Today I would like to teach you how to pronounce Nguyen correctly. I believe this is quite the right name to learn how to pronounce since more than 35% of Vietnamese people have Nguyen as a last name. And to be honest, pretty much every week, I hear at least one person mispronounce this last name. And I live in a small city in the US. I bet if I was living in a bigger city and I was a bit more social. I would encounter the lousy pronunciation of Nguyen pretty much every day of my life.
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How to pronounce Nguyen last name correctly
Even though this is the most common Vietnamese last name, most and by most people, I mean, over 80% are saying it incorrectly. And it is hard to judge because a lot of these people even believe that they are pronouncing it correctly. Partly because they have heard it so many times in rightly so they think that the pronunciation is correct. And to be honest, when I googled the correct pronunciation, most of the videos and articles were also incorrect.
And I am not saying that there is only one correct way, how to say this last name. But, that is not a true statement. There is quite a difference in the pronunciation between South Vietnamese pronunciation and North Vietnamese pronunciation.
How to pronounce Nguyen flawlessly
There are two main ways how to say this last name flawlessly.
The correct South Vietnamese pronunciation
- “Win”
- “wen”
The correct North Vietnamese pronunciation
- “N’Win”
- “Nuh’Win”
What both of these have in common is that you should try to pronounce it as best as you can in only one syllable.
Learn how to pronounce this last name correctly with this video
I have to admit, and this is probably the best video on this topic. I had first to explain what the correct pronunciation is. And why some people say it differently, but still correctly. But it will be probably for the best if you watch this video and learn from it.
Other correct pronunciation of this most common Vietnamese last name
Katie Nguyen said that it is ok to pronounce this last name as “NEW-yen,” but to be honest with you. I would instead not do it. Especially older people might think that you are just ignorant.
How do you pronounce Nguyen test? Most people fail
If you have time, I would like you also to watch this video because this will improve your mood. People who are in this video were asked: “How do you pronounce Nguyen?”. And let me tell you, most of them failed. Partly because of their ignorance, and partly because they have heard wrong Nguyen pronunciation all their life. This video should make you feel better and laugh. Because I hope after reading this article you already know how to pronounce this most common Vietnamese last name, if not, watch the first video a few more times. Or re-read how I have described how you should pronounce it.
My last thoughts
Hopefully, after reading this article, you already know how to say Nguyen correctly. If not, please re-read this article and watch the first video again. If I wrote something that was not clear enough, contact me, and I will try to fix this. If you have any other requests for me to write or record on youtube, please contact me. Hopefully, this article was insightful. And you have enjoyed it.
