🇻🇳 Vietnamese
Vietnamese graded readers: what to read at each level
There are few graded readers for Vietnamese in English. The language is written in Latin script with tone marks, and its grammar is simple, so reading can carry you a long way — if you can find text at your level.
ReadNative's Vietnamese book is Lục Vân Tiên, after Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, retold from absolute beginner to B1 over 36 chapters. It is free, and you can read the first chapters free in your browser, tapping any word for its English meaning or any sentence for a translation.
Vietnamese graded readers on ReadNative
What to read at each level
A1
Vân Tiên comes down the mountain and meets bandits, in short sentences with high-frequency words.
A2
Nguyệt Nga's vow, true friends and envious rivals bring more vocabulary and the pronouns of address.
B1
The later chapters reach B1 with longer sentences and more Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary.
B2
Vietnamese news, short stories and the original verse of Lục Vân Tiên.
Not sure where you are? Take the Vietnamese vocabulary test or check a text with the difficulty checker.
Questions
What is a graded reader?
A book written or retold with controlled vocabulary and grammar for a specific level, so a learner can read a whole story in Vietnamese with little dictionary use. The aim is lots of comfortable reading, not decoding.
How do I know if a book is the right level?
If you understand the story and need to look up only a few words per page, it is right. If every sentence needs help, drop down a level; if you never tap anything, move up. In Vietnamese the step from graded books to native texts is steep, so do not rush it.
Is Lục Vân Tiên a famous story?
Yes. Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's 19th-century verse narrative is a classic of Vietnamese literature, especially loved in the south.