Lessons › Lesson 2
Lesson 2 · Typing Vietnamese with Telex
Your keyboard has no ă, ơ, or accent marks — but Vietnamese never uses the letters f, j, w, or z. Telex borrows exactly those spare keys to spell the marks. Learn it once and you can type Vietnamese anywhere: your phone, your computer, and every lesson after this one.
Rule 1 · Double the letter to add a hat
Type a vowel twice for the circumflex “hat”; type dd for đ.
aa | â | aam → âm |
ee | ê | ddeem → đêm |
oo | ô | oong → ông |
dd | đ | ddi → đi |
Rule 2 · The w key is the hook
w turns a→ă, o→ơ, u→ư (a lone w gives ư too).
aw | ă | awn → ăn |
ow | ơ | mow → mơ |
uw | ư | tuw → tư |
uow | ươ | nuowc → nước |
Rule 3 · The tone key goes at the end
Type all the letters first, then ONE tone key at the end. The six tones from Lesson 1 — one key each:
s | sắc (rising) á | cas → cá |
f | huyền (falling) à | gaf → gà |
r | hỏi (dipping) ả | mar → mả |
x | ngã (breaking) ã | max → mã |
j | nặng (heavy) ạ | mej → mẹ |
z | remove the tone | casz → ca |
Good to know: a second tone key simply replaces the first; doubling it (cass) types a literal s; and the mark lands on the right vowel automatically — you never choose where.
Try it
Free play — this box converts your Telex as you type:
Turn on Telex on your own device
The practice boxes below convert Telex for you, so you need nothing installed. But to type Vietnamese in EVERY app, switch on the Telex keyboard your device already ships with:
📱 iPhone / iPad
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Vietnamese (Telex). While typing, hold the 🌐 key to switch keyboards.
🤖 Android (Gboard)
Gboard → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Vietnamese → pick the Telex. Switch with the 🌐 key or by swiping the spacebar.
💻 Windows 11
Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region → Add a language → Tiếng Việt → under keyboard options choose Vietnamese Telex. Switch with Win + Space. (Older Windows: install UniKey from unikey.org.)
🍎 macOS
System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit → + → Vietnamese → Telex. Switch with Ctrl + Space or the 🌐 key.
Word-by-word trainer
Read the word’s marks to know what to type: every letter appears with the exact keys that build it — a gold key is the one that adds the mark, the outlined key is the tone (always typed last). It starts with mark-free words and ramps up; every word comes from Lesson 1, so you already know them.
b plain letter · w adds the mark · s the tone — typed last
The typing test
Ten words, no key guide — just the word and its meaning. Get them right and you’re ready to type in every lesson that follows.