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Phonetics for the Vietnamese recipe titles in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

How Do You Say That?
Phonetics (pronunciations) for key Vietnamese food terms

A linguistic mix of several languages and cultures, Vietnamese is difficult to read and pronounce. Originally written in a Chinese-like script called chu nom, it is now presented in the romanized alphabet according to a system introduced by Catholic missionaries in the 1600s. This means that you'll recognize the letters but probably won't know what to do with all the accent marks. (For Viet terms with all the diacritics (accent marks), see this .pdf document.)

To assist you in pronouncing Viet food words -- very helpful when you're shopping -- below are phonetics (based on standard northern Viet pronunciation) for key ingredients. Though devoid of accent marks to help you with getting the tones right, you'll at least come close to deciphering the words for the ears of a Vietnamese speaker. Some basic knowledge of a culture's language and food is a powerful combination for furthering communication and understanding between people.

Herbs

Cilantro - Ngo (n-gaw)
Culantro - Ngo gai (n-gaw gai)
Dill - Thi la (tee lah)
Fish mint - Diep ca (zeep kah)
Mint (regular spearmint) - Hung (hoong)
Mint (spicy spearmint) - Hung cay (hoong kay)
Red perilla - Tia to (tee-ah toh)
Rice paddy herb - Ngo om (n-gaw awm)
Sorrel - Rau chua (rau chu-ah)
Thai basil - Hung que (hoong quay)
Vietnamese balm - Kinh gioi (kin zoy)
Vietnamese coriander - Rau ram (rau rahm)
Wild betel leaf - La lot (lah loht)

(Visit the Herb Primer for details on the various herbs above.)

Ingredients

A - C

Annatto (achiote) seeds - hat dieu (haht dee-u)
Banana leaves - la chuoi (lah chu-oy)
Beef - thit bo (teet baw)
Caramel sauce - nuoc mau/nuoc hang (nook moh/nook hahng)
Cellophane noodles - mien (mee-en)
Chicken - ga (gah)
Chicken broth - nuoc leo ga/nuoc dung ga (nook leh-ao gah/nook zung gah)
Chile, dried flakes or whole - ot kho (uht koh)
Chile, fresh - ot (uht)
Chinese egg noodles - mi (mee)
Chinese five-spice powder - bot ngu vi huong (boht n-goo vee hoong)
Chinese sweet sausage - lap xuong (lahp su-oong)
Cinnamon - que (quay)
Cinnamon, ground - bot que (boht quay)
Cinnamon, sticks - que chi (quay chee)
Cloves - dinh huong (ding hoong)
Coconut milk - nuoc cot dua (nook koht zu-ah)
Coconut water - nuoc dua (nook zu-ah)
Cornstarch - bot bap (boht bahp)
Crab - cua (ku-ah)
Curry powder - bot ca-ri (boht kah-ree)

D - M

Dried shrimp - tom kho (tohm koh)
Eggs - trung (troong)
Fine rice noodles - banh hoi (baan hoy)
Fish - ca (kah)
Fish sauce - nuoc mam (nook mahm)
Flat rice noodles - banh pho (baan fuh)
Flour, wheat - bot mi (boht mee)
Galangal - rieng (ree-eng)
Galangal, ground - bot rieng (boht ree-eng)
Garlic - toi (toy)
Ginger - gung (goong)
Herbs - rau thom (rau tuhm)
Hoisin sauce - tuong hoi xin (toong hoy seen)
Lemongrass - xa (sah)
Lime - chanh (chaan)
Maggi Seasoning sauce - Maggi (mah-gee)
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) - bot ngot (boht n-gawt)
Mung beans - dau xanh (doh saan)

O - R

Onion - hanh tay (haan tay)
Oyster sauce - dau hao (zau hao)
Peanuts - dau phung/dau lac (doh phoong/doh lahk)
Peanuts, roasted - dau phung rang/dau lac rang (doh phung raang/doh lahk raang)
Pepper - tieu (tee-u)
Pork - thit heo (teeth heh-ao)
Rice flour, regular - bot gao te (boht gao teh)
Rice flour, glutinous - bot gao nep (boht gao nehp)
Rice paper - banh trang (baan trahng)
Rice wine - ruou de/ruou trang (ru-ooh deh/ru-ooh trahng)
Rice, raw glutinous/sticky- gao nep (gao nayp)
Rice, raw long-grain - gao te (gao teh)
Rice, cooked long grain - com (kuhm)
Rice, steamed glutinous/sticky - xoi (soy)
Rock sugar, yellow - duong phen (doong fen)
Round rice noodles - bun (boon)

S - Z

Salt - muoi (mu-oy)
Scallion - hanh la/hanh hoa (haan lah/haan hwa)
Sesame oil - dau me (zoh meh)
Sesame seeds - me/vung (meh/voong)
Sesame seeds, toasted - me rang/vung rang (meh raang/voong raang)
Shallot - hanh tim (haan teem)
Shiitake (Chinese black) mushrooms - nam dong co/nam huong (num dong koh/num hoong)
Shrimp - tom (tohm)
Shrimp sauce - mam ruoc/mam tom (mahm ru-ook/mahm tohm)
Soy sauce - nuoc tuong/xi dau (nook toong/see yoh)
Squid - muc (mook)
Star anise - dai hoi/hoi huong or tai hoi (dai hoy/hoy hoong or tai hoy)
Straw mushrooms - nam rom (num ruhm)
Sugar - duong (doong)
Tamarind - me (meh)
Tapioca starch - bot nang (boht nahng)
Turmeric - nghe (n-geh)
Turmeric, ground - bot nghe (boht n-geh)
Vinegar - giam (zum)
Wood ear mushrooms - nam meo/moc nhi (num meh-ao/mohk ny-ee)