Nguyen?????

Question

How do you pronounce this name? When I call people with this name (in my profession) how do i say it? I said it like "win" is this correct?

Answer 1

"Win" is close enough,
but I would say "N-WIN" is closer.
(And "Ng-WIN" is more authentic Vietnamese.)

Some Vietnamese have legally changed their names to "Newinn" to better match the pronunciation in Vietnamese. I heard of a Vietnamese actor use "Newwinn" and now there is a professional cheerleader who uses this "American" spelling -- "Carol Newinn (Vietnamese: Nguyen) is the first Vietnamese-American cheerleader for the Houston Texans."]

So technically, it is more like
N-WIN
or
Ng-WIN
where the "N" or "Ng" is almost silent.
(Close the back of your throat, like the end of the word "siNG" and then say "WIN" and it will come out
as "Ng-WIN" where the "Ng" can barely be heard. Because you are closing the back of your throat, that is why it sounds like "win" when it really is "ng-WIN.")

Source: My Vietnamese family name "Nghiem" (similar to "Nguyen" but not as common). My native Vietnamese parents and friends pronounce our name "Ng-YIM" but if that is too awkward for people, I tell them "NIM" or "N-YIM" is close enough!

Answer 2

I think U can pronounce it better if you are not trying to pronounce the "N" like EN but as just N and the rest I think more like wien.
In germany theres a letter "Ü" ...this would fit best in the name .I thinki the german "Ü" is more easier to learn.
So "N"+"Ü"+"eN" would be the best way to pronounce it in my Opinion.
Greets Dat Nguyen

Answer 3

No, the ng part is just like ng in "ring." This is followed by u like in Spanish, i like in Spanish, and en similar to as i n "pen".

Answer 4

You are correct.

Some have explained that the better pronounciation is "wen."