What is the most difficult thing

[evietnam]

in learning Vietnamese ?

I am looking for issues that non Vietnamese may face to when learning Vietnamese. What is (are) the most difficult thing (s)?

1. Tones
2. Structure
3. System of pronouns
4. Vocabulary

Thanks for your ideas

[Watney]

I think the most difficult to learn vienamese is the symbol and the pronouncetiation.....yup

[nybblenut]

sometimes it is the pronunciations. sometimes it is reading of the sentences and trying to get the real meaning.

I believe i must just learn this language by memorization. memorizing how the words are said. memorizing how the words are used. and repetition. then i can go from there once i have my basic communication words under my belt.

[bdcotter]

My biggest trouble is the tones. By a large margin too.

[NisAznMonk]

Mine is the fear of being laughed at

[camdorac_likom]

Learning Vietnamese is not so difficult,i think the most important thing you need to do is listening regularly. You will get used to it with practise. In my opinion, the most diffcult thing for all of who are learning Vnese is how to use the words exactly when you speak or write. Especially, when you speak to the other , its needed to choose the right words , build the right sentences so as to make the listeners understand your real point and make them interested in your talk.
Don't worry, no pain no gain!!!

[Thinh]

i have no trouble with speaking vietnamese it's just when i go to write it i can't figure out most of the accents so i end up writing down the accents in a notebook so that i can writ it later.

[Xarai]

actually almost all people get the tone wrong so they dont sound like an official vietnamese all the words are easy because its only 1 syllable for every word. I went to vietnam and got married to my wife and it wasnt hard at all to catch on the words and pronouncing every word was easy just got to get down the NG sound and its easy sailing from there i just coiuldnt get tones correct but i didnt try til recently.

[roundeye]

The tones are the biggest issue. The way i've come to get more familiar is to only rent Vietnamese videos and listen to vietnamese rap and vietnamese traditional and popular music. Essentially surround myself with it. There are 2 wonderful Viet spoken films that every person learning should rent. They are high quality productions and they speak slow enough to actuall catch and learn a lot "vertical rays of the sun" and "the scent of green papaya" Wondeful films.

Learning a few words is great but as in any language, you should try to learn in phrases as it's easier to remember than the thousands of words. Pick a few phrases you know that you use every day and learn them. I carry a notebook with me so I can write down phrases i use in english as I say them.

For individual words though, one trick I've done is learn things in 3's. past present and future tenses and degrees of severity etc.

yesterday, today, tomorrow
hom qua, hom nay, ngay mai

cold, warm, hot
lan, am, nong

spoke, speak, will speak
da noi, noi, se noi
etc etc.

[VivianPhuongDo]

in learning Vietnamese ?

I am looking for issues that non Vietnamese may face to when learning Vietnamese. What is (are) the most difficult thing (s)?

1. Tones
2. Structure
3. System of pronouns
4. Vocabulary

Thanks for your ideas

For me, I think Vocabulary should be major issue for learning Vietnamese languages because it is not simple. For example, if I say "mai", how many meanings about of the word "mai" can be explain? Also, Vocabulary keeps growing from time to time and it is should be use like as different word in each local city even just for a same subject. For example, Someone in south of Vietnam call "Cai Rua," the other living in the middle of Vietnam pronouced as "Con Ra." I am not talking about the word borrowing from China or other countries because it will make the Vietnamese langluage more complicative. I have couple Vietnamese friends, and they were borned in the US. They can conversation with me by Vietnamese language. However, whatever they say to me, I can understand at all, and feel like don't have any issues on that, but when I say something back to them, some of them might understand, but some are not, they are not sure what I have talked about unless I have to explain to them what that means.

System of pronouns also has been not simple. I believe someone has taught me like a, be, se for a, b, c in written and the other said it is not right in current and it should be like as a, bo, co. My goodness, there are two different system for spelling, so they have confused me in a while.

Vietnamese Language Structure I think you mean like grammar. If it is grammar, is should be ok except "~" and "?". I am not really sure the rule of this. Some one mentioned to me as it should be used different in pronunciation, but I listen people use them in public. I feel like they are not much different because I have been seen than over fifty percent of people using them as not much diffierent.

Tone is most easy part but It required you have to spend more time to practice how to pronouce a word. If don't have any problem for pronunciation in your language, and probably you should be ok with that because I have seen some of my friend, they are not Vietnamese, and they can read perfectly a Vietnamese paragraph with a Vietnamese voice as same as Vietnamese people after few months.