Vietnamese tones

I am trying to learn Vietnamese... slowly! It is a very difficult language! Vietnamese is a tonal language... so the same word can mean many different things depending on the tones you use.

I remember going out for Vietnamese food with my good friend Andy back in Denver and decided to try out my first Vietnamese word, chao (hello), with the waiter. ...I got a really weird look and he just walked away!


Well... come to find out, I said chao with a rise in the tone at the end and this is the word for a type of liquid food - HA! He either thought I was a bit crazy or I was very impatient for food! haha


I've learned that the correct way to say "hello" is to say chao in a definitive way... with a slight decrease in tone at the end... it almost sounds abrupt in away... but at least people smile and say hello back now!


Sometimes it is frustrating for me, as I hear a word and cannot seem to make myself repeat it back the way I've heard it. I feel like I should be able to at least repeat a word that I've just heard... but it hasn't been that simple. People here are very patient and helpful.  :)

I've also been thinking a lot about how, in English, we use tones to signify emotions when we are talking. I can say hello in a calm or professional manner, using an even tone... or I can excitedly greet a friend that I haven't seen for a while with a sing-song tone.

Well, ok, I might not be the best at describing 'tones' but I think you can understand what I mean.

Sometimes I want to say hello to someone that I recognize in an excited tone... but realize that I should just stick with the definite chao. [Downward tone.]

Today I used the word, dep (meaning beautiful), about a shade of pink and the girl looooved it! haha... I am enjoying trying out my new words and seeing if people understand me.

Last night I used mua (rain) with Phuong and she was pretty impressed.  :P

Anyway... my Vietnamese skills are definitely not impressive yet. But I will use that word - YET. I'm going to keep working at it and maybe by the end of my two-year contract I'll be able to say an entire sentence and someone will be able to understand it! (Sigh... long gaze into space as I think of future goals.) haha