Vietnamese is a tonal language. The meaning of each word depends on the "tone" in which it is pronounced.
There are six distinct tones in the standard northern dialect. But in Southern Vietnamese, there is a merging of the hỏi and ngã tones, in effect leaving five basic tones.
| Tiếng Việt | Marker | Example | English Meaning | |
| Mid-level tone | Thanh ngang | (unmarked) | ma | Ghost |
| Rising tone | Dấu sắc | ́ | má | Mother |
| Falling tone | Dấu huyền | ̀ | mà | Which |
| Low-falling-rising tone | Dấu hỏi | ̉̉̉ | mả | Tomb |
| High-rising broken tone | Dấu ngã | ̃ | mã | Horse |
| Low-falling broken | Dấu nặng | ̣ | mạ | Rice Seedling |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU92A89c11E&t=4s
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