Learn Vietnamese Through V-pop
There may be nothing that can motivate you to learn Vietnamese better than your favorite Vietnamese songs. From catchy tunes and lyrics to beautifully filmed music videos, V-pop has captured the hearts of many people. In this post, I will introduce you to some of the popular Vietnamese songs and singers, as well as how to learn Vietnamese through V-pop.
Before we start, let me begin by saying that this is one of the most time-consuming posts I’ve ever written on this blog. And it is not because of the time spent on writing it, but the time I ended up spending on listening to V-pop songs on repeat.
And I blame their addictive, catchy tunes, lyrics, and interesting MVs, like this one.
Wait, has this video been a commercial all this time? You tell me.
Table of Contents
V-pop At a Glance
What is V-pop?
V-pop is short for Vietnamese popular music. It has gained international popularity over the years.
Some popular Vietnamese songs available on YouTube
If you have never listened to any V-pop songs, let’s explore some popular Vietnamese songs. These music videos are available on YouTube. There are many more songs on YouTube but we will just go over a few here.
Bống Bống Bang Bang – 365DaBand
The song Bống Bống Bang Bang has over 569 million views on YouTube at the time of this writing.
“Bống bống bang bang” is a part of a famous line in a Vietnamese fairy tale called Tấm Cám. The lyrics of the song tells the first part of the story. It was made as an OST for a Vietnamese movie called Tấm Cám: Chuyện Chưa Kể (Tam Cam: The untold story).
This song Em gì ơi has over 355 million views on YouTube at the time of this writing. The phrase Em gì ơi is just a way to call a girl you don’t know. The song has a catchy, upbeat tune, and the MV follows a journey of two young men, who one day decide to travel.
Lạc trôi, has over 260 million views at the time of this writing.
Sơn Tùng M-TP is one of the most popular singers in Vietnam and has a very large fan base. He has won many music awards, both domestically and internationally. Sơn Tùng M-TP also has a documentary on Netflix called Sky Tour: The Movie.
Bài này Chill phết – Đen ft. MIN
This song has over 178 million views at the time of this writing.
A few years ago, a coworker who didn’t speak Vietnamese asked me if I knew Đen, a Vietnamese rapper. And that’s how I learned about him, and that his fame had garnered many international fans.
Anh nhà ở đâu thế? – AMEE x B Ray
This song has over 129 million views at the time of this writing.
It is a cute, light-hearted love song. “Anh nhà ở đâu thế?” translates to “Where is your house?” (nhà = house, ở đâu = where) It is a way to ask “where do you live,” which is “anh sống ở đâu” in Vietnamese.
Bao giờ lấy chồng? – Bích Phương
The song has over 94 million views at the time of this writing.
Bao giờ lấy chồng means “when will you get married?” The music video and lyrics follow the story of a young single woman who goes back to her hometown to celebrate Tết with her family, but keeps getting asked when she will get married. The song is about how she enjoys being single and doesn’t want to get married yet.
Màu nước mắt – Nguyễn Trần Trung Quân
Even though this song has a modest 65 million views at the time of this writing, it is one of the kind. It is not just your regular music video, it is more like a complete movie with music. In less than 8 minutes, this whole music video tells a complete story with a twist, though its plot may not be for everyone.
Vietnamese music genres
There are many genres in Vietnamese music. The songs mentioned above are modern V-pop and do not represent the entire Vietnamese music industry.
For the purpose of this post, I will not go into the details of Vietnamese music genres. We will focus more on how to learn Vietnamese through V-pop songs.
How to learn Vietnamese through V-pop songs
Listening to music for entertainment is quite different from listening to it with educational purpose. The latter requires more effort and patience.
While some songs may be nice to listen to, they may not be the best songs for your study, especially when you’re starting to learn Vietnamese.
To learn Vietnamese through V-pops more efficiently, I recommend the followings:
Start with slow songs
Start with slow songs so you can actually hear and follow what they are saying. Rap songs may not be the best for beginners.
Choose songs with clear pronunciation
Choose songs with clear pronunciation and in your target accent.
Vietnamese language has many accents and variations. You may have heard about Northern and Southern accents. But there are more accents and variations, depending on the regions. Some accents may be difficult to comprehend even to native Vietnamese speakers from different regions.
Read the lyrics
Listen to the song once then take a look at the lyrics. If you understand everything they’re singing, great! If not, check out the lyrics and search for meanings of the words and phrases that you do not know. This activity helps you learn more vocabulary and their usage.
Utilize online Vietnamese dictionary to find out the meanings, their usage in the sentence, and pronunciation. Check out this resource list for online Vietnamese dictionary websites.
Listen and repeat
Once you have checked out the lyrics and comprehend it, listen to the song again, pause if needed, and repeat the words. This activity helps you improve your listening skill and pronunciation.
Note that sung words and sentences may sound slightly different than spoken words and sentences in daily conversation. However, the goal here is not to sound musically correct, but to learn more vocabulary words, their pronunciation, their usage, and how native speakers use them.
Take it easy and have fun!
Last but not least, take it easy and have fun!
Searching dictionary and reading may sound boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Take it easy and enjoy the music as you learn. You can start with a paragraph or even just a sentence, one at a time. Do whatever works best for you.
Want more listening practice?
Want more listening practice? Check these out:
