How to Pronounce Nguyen (According to People Named NGUYEN!)

Learn how to pronounce "Nguyen" with the American Pronunciation Guide ("APG")!

The American Pronunciation Guide is devoted to descriptive linguistics--i.e., the study of the internal phonological, grammatical, and semantic structures of languages without reference to the history of the language or comparison with other languages. We believe that the best way to learn how to say "Nguyen" (or any other word) is to listen to the pronunciation of our peers. To help foster such descriptive learning, we provide videos combining relevant clips from popular culture. Enjoy!

--SOURCES--

#pronunciation #pronounce #ipronounce

[AmericanPronunciationGuide]

As portrayed in this video, there is a bit of variation in how people with the surname "Nguyen" pronounce their own name. Know anyone who pronounces "Nguyen" differently? Think any of the pronunciations in this video are wrong? Let us know by commenting below!

[BS-vxdg]

This confirms my experience that not everyone with this name pronounces it the same. It might be nice to have a second Nguyen video with people who still live in Vietnam.

[damnbabygirl]

Guys. The last name Nguyen has been anglicized to sound like “Win” or “Nu-win”. The actual Vietnamese pronunciation is closer to “Ngween” with a tone and difficult to pronounce.

My two cents — if you meet a Nguyen and have to say their last name for whatever reason, just ask them how it’s supposed to be pronounced. Everyone says it a little differently because it’s anglicized therefore there’s no correct pronunciation besides the actual Vietnamese one.

[peter-radiantpipes]

It’s nice you have many examples here rather than one person. Male and Female, older and younger … no one does that. Great job! 👏

[TabithaStabitha]

"When" is the pronunciation I've heard the absolute most in everyday life, I'd say 9 out of 10 times easily

[Makinm]

Idk how I got to this video, but in high school this girl named Sally was running for homecoming queen and her banners said “Sally for the Nguyen” if that helps any

[FranzBazar]

I had a good friend in University (in USA) who said Win. From this video I think it confirms my thought that Win is how Vietnamese have "simplified for America" the pronunciation. I Don't think that's how they say it in Vietnam. From what I can gather in Vietnam it would be closer to NewWin, or NuWin

[goddammtroubleman]

"Oo-when"
"Win"
"When"
"Newie-In"

Even the people who have this name all seem equally confused on how to pronounce it.

[stoutlager]

I had a classmate in university who told me to just go with "wen" as that's close enough. There are regional differences in the exact pronunciation that may include hints of the n and some other tints to it. As an english speaker you're safe to start with 'wen' and go from there if the person prefers a more specific pronunciation.

[gargantuan]

Correct Pronunciation: 0:29
Pronouncing it "Win" is them making their names easier for people who don't speak their language.

[notsuitable]

I been jacking this up so bad! How could it be so plain and SIMPLE but so fancy written

[alexwu]

Understandable
My last name is Wu, and I had been pronouncing it as Wu all the time (Eh'u)
After I lived in the US for a while, now I read that as Weou.

[lizschwab]

I've been listening to an audio book with a character with this lady name, and it's been driving me crazy that they consistently pronounce it "En-goo-yen" . I mean, really? 🤦‍♀️

[yjk]

This reminds me of how Korean last names spoken in English are different from the authentic pronunciation but the English version is so ubiquitous that even the most pedantic and patriotic Korean would accept it as valid. Now there's multiple "valid" pronunciations and it confuses those who are learning the language.

[aovan]

I am Vietnamese, born in Vietnam. It's strange that I only see person number 2 pronounce it correctly. Maybe they were all born in a foreign country or were trying to change the word into something that was easier for English speakers to hear.

[captainbryce]

So what I got out of this was that the “correct” way to say it is however the person with the name pronounces it. Just like with any other name with multiple pronunciation.

Stephan (STEEV-In or STEPH-En)
Colbert (COAL-Bert or Coal-BEAR)

[VpopRemix-vkrd]

“How to pronounce Nguyen” on YouTube is what you need

[MrPotatoesLatkie]

A girl in one of my classes (who had just come from Vietnam) pronounced her name was "ween", which is very similar to the way that last fellow pronounced his name.

[lasennui]

Personal experience (not saying it's a universal experience) of people introducing themselves from a regional/state perspective in USA:
From KY, IN, OH, and CA: Nuyen/N'wen/Nuwen
From GA, SC, AL, and TN: Win/Wen

[Googoogagagod]

Thanks! As a person with autism, I appreciate you clearing it all up for me.