Vietnamese learning embarrassing mistakes

Please don’t get discouraged from speaking Vietnamese because of this article. While tones are important, context plays an even greater role in Vietnamese.

01. Calling your wife/husband/friends' mother a "ghost".

• Má (Mother) with a low constricted tone vs. Ma (Ghost) with a level tone.

02. Calling your wife/husband/friends' uncle a "dog" or "breasts".

• Chú with "ch" initial consonant (Uncle in father's side) vs dú with "y" initial consonant.

• Cậu with low constricted tone (Uncle in mother's side) vs Cẩu with falling rising tone (A dog)

03. Calling your wife/husband/friends' father a "cow" or "grandmother"

• Bố (Father) with the rising tone and the letter "ô" (different from "o") vs. Bò (Cow) with the falling tone and the letter "o."
• Ba (Father) with the level tone vs. Bà (Grandmother) with the falling tone.