a row.
Try It on a Real Lesson
Greetings and Coffee at Three Levels
Basic Greetings
Excuse me.
Hello.
Thank you.
No problem. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Southern Vietnamese. You learn from Southern Vietnamese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
- Southern Vietnamese is its own journey, and lessons are read aloud in a Saigon accent.
- The Quốc Ngữ course has a Southern version, with the tones as the South says them.
- Grammar cards show Southern words like nha and vô next to the Northern ones.
- 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.
- A Vietnamese novel of your own can't become a lesson. When a page of it is hard, paste it into your chat with Poppy, and she goes through it sentence by sentence.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Quốc Ngữ
Mobile
Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input
Can I Use Northern Vietnamese Podcasts Too?
Yes. The grammar and spelling are the same, and you'll understand people from both regions. Keep most of your listening from the South, though, so its tones feel normal to you.
How Much Time Should I Set Aside?
Set aside three to five hours of Vietnamese a week, in sittings of 15 to 30 minutes or more. Use most of it for reading and listening, and some for talking with a tutor or a friend from the South.
Which App Should a Beginner Choose?
If you are serious about learning Southern Vietnamese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. To compare it with podcasts and tutors, see the best ways to learn Southern Vietnamese.
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wiktionary: li / ly (cup, glass)
- Wiktionary: cốc (northern Vietnam: glass)
- Wiktionary: cà phê sữa đá
- Bubblegum: Southern Quốc Ngữ course, chapter 1
- Learn Vietnamese With Annie: free sample lessons
- SVFF Podcast (8 series, A1–C1, 100% Southern)
- HTV, Ho Chi Minh City Television
- Tuổi Trẻ, a newspaper from Ho Chi Minh City
