Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrasebook (Language Survival Kit)

By Nguyen Xuan Thu

Lonely Planet's "language survival kits" contain essential words and phrases for effective communication with local people. Independent travellers, in particular, should find that these phrasebooks... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0864421737
• ISBN13: 9780864421739
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 3.6" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Does not contain pronounciation guides

Not recommended. Will not enable you to communicate, as it does not contain pronounciation information. Although if you just want to point to phrases and show the locals, this phrasebook will be helpful.

An Appropriate Title

As an individual who has spent about 2 years learning Vietnamese I believe this to be a very good book. The comments of the previous two reviewers should be dismissed (as one did not read the book and the other is already fluent). As long as you understand the setup and reasoning for the layout of a phrasebook this book will not dissappoint anyone. Unlike a dictionary where words are alphabetically listed, this book has similar items arranged (i.e. foods, health, animals). If you went to Vietnam and needed a book to take with you this is the only one I would recommend. It will allow you to survive; and, if you had trouble pronouncing words you could also point to the phrase you were trying to say (this of course would only work if the other individual was literate). If you are planning on learning the language at all (other than for a brief trip) then I'd strongly recommend getting other books (Elementary Vietnamese is good, but Colloquial Vietnamese is awful).