Your first week learning Vietnamese

It's perfectly okay to just sort the catalog by easiest and pick a video that looks interesting to you. But if you'd like a little more structure (and especially if you are new to learning through comprehensible input), use the following as a guide. It's curated to ensure that the videos reinforce ideas you've already heard so you can accelerate your path to acquiring Vietnamese.

Langiri is comprehensible input: you learn Vietnamese by understanding messages, not by memorizing rules. This learning path is built for someone focusing on the Southern dialect. See notes for learning the Northern dialect on Langiri.

Bookmark this page, because you'll want to come back and reference it from time to time.

How to watch

If you want a little more engagement without speaking, active listening is guessing from context, not drilling. Skip shadowing until the video is already easy.

Your first hour

The following represents about 18 minutes of runtime, but you are going to want to spend (at least) an hour on it. Watch the first video twice. Watch the second one twice. Then start from the beginning and watch all three one time each. That's 40 minutes. Go back and watch whichever one you enjoyed most one more time, and then go check the progress page and enjoy seeing your time start to accumulate.

  1. Where is the apple? (Free) — 5:58

    Ngân keeps looking for the apple. The same kitchen objects come back while she hunts, so you can follow with your eyes.

    Series: Fruit Vignettes

  2. Catching a Cold and Making Orange Juice (Free) — 5:08

    Same kitchen, now rain, cold, a sniffle, then orange juice. Fruit and feeling under the weather in one scene.

    Series: Fruit Vignettes

  3. Frying an Egg with Trí (Free) — 6:41

    A new speaker, still a kitchen. Pan, fridge, eggs: you can see every step of frying an egg.

    Series: Easy Cooking at Home

The rest of your first week

Now would be a good time to click your username at the top right of the page, go to the settings, and set your daily goal. Remember, acquiring a language is a marathon, not a sprint. Pick a time you think you can consistently dedicate to learning Vietnamese, either on Langiri or elsewhere. You can always add time spent learning Vietnamese on Langiri's progress page, even if you practice with the green owl!

Keep going! We recommend 20 to 30 minutes per day, but you set your own pace. You're starting to build a baseline, and these videos will build on what you've already seen. Premium videos are marked; you can skip them if you are on the free plan and move to the next free one in the list.

  1. Carrot juice gives me a stomachache (Premium) — 7:22

    More fruit on the counter, then a stomachache. Names from the apple and orange-juice videos come back.

    Series: Fruit Vignettes

  2. Chocolate Is More Tempting Than Avocados! (Free) — 7:09

    Hungry, avocado, chocolate. You will hear đói bụng again from the apple video, now as a snack-time tug-of-war.

    Series: Fruit Vignettes

  3. Blindfold Fruit Guessing Challenge (Premium) — 6:50

    The same fruit, now as a guessing game. You already know the objects; the fun is hearing them with a blindfold on.

    Series: Fruit Vignettes

You are about to take the biggest leap you've taken (well, aside from watching your first video). You've got a good bit of watch time under your belt now, so go back and rewatch one of your favorites, then dive in. You've got this!

  1. How Many People Are in Your Family? (Free) — 4:52

    Tâm draws a family and asks how many people. Faces and counting, slow enough to follow on the page.

    Series: Easy Vietnamese Drawings

  2. I'm Late for Work! (Free) — 5:04

    Morning at home: the clock, getting up, rushing out. Everyday family talk you can see.

    Series: Activities At Home

  3. A Hot Afternoon in the Living Room (Free) — 5:37

    Still the same house, now a hot afternoon. Remote, fan, living-room clutter as the clues.

    Series: Activities At Home

  4. Funny Family Situations (Free) — 5:11

    A ruler, peanuts, a lighter, a feather duster. Short names that repeat while someone tries to copy a simple task at home.

    Series: Funny Family Moments

You've been at this a while now, and you're learning more than you probably realize. This hide and seek video is the point where some particularly advanced students start to realize they understand more on a first watchthrough than they ever expected.

  1. Hide and Seek Indoors (Premium) — 5:56

    Hide-and-seek through the rooms. “Go hide” and “come find” with the whole house as the picture.

    Series: Activities At Home

  2. Oops! I Got Stuck! (Free) — 5:12

    Stuck, a ladder, a saw, help. Short lines that repeat while someone tries to get free.

    Series: Everyday Family Situations

  3. I can't go out! (Free) — 6:04

    Too sunny, too thirsty, staying inside. Weather you can feel, in the same family scenes.

    Series: Everyday Family Situations

  4. Why Am I Dizzy? (Free) — 4:35

    Dizzy and thirsty. Body feelings that connect to the cold and juice videos from hour one.

    Series: Body Reactions

After the first week

What you will know

This is not a rubric by which to grade yourself. You are acquiring a language, not memorizing a deck of cards. These are simply things you have been exposed to, and they will start to feel familiar as you keep moving through the catalog. They will also become anchor points for you to continue building context as you consume more Vietnamese content.

You do not need a new list. Stay in the series you already started, then sort the Southern catalog by easy. If a video is a blur, go back. If it feels easy, try the next one in that series.

Southern videos, easiest first

If you are focusing on the Northern dialect

If you are just starting out we encourage you to focus on one accent until you are getting comfortable. These two are particularly popular among beginners focusing on Northern. If you are still unsure which dialect you want to focus on you can review our guide at Northern vs. Southern.

  1. What do you like to EAT? (Free) — 4:57

    Trâm talks through foods she likes. Sit-down and visual enough to follow, in a Northern voice.

    Series: What are your Hobbies?

  2. WHAT do you usually DO when the weather is COLD or HOT? (Free) — 5:58

    Hot versus cold, and what people do. The same weather idea as the Southern “can’t go out” videos, Northern accent.

    Series: The Weather

If you have premium, two restaurant follow-ups:

  1. How to Order Drinks in Vietnamese? (Premium) — 4:08

    Trâm orders drinks and bánh tráng nướng. Same food world as the likes-to-eat video, now at a stall.

    Series: At The Restaurant With Trâm

  2. Goldfish Brain at a Vietnamese Restaurant! (Premium) — 4:43

    A short restaurant mix-up. Food talk after ordering drinks, still Northern.

    Series: At The Restaurant With Trâm

Northern videos, easiest first

Key takeaways

  1. Understandable Vietnamese every day is the method. A watch order is optional help, not homework.
  2. Stay in one accent. Overlap (same kitchen, same house, same speaker) is how the language starts to stick.
  3. Rewatch early and often. Repetition, seeing a word that clicked later in a video you didn't catch it the first time is a great way to really internalize it.
  4. After week one, finish the series you started, filter by dialect and sort by easy, pick videos that look interesting to you.

Start with the first video

Open Where is the apple? and just watch.

Watch Where is the apple?

Common questions

What should I watch first to learn Vietnamese on Langiri?

Start with Where is the apple?, then the rest of the first-hour trio, then the week list. This is an optional path, not a syllabus. If a video clicks, stay there and rewatch.

Does Langiri have Northern and Southern Vietnamese?

Yes. Langiri has videos in both Northern and Southern Vietnamese. This page's main path is Southern. Northern starters and the dialect guide are on this same page. We keep releasing supplemental material and guidance as it is available.

How much should I watch in the first week?

Twenty to thirty minutes a day. The first hour is about 18 minutes of runtime; with rewatches you will spend about an hour on those three videos.

Do I have to watch these videos in order?

No. This is a suggested path for people who want extra guidance. If a video looks boring, skip it. If one clicks, stay there and rewatch. The point is understandable Vietnamese every day, not finishing a syllabus.

Should I pause to look up words?

No. Gestures, objects, and images carry the meaning. Repetition brings it home. If you only caught the scene, watch it again later in the day. The goal is to understand ~80% of what is happening in a video, not memorizing or counting words.

What if a video feels too hard?

Go back one video and watch that one twice. Stay in the same series when you can: the same speaker and the same objects make the next episode easier. If it is still a blur, drop to an easier video in that accent and try again tomorrow.

Can I start if I have not paid for premium?

Yes. The first hour is all free. You don't even have to make an account. You should make an account though, it's free and you'll get progress tracking that way. Later in the week a few premium videos sit in the fruit and home series; skip those and stay on the free ones, or watch them if you subscribe.