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Vowels with Hooks (ư, ơ)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

The hook (ư, ơ) is a small diacritic mark that creates entirely new vowel sounds distinct from 'u' and 'o'.

  • The hook on 'o' (ơ) creates a neutral, central vowel sound like the 'u' in 'burn'. Example: 'cơm' (rice).
  • The hook on 'u' (ư) creates a tense, unrounded sound made by pulling the tongue back. Example: 'tư' (four).
  • Always treat 'ơ' and 'ư' as separate letters from 'o' and 'u' in the Vietnamese alphabet.
o + ˊ = ơ | u + ˊ = ư

Hooked Vowel Formation

Base Vowel With Hook Sound Keyboard (Telex)
o
ơ
uh
o + w
u
ư
u-tense
u + w

Meanings

The hook diacritic (dấu móc) modifies the base vowels 'o' and 'u' to represent specific phonemes that do not exist in English.

1

The ơ sound

A mid-central vowel sound.

“cơm (rice)”

“mơ (dream)”

2

The ư sound

A close-central unrounded vowel.

“thư (letter)”

“tư (four)”

Reference Table

Reference table for Vowels with Hooks (ư, ơ)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Verb + Object
Tôi ăn cơm.
Negative
Subject + không + Verb
Tôi không mơ.
Question
Subject + Verb + không?
Bạn có thư không?
Noun
Noun + Adjective
Cơm ngon.
Action
Verb + Noun
Sơn nhà.
Abstract
Noun + Noun
Tư duy.

Spectre de formalité

Formel
Tôi đang dùng cơm.

Tôi đang dùng cơm. (Dining)

Neutre
Tôi đang ăn cơm.

Tôi đang ăn cơm. (Dining)

Informel
Đang ăn cơm.

Đang ăn cơm. (Dining)

Argot
Đang chén cơm.

Đang chén cơm. (Dining)

The Hook Family

Dấu Móc

Vowel ơ

  • cơm rice
  • mơ dream

Vowel ư

  • thư letter
  • tư four

Exemples par niveau

1

Tôi ăn cơm.

I eat rice.

2

Đây là thư.

This is a letter.

3

Anh ấy mơ.

He dreams.

4

Số tư.

Number four.

1

Cơm này ngon quá.

This rice is very delicious.

2

Bạn có thư không?

Do you have a letter?

3

Tôi mơ về Việt Nam.

I dream about Vietnam.

4

Hôm nay thứ tư.

Today is Wednesday.

1

Sơn nhà màu trắng.

Paint the house white.

2

Cô ấy cứ đi mãi.

She just kept walking.

3

Mở cửa ra nào.

Open the door.

4

Đừng mơ mộng nữa.

Stop daydreaming.

1

Bức thư này rất quan trọng.

This letter is very important.

2

Cơm tấm là món đặc sản.

Broken rice is a specialty.

3

Anh ấy sơn lại bức tranh.

He repainted the painting.

4

Tư duy của bạn rất tốt.

Your thinking is very good.

1

Sự tư vấn của chuyên gia.

The expert's consultation.

2

Mơ hồ về tương lai.

Vague about the future.

3

Cứ ngỡ là đã quên.

I thought I had forgotten.

4

Sơn son thếp vàng.

Lacquered and gilded.

1

Tư tưởng tiến bộ.

Progressive ideology.

2

Mơ màng trong sương sớm.

Dreamy in the early mist.

3

Cứu vãn tình thế.

Save the situation.

4

Cơm áo gạo tiền.

The daily grind.

Facile à confondre

Vowels with Hooks (ư, ơ) vs o vs ơ

They look similar.

Vowels with Hooks (ư, ơ) vs u vs ư

They look similar.

Vowels with Hooks (ư, ơ) vs ơ vs ô

Both have marks.

Erreurs courantes

✗

com

✓

cơm

Missing the hook changes the word.
✗

thu

✓

thư

Missing the hook.
✗

o

✓

ơ

Using wrong vowel.
✗

u

✓

ư

Using wrong vowel.
✗

cơm -> com

✓

cơm

Typing without diacritics.
✗

thư -> thu

✓

thư

Missing hook.
✗

mơ -> mo

✓

mơ

Missing hook.
✗

sơn -> son

✓

sơn

Missing hook.
✗

tư -> tu

✓

tư

Missing hook.
✗

cứ -> cu

✓

cứ

Missing hook.
✗

tư duy -> tu duy

✓

tư duy

Missing hook.
✗

mơ hồ -> mo ho

✓

mơ hồ

Missing hook.
✗

cơm áo -> com ao

✓

cơm áo

Missing hook.

Structures de phrases

Tôi ăn ___.

Đây là ___ của tôi.

Tôi đang ___.

___ của bạn rất hay.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Ăn cơm chưa?

Email very common

Gửi thư.

Social Media common

Mơ về...

Job Interview occasional

Tư duy của tôi.

Food Delivery very common

Cơm tấm.

Travel common

Mở cửa.

💡

Keyboard Shortcut

Use Telex mode: o+w=ơ, u+w=ư.
⚠️

Don't skip

Skipping hooks makes you unreadable.
🎯

Pronunciation

ư is a flat, tense sound.
💬

Respect

Correct spelling shows respect.

Smart Tips

Use Telex keyboard.

com → cơm

Look for the hook.

thu → thư

Relax your jaw for ơ.

o → ơ

Check for hooks.

tu duy → tư duy

Prononciation

/ə/

ơ

Relax your jaw and say 'uh'.

/ɯ/

ư

Pull lips back, flat tongue.

Statement

Tôi ăn cơm. ↘

Falling pitch at the end.

Mémorise-le

Moyen mnémotechnique

The hook is a 'hook' that catches a new sound.

Association visuelle

Imagine a fishing hook catching an 'o' and pulling it into a new shape.

Rhyme

Hook on the o, makes it sound low. Hook on the u, makes it sound new.

Story

I sat down to eat my 'cơm' (rice). I wrote a 'thư' (letter) to my friend. I had a 'mơ' (dream) about the number 'tư' (four).

Word Web

cơmthưmơtưsơncứmở

Défi

Write 5 sentences using at least one word with ơ and one with ư.

Notes culturelles

Pronunciation is very clear.

Often sounds softer.

Distinctive vowel quality.

Derived from the Latin alphabet with added diacritics.

Amorces de conversation

“

Bạn ăn cơm chưa?

“

Bạn có nhận được thư không?

“

Bạn đang mơ về điều gì?

“

Tư duy của bạn về việc này là gì?

Sujets d'écriture

Write about what you ate today.
Write a short letter to a friend.
What are your dreams for the future?
Discuss your thinking process.

Erreurs courantes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Test Yourself

Fill in the missing hook.

C_m

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Cơm is the word.
Which is correct? Choix multiple

Which word means letter?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Thư is letter.
Fix the word. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

mo

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Mơ is dream.
Add the hook. Sentence Transformation

Toi an com.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct spelling.
Match word to meaning. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct match.
Fill in the blank.

T_ duy

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Tư duy.
Select correct word. Choix multiple

___ cửa.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Mở cửa.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Toi cu di.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Cứ.

Score: /8

Exercices pratiques

8 exercises
Fill in the missing hook.

C_m

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Cơm is the word.
Which is correct? Choix multiple

Which word means letter?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Thư is letter.
Fix the word. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

mo

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Mơ is dream.
Add the hook. Sentence Transformation

Toi an com.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct spelling.
Match word to meaning. Match Pairs

cơm - rice, thư - letter

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct match.
Fill in the blank.

T_ duy

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Tư duy.
Select correct word. Choix multiple

___ cửa.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Mở cửa.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Toi cu di.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Cứ.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

A diacritic mark.

Use 'w' in Telex.

No, it's mandatory.

New sounds.

No.

Yes, always.

Yes.

Practice daily.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish none

None

No hooks.

French low

None

Accents don't change the letter identity.

German partial

Umlauts

Umlauts are dots, not hooks.

Japanese none

None

No diacritics.

Arabic partial

Tashkeel

Tashkeel is optional.

Chinese none

None

No alphabet.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Vowels with Hats (â, ê, ô)
Next
The D with a Stroke (đ)

Related Grammar Rules

A0

Vowels with Hats (â, ê, ô)
A0

The D with a Stroke (đ)
A0

Compound Consonants (ch, nh, th)
A0

The Tricky 'ng' and 'ngh'
A0

Final Consonants (m, n, p, t, c, ch, ng, nh)
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