The first time you look at Vietnamese writing you might be surprised at all the tones written below or above the letters. If you are learning Vietnamese I am sure one of the first things you need to know is THE TONES.<o:p></o:p>

There are six tones in Vietnamese (although only five are used in the South), each of which is represented by a different diacritical mark. <o:p></o:p>

Ngang (no tone mark): Mid-tone (ma = ghost)
Sắc: High-rising tone (má = mother)
Huyền: Low- falling tone (mà = but)
Hỏi: Low-rising tone (mả = tomb)
Ngã: High-broken tone (mã = horse)
Nặng: Low-broken tone (mạ = rice seedling)<o:p></o:p>

Some of my foreign friends have been living in Vietnam for years but they still can’t realize whether I speak a word with the tone of not (and they usually make fun of that). The same thing comes when they speak, if I don’t put the word in context, it is easy to misunderstand.  So tones play an important role in distinguishing lexical items in the Vietnamese language.<o:p></o:p>

Have you had problems with the tones and spoken Vietnamese? Let’s share :D<o:p></o:p>