Acoustic Contrast · Polar Diagonal Pairs
The two opposite trajectory diagonals of Vietnamese intonation. Sắc sweeps briskly toward your upper vocal ceiling; Huyền glides gently toward your lower vocal basement.
Acoustic Anatomy
Visualizing the upward climb versus downward descent helps your ear and vocal cords target the right trajectory.
Thanh Sắc (´) · High Rising
Contour: Begins around mid-register and sweeps cleanly into upper vocal range.
Sensation: Like asking an eager, energetic question ("Yes?!"). Vocal cords tense briskly through the vowel without break.
Example: má (cheek / mother)
Thanh Huyền (`) · Low Falling
Contour: Starts mid-low and slides smoothly into lower chest register.
Sensation: Like a calm, sighing descent ("Ah..."). Continuous voicing with relaxed vocal cords and zero catch.
Example: mà (but / which)
Select minimal pair to test
Target Syllable
má
Target: Dấu Sắc (smooth high-rising glide)
Contour Reference (Northern Standard)
Sweep the pitch upward sharply through the vowel, then record.
Speak clearly in a quiet room. We test duration, clipping, and background noise first so you never get fake feedback from bad audio.
Diagnostic Cue
Targeted Tone Training
Đúng Chưa? provides real-time signal checks and one focused cue per attempt so you build muscle memory on difficult tone pairs without score gamification.