Articles Lifestyle Mr Old Man When Foreign Friends Struggle with My Surname By Mr Old Man Posted on 2 days ago 4 min read 0 0 24 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr A few days ago, I shared on LinkedIn the English version of my post “MARRIOTT – Written One Way, Pronounced Another: Very… Anglais.”** Soon after, a friend from Singapore — Head of Supply Chain Solutions at a bank — left a comment: “Thank you, Mr. Nguyen. Now, if you could teach us how to pronounce your name correctly.” Most of my foreign friends are used to calling me by my family name: Nguyen. This gentleman, however, very seriously asked me to… teach him the correct pronunciation. Honestly? Mission impossible. “Nguyễn” must be among the hardest surnames in the world for non-Vietnamese speakers. I believe that even in a face-to-face meeting, after hearing it spoken several times, reproducing it accurately would still be a challenge. As for providing a phonetic spelling that works “at first sight, first try” — well… I was completely stuck. Out of options, I turned to ChatGPT. It sympathised — clearly sharing the same pain — but still came up with what it claimed was the closest approximation: “Ngwin”, pronounced quickly as a single syllable. I tried reading it again and again… and still couldn’t quite hear the real Vietnamese “Nguyễn.” Without the initial “ng” sound it’s already hard enough; without the tilde tone, the best you might get is “Nguyên.” Still, I sent the ChatGPT phonetic suggestion to my Singaporean friend, with a short note: “Thank you. Confession: I asked ChatGPT for help – it’s easier to pronounce Nguyen than to explain it in writing. The closest version is “Ngwin”, one syllable. If we ever meet in person, I’m sure you’ll get my name exactly right after the first try.” His reply was charming: “I would certainly love to meet you in person, and we can aim to meet at the Marriott If there is one where we are.” I immediately clicked the “pink heart” icon on that reply. After all, Da Nang – my hometown – has recently established its International Financial Centre. Who knows… we might meet sooner than expected. And who knows — maybe by then, he’ll pronounce it perfectly: Nguyễn. — Mr. Old Man 11.01.2026 ** MARRIOTT – Written One Way, Pronounced Another: Very… “Anglais” – Mr. Old Man