Categories
Resources

How to type Vietnamese in Ubuntu Linux

If you’re an Ubuntu user and want to start typing in Vietnamese, read on. For Windows instructions, visit this website.

Open Synaptic package manager, search for ibus-unikey and install it.

Once you’ve completed the install, go to your desktop. Click on System and look for IBus Preferences. There you can configure the settings.

Find IBus Preferences under the System menu
Configure your settings

Make sure to open IBus every time you want to type in Vietnamese, and click on the taskbar icon to switch back or turn it off when you don’t.

Icon in the Ubuntu taskbar for switching to type in Vietnamese

Once you’re using it, the keyboard shortcuts to make the tones and accents are:

s = sắc (eg. os → ó)
f = huyền (eg. of → ò)
j = nặng (eg. oj → ọ)
r = hỏi (eg. or → ỏ)
x = ngã (ox → õ)

mũ – press the key twice (eg. oo → ô)

móc – letter + w (eg. ow → ơ, aw → ă)

Over to you: Have you used Unikey on Ubuntu? Got any tips?

Categories
Resources

Review: Vdict.com dictionary

Where I taught English, this was the dictionary the Teaching Assistants used for reference.

I started using it myself and found it’s pretty thorough and most of the time has examples of the word in different contexts. I actually think it’s better than my dictionary in book form!

Here’s an example:

Example of vdict.com in use

Many words also have an audio file so you can hear the pronunciation, with a northern accent of course.

It has multi-lingual dictionary features currently: English↔Vietnamese, Vietnamese-Vietnamese, French↔Vietnamese and Chinese→Vietnamese.

Over to you: Have you used Vdict.com? Do you have any other dictionary recommendations? Tell us in the comments.