# Vietnamese: pronunciation of letter Đ, B



## zzzwor

B: /ɓ/ or /b/
D: /ɗ/ or /d/

is it the same if i pronounce the letter B as /ɓ/ or /b/?


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## Ghabi

Hello. By "D" you mean "Đ", right?


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## zzzwor

yes actually it's Đ
sorry


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## Radioh

Hello, the letter Đ(đ) is pronounced exactly the same as "the", as in "the" rock, "the" boy... And B(b) is pronounced as B in French or /b/ but stronger.


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## AmaryllisBunny

I disagree. The 'đ' is pronounced closer to a [d] in French than a [ð] in English. It is not dental at all. The tongue is on the roof of the mouth and never reaches the teeth as would be necessary to pronounce /ðə/ (*th*e) or /tiːθ/ (tee*th*).

In English, [ b ] and [d] are more airy and aspirated than in Vietnamese (and French).


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## newname

Well. You can't teach pronunciation in words. Go to youtube and use these search keywords: "phát âm chuẩn tiếng Việt". 

Cheers.


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## Radioh

Hi, ABunny. Unless I misunderstood, what you are describing is "đê" for me, not the letter "đ". My tongue does touch my upper jaw teeth when I pronounce "đ". In fact, I think it has to but I might be wrong.


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## AmaryllisBunny

Okay... I see what you mean with "đê." In any case, it doesn't touch the teeth in the same way as a "th" would. Saying "The," the tongue touches section where teeth both sets of teeth meet. It may even go a bit outside of the mouth. Whereas, "đê" the tongue is on the roof of the mouth. It can be pronounced while barely touching the back of the teeth or not touching them at all.

Try saying "the" and seeing the placement of the tongue and then saying "đê." You'll note the tongue is closer to the position needed to form a "d" in English.


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## Radioh

Thanks. I've tried it. You're right, with đê, the tongue doesn't have to touch the teeth at all. And to be honest, I'm a bit confused with the tongue placement you're talking about. I cannot feel the difference. I think I need another language course...


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## AmaryllisBunny

Hmm... Try placing your tongue in between the teeth of the upper and lower jaw. Then open a bit and leave the tongue up (below the teeth), that is the place where [ð] and [θ] are formed. The [d] is formed where the teeth meet the gum or along the roof of the mouth.

I am probably not explaining it very well .

When saying "Theodore," the tongue goes outside of the mouth to form the "Th" part of "Theodore." It stays inside the mouth for "đ."


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## Radioh

No, that's a very good explanation. Thanks, ABunny.


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## fdb

In standard Vietnamese (Hanoi dialect) b is voiced bilabial, and đ is a voiced alveolar. Both are usually (but not always) “implosive”. This means that when pronouncing b the lips open inwards rather than outwards.


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## Serora

I'm sorry i don't understand this thread?

Actually B is just pronounced B like in english and Đ is like D in english. Meanwhile D in Vietnamese is kinda like [ð] but your tongue sticks inside your mouth (behind upper teeth) when you pronoun it while it will be outside your teeth when it comes to [ð].

- D Vietnamese: like "the" ([ð]) but tongue inside
- [ð]: tongue outside


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## Radioh

I don't agree, Serora. But how do you pronounce đ? Like đi or đờ? It's definitely đờ for me and people round me.


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## Serora

yes it's đờ, ugh sorry it's really hard to explain and it seems i misunderstood.

B is obviously bờ and Đ is đờ. Sorry.
But i was just trying to show the difference when pronouncing D in vietnamese and "the" in english, which doesn't relate, sorry  (oh maybe it's because amaryllis was discussing this problem)

p.s: idk but nowaday when growed up we kinda read the alphabet with a bê (b) sê (c) dê (d) đê (đ), not bờ or đờ (this is kinda for elementary) and actually in some cases because english is popular here, we read "d" as đê :/


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