Tones in Vietnamese: Tips on pronunciation <ol><li>Flat tone (no tone): Even when pronouncing the "flat tone", you should still start a bit high. The key point is to keep the pitch the same throughout the the word. This could be difficult for English speakers, because they tend you change the intonation based on the emotion that the sentence conveys. But even if the word with the flat tone (no tone) stands at the end of a question, where you tend to raise your voice, please KEEP IT FLAT.</li><li>Dấu sắc (rising tone): With this tone, just like how you write it, you should raise your voice by A LOT, like when you say "WHAT" or "huh" when you are surprised. The common mistake made by learners when pronouncing this tone is not raising the voice enough.</li><li>Dấu huyền (downward tone): To pronounce this tone, you have to sound a little bit sad and your voice goes a little bit lower than normal. Or when you say "uhm" or "uh" when you agree with something, or when you stop between the words (Eg: I want, uh, a car). It is subtle but trust me, you will get used to it.</li><li>Dấu hỏi (question mark tone): This is one of the trickier ones. With this one, your voice goes much lower than dấu huyền. For beginners, it is easier to go all the way down with your voice, then a bit back up.</li><li>Dấu ngã (wavy tone): This tone is actually not as hard as you think. Generally, it is close to the rising tone. The important thing is the creak in your voice when it goes up. I often joke with my students that you need to raise your voice, then choke yourself halfway and then up again.</li><li>Dấu nặng (dot tone / the "heavy" tone): Just like its name, this tone is very heavy. To pronounce it properly, you need to lower your voice to the point that your throat is closed. Similar to dấu ngã, you have to have the slight creak in your voice. But this time, it goes low instead of high.</li></ol>