Most apps say “try again.” Shwa says which sound and how to fix it.
This word needs the sắc tone: pitch rises at the end. Yours stayed level, so it sounds like a different word.
Six tones. One syllable, six meanings.
Change only the pitch of “ma” and you get a different word. Tap a tone to hear it.
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mangang mid, level “ghost”
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másắc starts mid, rises high “mother”
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màhuyền low, falls gently “but”
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mảhỏi dips low, then rises “tomb”
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mãngã rises, broken by a catch in the throat “horse”
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mạnặng low, falls and stops short “rice seedling”
Northern (Hà Nội) tones. Shwa checks the tone of every syllable separately from its sounds.
See how the sound is made — and the usual mistake.
The diagram shows the typical tongue and lip position for the target sound next to the most common substitute, so you can see what to change.
- 1Tip of the tongue between the teeth, slightly out.
- 2Upper teeth lightly touch the tongue.
- 3Blow: air flows between tongue and teeth, no voice.
Three steps, one phrase at a time.
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1 · Speak
Read a short phrase aloud — in the web app or as a Telegram voice message.
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2 · Analyze pronunciation
A speech model checks every sound and tone against the phrase you were asked to read.
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3 · Get personalized feedback
See which sounds to fix, hear the correct version, and practice exactly those.
Vietnamese first. Expanding to more languages.
Tones are the hardest part of Vietnamese, so Shwa checks them separately from sounds.
- Tiếng Việtfirst focus · tones
- English (US)in testing
- Españolin testing
- Русскийin testing
- More languagesnext
Shwa is an early-stage prototype.
We’re testing it with a small group of learners in a private Telegram beta. Want to try it, or talk to us?