Vowels with Vowels

The Alphabet

Vowels with Vowels

Vietnamese vowels can be paired to form diphthongs, which are crucial for creating rhymes and mastering pronunciation. The table below shows how the vowels e, a, ă, o, ê, ơ, â, ô combine with e, a, ă, o, ê, ơ, â, ô, i, y, ư, u to form these sounds.

Diphthong Table

	e	a	ă	o	i	y	ư	u
e				eo
a				ao	ai	ay		au
ă
o	oe	oa	oă		oi
ê							êu
ơ					ơi
â						ây		âu
ô					ôi

How to Use This Table

Rows represent the first vowel in the combination.
Columns represent the second vowel.
Each cell shows the resulting diphthong (e.g., a + o = ao, as in cao meaning “tall/high”).
Empty cells indicate that the combination is not used in standard Vietnamese.

Pronunciation Practice

To practice these diphthongs:

Select a combination from the table (e.g., ai, eo, ơi).
Find or create a word using that diphthong (e.g., ai in tai meaning “ear”).
Practice pronouncing the word, paying attention to the tone (Vietnamese is tonal, so tai and tài have different meanings).