Pronunciation tip: Nguyen

James Harbeck tells you how to say the Vietnamese name Nguyen. ***NOTE: If someone named Nguyen asks you to say it differently from how I'm telling you—e.g., in a more Anglicized way—do what they ask! It's their name, after all. I'm telling you the usual way to say it.***

[michaelowen]

"A thiNG WE INtend to do!" - *mindblowing*. Well said, sir!

[patricianguyen]

"A thing we intend to do" ... That - that's brillant

[julianliew-young]

As a kiwi, I felt proud that he used 2 māori words at the end, “Ngaire” and “Ngati whatua”

[CanonDMii]

Mind blown. Now I know how to say this last name correctly at work. Thank you so much for making this video.

[MasonFN]

This video is great. Your frank teaching style is awesome. Thank you for sharing. Apparently I was butchering my friend's last name for years!

[LUSCIOUSDUNCAN]

very clever!! i love it! subscribed! i'm a huge fan of language and you clearly know what you're talking about so i look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

[Ampeachy]

Thank you! I'm trying to give someone credit in a podcast...I was practicing my script and had a dead stop once I tried to pronounce his name. I wanted to make sure I gave this man his praise properly.

[usetube]

Incredible-this guy knows what he's talking about, and I'm impressed XD
What a great trick for pronouncing Nguyen!

[MaxiusTheGod]

The only video that made me actually understand how to say it.

[manuk.e.l]

Love you bruh! I'm Maori and you just made my day saying Ngati Whatua!🤣🤣🤣 Chur to the Chur. 💛💛💛

[abcjme]

0:35 I've heard "Engine", haha.

[pinkywallace]

Such a help!! Thanks James. Love your attitude to life.

[michaelnguyen]

As a person with this last name, I would be perfectly content if an English speaker were to pronounce my name like "win". I don't really expect them at all to nail the right accent and tone.

[ronamador]

Thank you as my new friend has this last name and I have been trying to learn how to say it in English. This was a big help!

[mushroom]

" a thing we intend to do" I DOD NOT EXPECT THAT THATS AMAZING THANKS!!

[blueslow]

That "a thing we intend to do" tripped me out lol

[krissy]

Come to think of it, most Asian languages are pretty straightforward. I have always pronounced Nguyen the way you did. And I am from Malaysia. But most Vietnamese-American here pronounced it in different ways including “When” or “Win.” But I believe that “ngu” should be pronounced especially considering it’s a an Asian language where we don’t really silent anything.

[HeavenestStCyr]

THank you for the lesson. You thought on us on multiple levels.

[nguyenmachtuongvy]

I actually like it when people are creative with it. :)) I should start collecting how people pronounce or write it wrong just for entertaining reasons.

[EntityJewelry]

I've been teaching my American friends pretty much the same way. When they see the first 2 letters NG, they get thrown off right away. And then, I told them that if they can say riNGiNG, siNGiNG, or any present participle English word, then, they certainly can say Nga (my name) and Nguyen. It takes seconds and most of the time, they could say it correctly on the 1st try. It's truly quite simple.