🇻🇳 Vietnamese · checked 21 October 2026
Best apps to learn Vietnamese by reading (2026)
4 apps whose own sites list Vietnamese, and what each is good for.
At a glance
| App | Type | Vietnamese | Audio | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReadNative (ours) | Graded books | Yes — 3 books | No narration for Vietnamese | Free first book | Beginners who want whole stories from A1 |
| LingQ | Library + import | Yes | Yes | Yes | importing and reading lots of varied content, with audio |
| Beelinguapp | Curated library | Yes | Yes | Yes | side-by-side translation and audiobooks |
| Readlang | Read anything (web, uploads) | Not listed by name — check | Voices for words and phrases | Yes | reading real web pages with click-to-translate and flashcards |
| Clozemaster | Sentence drills | Yes (depends on your base language) | — | Yes | fill-in-the-blank vocabulary drills (not a reading app) |
The apps
ReadNative (ours)
Graded retellings of real stories that start at absolute beginner and get harder chapter by chapter. Tap a word for an English gloss, tap a sentence for its translation; words you meet are counted automatically. Vietnamese books:
- Lục Vân Tiên (Lục Vân Tiên) — A1–B1, 36 chapters, free
- Tấm and Cám (Tấm Cám) — A1–A2, 16 chapters, Pro
- The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều) — A2–B1, 18 chapters, Pro
Try it: the first lines of Lục Vân Tiên
Ngày xưa, có một ngọn núi cao.
Long ago, there was a tall mountain.
Trên núi có một ngôi nhà nhỏ.
On the mountain there was a small house.
Trong nhà có một thầy đồ già.
Inside the house lived an old teacher.
Thầy đồ dạy học trò.
The teacher taught students.
Vân Tiên là học trò của thầy.
Vân Tiên was a student of the teacher.
Chàng còn trẻ.
He was still young.
| Vietnamese | Romanization | Gloss in the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Ngày xưa | Ngày xưa | long ago |
| có | có | there was |
| một | một | a |
| ngọn | ngọn | [mountain classifier] |
| núi | núi | mountain |
| cao | cao | tall |
| Trên | Trên | on |
| ngôi | ngôi | [house classifier] |
| nhà | nhà | house |
| nhỏ | nhỏ | small |
| Trong | Trong | inside |
| thầy đồ | thầy đồ | old-style teacher |
| già | già | old |
| dạy | dạy | taught |
Read the whole of chapter 1 free →
Strong at: whole stories written for beginners. Weaker at: variety beyond its 3 Vietnamese books; no narration in Vietnamese. Price model: first book free; Pro unlocks the rest and EPUB imports.
Your Vietnamese reading path in ReadNative
Lục Vân Tiên Lục Vân Tiên: ch. 1–12 ≈A1 (from Chương 1: Vân Tiên xuống núi — Chapter 1: Vân Tiên Comes Down the Mountain); ch. 13–24 ≈A2 (from Chương 13: Thầy thuốc dối — Chapter 13: The False Healer); ch. 25–36 ≈B1 (from Chương 25: Gieo mình xuống biển — Chapter 25: She Throws Herself into the Sea).
Tấm and Cám Tấm Cám: ch. 1–8 ≈A1 (from Chương 1: Tấm và Cám — Chapter 1: Tấm and Cám); ch. 9–16 ≈A2 (from Chương 9: Chiếc giày thêu — Chapter 9: The Embroidered Shoe).
The Tale of Kiều Truyện Kiều: ch. 1–9 ≈A2 (from Chương 1: Tiết Thanh minh — Chapter 1: The Thanh Minh Festival); ch. 10–18 ≈B1 (from Chương 10: Thúc Sinh — Chapter 10: Thúc Sinh).
Other apps that list Vietnamese
LingQ — importing and reading lots of varied content, with audio. Vietnamese is listed (lingq.com/en/learn-vietnamese-online). ReadNative vs LingQ →
Beelinguapp — side-by-side translation and audiobooks. Vietnamese is listed (beelinguapp.com). ReadNative vs Beelinguapp →
Readlang — reading real web pages with click-to-translate and flashcards. Says it covers 100+ languages; check yours. ReadNative vs Readlang →
Not a reading app, but useful alongside
Clozemaster — fill-in-the-blank vocabulary drills (not a reading app). Vietnamese is listed (clozemaster.com). ReadNative vs Clozemaster →
What matters in a Vietnamese reading app
Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet with diacritics that mark both vowel quality and tone, so a word can look familiar and still be unknown. Glosses that work on multi-syllable words, not single syllables, are what make reading tools useful here.
Questions
What is the best app to learn Vietnamese by reading?
It depends on your level and what you want to read. For a complete beginner who wants a story written for their level, ReadNative’s Lục Vân Tiên starts at A1 and is free. To import and read your own Vietnamese content with audio, LingQ supports Vietnamese. If audio on everything matters most, look at LingQ, Beelinguapp.
Is there a free app to read Vietnamese?
Yes: Lục Vân Tiên is free in ReadNative and readable here in your browser (38 chapters online); LingQ, Beelinguapp, Clozemaster also start free.
Northern or Southern Vietnamese?
Written Vietnamese is the same; pronunciation and some vocabulary differ. Most learning material uses the Hanoi standard. Reading works for both.
Sources
Every statement about another app on this page comes from that app’s own website, checked on 21 October 2026. Features and plans change; check their sites for the latest.
- LingQ: lingq.com/en · lingq.com/en/learn-georgian-online
- Beelinguapp: beelinguapp.com
- Readlang: readlang.com · readlang.com/features
- Clozemaster: clozemaster.com
ReadNative facts: about ReadNative and the book catalog. We make ReadNative.
More Vietnamese: learn Vietnamese by reading · Vietnamese graded readers · Vietnamese short stories · how long it takes to learn Vietnamese