The Nôm and Sino-Vietnamese Pronunciation Guide by Father Anthony Trần Văn Kiệm consists of two main parts: Part I introduces and lists the radicals used in writing Hán-Nôm characters, followed by an arrangement of Hán-Nôm characters classified by radicals and stroke count. This method of organizing Hán-Nôm characters by radicals allows readers to quickly identify the pronunciation of a character in both Sino-Vietnamese and modern Vietnamese, thereby enabling them to easily find the corresponding meaning in Part II. Part II provides the pronunciation and meaning of each Hán-Nôm character. The pronunciation section includes the Beijing Mandarin pronunciation (transcribed in Pinyin, which the author refers to as Phanh Âm), the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, and the Vietnamese (Nôm) reading. This arrangement significantly reduces the time required to look up the pronunciation and meaning of Hán-Nôm characters. The book also offers detailed instructions on how to use and look up Hán-Nôm characters quickly and efficiently, making it accessible even for those who have never studied Hán-Nôm before. Notably, by arranging the meaning lookup section in alphabetical order based on the Vietnamese pronunciation, readers can effortlessly locate the Nôm character they are interested in and verify how a modern Vietnamese sound may be represented in Nôm and what its meaning is.

The dictionary is compact yet packed with valuable information and a vast collection of Hán-Nôm characters. It serves as a gateway for readers to explore the “mysterious” yet fascinating world of Hán-Nôm while also enabling them to study and research the wealth of Hán-Nôm documents still preserved in libraries across Vietnam and around the world. This is undoubtedly one of the rare and valuable books for referencing and self-studying Hán-Nôm that anyone passionate about learning these ancient scripts should read.

This digital version of the Nôm and Sino-Vietnamese Pronunciation Guide by Antony Trần Văn Kiệm (based on the print publication from Đà Nẵng Publishing House in 2004) has been transferred from its original home on the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation Website to the Digitizing Việt Nam Website.