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Learn How to Pronounce Ho Chi Minh | YouPronounce.it

How to Pronounce Ho Chi Minh

Quick Answer: In Vietnamese, the name Ho Chi Minh is pronounced [hô tɕǐ mɪŋ].
(Listen to the audio below for the stress and intonation)

Meaning and Context

Ho Chi Minh, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung in 1890, was the preeminent Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader and the principal architect of modern Vietnam's independence. Adopting the name Ho Chi Minh, meaning "He Who Enlightens," he founded the Indochinese Communist Party and later the Viet Minh, a broad nationalist coalition that successfully fought for liberation from French colonial rule. His political and military strategy culminated in the historic victory at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, which ended French colonial involvement in Indochina. Subsequently, he became the founding President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) in 1945, a position he held until his death in 1969. A symbol of anti-colonial resistance and national unity, Ho Chi Minh's legacy is complex, revered as "Uncle Ho" for his dedication to Vietnamese sovereignty and critiqued for his authoritarian governance, with his ideological writings and leadership continuing to profoundly influence the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and its capital, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.

Common Mistakes and Alternative Spellings

The standard and correct Romanized spelling is Ho Chi Minh, which follows the modern Vietnamese alphabet (Quốc Ngữ). Common misspellings and variations often arise from phonetic guesses, typographical errors, or outdated transliterations. Frequent errors include "Ho Chi Min" (dropping the final 'h'), "Ho Chin Minh," or "Ho Chi Mihn." The name is sometimes abbreviated as "HCM" in contexts like "HCM City" or "HCM Trail." Historically, during his years of travel and undercover work, he used numerous aliases, including Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Nguyen Ai Quoc), which translates to "Nguyen the Patriot," and this name appears in many historical documents related to his early anti-colonial activism. It is also important to note the correct use of diacritical marks in the full Vietnamese name: Hồ Chí Minh.

Example Sentences

Pilgrims and tourists alike flock to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi to view the preserved body of the revolutionary leader.

Historians often debate the precise evolution of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, which blended Vietnamese patriotism with Marxist-Leninist principles.

The city formerly known as Saigon was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976 following the reunification of North and South Vietnam.

Many of his speeches, such as the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence read in 1945, directly invoked the American and French revolutionary traditions.

Despite the passage of time, the image of Ho Chi Minh remains a potent national symbol, displayed in government buildings and schools across the country.

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