These are my learning notes from VietnamesePod101.com lesson 4.2.
Vocabulary
Make a list of unfamiliar words from the text and look up their meanings in a Vietnamese-English dictionary.
Create flashcards with the Vietnamese words on one side and their English translations on the other. Review them regularly to reinforce your memory.
- biết đến: known
- lịch sử: History
- kéo dài: lasting for
- hàng trăm năm: hundreds of years
- ban đầu: originally, at first, initially
- bị Việt Nam sáp nhập: annexed by Vietnam
- thứ: Thứ 1, T2, T3, … but also used for centuries: “vào thế kỷ thứ 17”.
- Biển – Sea/Ocean
- Biển cả – The open sea
- Biển khơi – Open ocean
- Biển đông – East Sea (refers to the South China Sea)
- Biển tây – West Sea (refers to the Gulf of Thailand)
- Biển hải sản – Seafood
- Biển báo – Buoy
- Biển hiệu – Signboard
- Biển quảng cáo – Advertisement sign
- Biển số xe – License plate
- Biển điểm dừng – Bus stop sign
- Biển hướng dẫn – Directional sign
- Biển cảnh báo – Warning sign
- Biển nguy hiểm – Danger sign
- Biển phụ – Auxiliary sign
- Biển tên đường – Street sign
- Biển giao thông – Traffic sign
- Biển báo giao thông – Road sign
- Biển đá – Reef
- Biển hỗn hợp – Mixed sea
- Hải: Maritime, oceanic
- Hải cảng: port, harbor, seaport
- Hải sản: Seafood
- Hải đăng: Lighthouse
- Hải quân: Navy
- Hải đội: Fleet
- Hải trình: Navigation
- Hải vận: Shipping
- Hải lý: Nautical mile
- Hải biển: Ocean
- Hải ngoại: Overseas (literally “outside the sea”)
- Hải lính: Marine
- Hải đảo: Island
- Hải triều: Tidal wave, tsunami
- Hải lưu: Current
- Hải hồ: Sea, lake
- Hải quyết: Maritime jurisdiction
- Hải sản viên: Fisherman, seafood harvester
- một tộc người: an ethnic group, a tribe of people
- nguồn gốc: source, origin
- dân tộc: nation, ethnic (dân is people, tộc is ethnicity)
- đến tận: until (arrive, end), as far as…
- trở thành: to become
- nằm trong: located in, inside, lying in, …
- hợp nhất: unify, combine
- (các) chuyên gia: Expert(s)
- nhận định (rằng): to state, to identify, to say, to judge, to comment (that)
- tổ chức quốc tế: international organizations
- khác nhau: different
- xếp hạng: to be rated
- thành phố đứng thứ 132 trong danh sách: the city ranks 132nd in the list
- chi phí sống cao nhất thế giới: the higest cost of living in the world
Reading Comprehension:
Read the text aloud to improve your pronunciation and fluency. After reading, summarize each paragraph in Vietnamese, focusing on key points.
My version
Corrected summary (Chat GPT)
Write down questions in Vietnamese based on the content of the text. Then, try to answer those questions in full sentences.
Sentence Structure and Grammar:
Pick random sentences from the text and rewrite them in different moods (interrogative, imperative, conditional).
Practice turning affirmative sentences into negative ones and vice versa.
Identify different sentence patterns in the text and create your own sentences using those patterns.
Này vs. nay
này: this vs. nay: now
Listening Practice:
Find an audio recording or video of someone reading the text in Vietnamese. Listen carefully and try to follow along with the text.
Write down unfamiliar words or phrases you hear and try to understand their meaning from context or by looking them up.
Speaking Practice:
Recite the text from memory, focusing on correct pronunciation and intonation.
Practice describing Hanoi or any other city you know in Vietnamese. Talk about its location, population, history, and famous landmarks.
Translation:
Take a paragraph or a few sentences from the text and translate them into English. Then, translate them back into Vietnamese to check your understanding.
Writing Practice:
Write a short essay or paragraph in Vietnamese about your impressions of Hanoi, using the information from the text and any additional research you do.
Create a travel brochure in Vietnamese about Hanoi, highlighting its attractions and unique features.
Vocabulary Expansion:
Find synonyms and antonyms for the words used in the text.
Learn some common idioms or expressions in Vietnamese and try using them in sentences.