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How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:50 pm
by tkr4lf
I've always wondered and I've never heard it actually said, only seen it written. How in the hell do you pronounce this Asian name?

All in all a pretty pointless thread, I just want an answer on this.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:53 pm
by Symmetry
tkr4lf wrote:I've always wondered and I've never heard it actually said, only seen it written. How in the hell do you pronounce this Asian name?

All in all a pretty pointless thread, I just want an answer on this.


Check wiki, look it up, there's often a sound file.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:55 pm
by Army of GOD
thankfully I've never had to pronounce it before, but I'd guess "Guee-in"

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:56 pm
by Phatscotty
wen.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:08 pm
by 2dimes
g-win

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:35 pm
by TA1LGUNN3R
Phatscotty wrote:wen.


This or "win" is what I've heard, with sort of a short airy -wh in the beginning.

Source: I have an uncle who married a Vietnamese woman whose surname was Nguyen.

-TG

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:42 pm
by Army of GOD
TA1LGUNN3R wrote:
Phatscotty wrote:wen.


This or "win" is what I've heard, with sort of a short airy -wh in the beginning.

Source: I have an uncle who married a Vietnamese woman whose surname was Nguyen.

-TG


"me so horny"

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:55 pm
by daddy1gringo
What I've heard is "NEW-yen."

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:57 pm
by nietzsche
I don't.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:09 pm
by KoolBak
daddy1gringo wrote:What I've heard is "NEW-yen."


Bingo

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:17 pm
by tkr4lf
KoolBak wrote:
daddy1gringo wrote:What I've heard is "NEW-yen."


Bingo

Word.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:51 pm
by natty dread
gnu-yen

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:39 am
by Woodruff
tkr4lf wrote:I've always wondered and I've never heard it actually said, only seen it written. How in the hell do you pronounce this Asian name?

All in all a pretty pointless thread, I just want an answer on this.


Every student I've had with that spelling (three or four) pronounced it "Hwin" (with a VERY soft H).

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:45 am
by kentington
Woodruff wrote:
tkr4lf wrote:I've always wondered and I've never heard it actually said, only seen it written. How in the hell do you pronounce this Asian name?

All in all a pretty pointless thread, I just want an answer on this.


Every student I've had with that spelling (three or four) pronounced it "Hwin" (with a VERY soft H).


Yes. I actually went to school with a lot of Vietnamese students. I currently have a Vietnamese co-worker and most people miss the H.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:29 am
by tkr4lf
Hmmm, so not much consensus. Most people have good sounding sources, but differing pronunciations.

Maybe I just need to find a Vietnamese person and ask them myself. That's what the name is? Vietnamese? For some reason I was thinking Japanese... good to know.

Thanks for the responses. It was obviously very important that I get an answer.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:52 am
by TA1LGUNN3R
Yeah its the Vietnamese Smith or Johnson.

-TG

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:03 am
by xeno
I was in drum corps with a guy whose last name was spelled exactly Nguyen and his first name was Dustin. He pronounced it "when" or "win" so we called him kansas because of Dustin "Win" like dust in the wind for the band.. is anyone making the connection???

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:11 am
by notyou2
One time in band camp.....

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:29 am
by xeno
Let me just say band provides an excellent avenue for sex for even the most hopeless high school freshman.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:36 am
by tkr4lf
xeno wrote:Let me just say band provides an excellent avenue for sex for even the most hopeless high school freshman.

I should have been a band nerd.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:42 am
by xeno
tkr4lf wrote:
xeno wrote:Let me just say band provides an excellent avenue for sex for even the most hopeless high school freshman.

I should have been a band nerd.

Think about it for a second guys. Its one of the only co-ed groups you can join in high school and 90 % of the time were left alone and the school even gives bands rooms that you can be alone in. Im not saying its an orgy going on, just that if you know the right moves you can manipulate a lot of those stupid woodwind chicks into giving you bj's in the practice room during lunch.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:29 am
by daddy1gringo
xeno wrote:I was in drum corps with a guy whose last name was spelled exactly Nguyen and his first name was Dustin. He pronounced it "when" or "win" so we called him kansas because of Dustin "Win" like dust in the wind for the band.. is anyone making the connection???
Dustin Nguyen? That was the name of the actor who was on the original "21 Jump Street" series where Johnny Depp got his start. I don't know how old you are, any chance it was the same guy?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629006/

P.S. The IMDB article says he pronounces it "Win"

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:54 pm
by xeno
daddy1gringo wrote:
xeno wrote:I was in drum corps with a guy whose last name was spelled exactly Nguyen and his first name was Dustin. He pronounced it "when" or "win" so we called him kansas because of Dustin "Win" like dust in the wind for the band.. is anyone making the connection???
Dustin Nguyen? That was the name of the actor who was on the original "21 Jump Street" series where Johnny Depp got his start. I don't know how old you are, any chance it was the same guy?

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629006/

P.S. The IMDB article says he pronounces it "Win"

No chance. This guy is like two maybe three years older than me.

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:02 pm
by Phatscotty
I used to know a guy named Torbin.

We called him Tor-bin Laden

Re: How do you pronounce the name Nguyen?

PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:09 pm
by whitestazn88
the actual vietnamese pronunciation has a lot more to it than just a simple "win"/"wen" to it. I can assure you that it isn't meant to be 2 syllables. but as we are in a country where the language doesn't have as many accents to add to vowels, any pronunciation that you use is ok.