Southern Vietnamese · web app & Android beta
Learn Vietnamese the way Saigon speaks it.
Southern words and the five southern tones in about five minutes a day, with every word voiced in a Saigon accent. Then say it back and watch your pitch draw itself on screen. In your browser or on Android.
Install it like an app: on Android, open it in Chrome and tap Install (or the install icon in the address bar). On iPhone, open it in Safari and tap Share › Add to Home Screen. On a computer, use the install icon in the Chrome or Edge address bar.
- No account
- No ads
- Works offline
The five southern tones
- ngangmalevel
- huyềnmàlow falling
- sắcmáhigh rising
- hỏi/ngãmả · mãdip-rise
- nặngmạlow, heavy
Five tones, not six: in the South, hỏi and ngã sound the same.
Southern vocabulary
Learn the words Saigon actually uses
Most courses teach Hanoi Vietnamese. Alô Saigon teaches what you’ll hear in Saigon: 500 everyday words, the core 200 first. Each one comes with its southern form, audio at normal and slow speed, and an example you could say tomorrow.
| Saigon | Hanoi | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tui | tôi | I, me |
| hông | không | no, not |
| vô | vào | go in |
| ổng · bả | ông ấy · bà ấy | he · she (older) |
| má · ba | mẹ · bố | mom · dad |
| dạ | vâng | yes (polite) |
Đi hông?Wanna go?
Ổng là ba tui.He’s my dad.
Vô đi, đừng ngại!Come on in!
Southern tones
Hear your tones, then see them
Tones are what make má (mom) different from mả (grave). Alô Saigon trains your ear first, then lets you check your own voice.
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Say it: your pitch, live
Tap the mic, say “má”, and your pitch draws itself over the curve of a southern reference voice as you speak. You get a match score and a one-line tip. The sound is analysed on your phone and never uploaded.
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Tone Gym
Four levels of short drills: two tones, same or different, name the tone, then minimal sets like ma · mà · má · mả · mạ. Your daily session also slips in a quick drill on the tones you mix up most.
A little every day
Five minutes a day, reviews first
Every session starts with the words that are due, then adds a few new ones. Spaced repetition brings each word back just before you would forget it, so a short daily habit adds up.
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Your pace
Sessions of 3, 5 or 10 minutes, with 3 to 10 new words a day.
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“Not sure” is an answer
No forced guesses. Say you don’t know, see the answer, and the word comes back sooner.
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Can’t listen right now?
On the bus with no headphones, one tap turns listening exercises into reading ones for 15 minutes.
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One gentle reminder
A daily nudge at a time you pick, or none at all.
Private by design
Your Vietnamese stays on your phone
No sign-up and nothing tracking you. Your learning happens on your device, and nothing about it is sent anywhere unless you choose to send feedback.
No account
Open the app and start. No email, no password, no profile.
Progress on your phone
Saved on the device. Make a backup file when you want to move to a new phone.
Your voice stays local
The microphone is used only in Say it, only while you tap it. Your pitch is worked out on the phone.
No ads, works offline
No ads and no analytics. In the Android app the audio is built in, so lessons work without a connection.
Android app · closed beta
Join the Android beta
The web app works on any phone or computer today. The Android app is in closed testing and isn’t on Google Play yet: email us and we’ll send you the test build.
Tell us which phone you use and how you’re learning Vietnamese now. That’s all we need.
Email us
Copy the address, or tap the button to open your email app.