Thai and Vietnamese sound similar to untrained ears because both are tonal languages with many single-syllable words, sharing features like syllable-final stops and heavy influence from Chinese vocabulary, creating a common "Southeast Asian sound," but they belong to different language families (Tai-Kadai and Austroasiatic, respectively) and have distinct differences in tones and specific sounds, according to a Quora post and a Reddit post.
Phonological Systems. The tonal systems of Thai and Vietnamese are fundamentally different in terms of the number and nature of tones, which are crucial for meaning differentiation.
According to a 2021 study, Northern Tai-Kadai groups are genetically close to Dai and Kinh Vietnamese people and exhibit less admixture with indigenous Austroasiatic groups. Meanwhile, Northeastern Tai-Kadai groups are genetically close to Austroasiatic Khmu-Katu groups, who recently migrated to Thailand from Laos.
Do Vietnamese people understand the Thai and Lao languages? We don't. The difference between Vietnamese and Thai/Laotian is similar to the difference between French and English. Theoretically, Thai and Laotian belongs Tai-Kadai languages and Vietnamese and Cambodian belongs to Mon-Khmer languages.
Lao and (Central) Thai are two closely related languages of the Southwestern branch of Tai languages.
Sixty-two 'domestic' languages are officially recognized, and international languages spoken in Thailand, primarily by international workers, expatriates and business people, include Burmese, Karen, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese, among others.
Among modern populations, Kinh Vietnamese show close affinities with Tai-Kadai peoples, especially Dai people, and to a lesser extent, East Asian populations such as Han Chinese and Japanese.
Sentence construction is the same. Vocab is probably a bit simpler. The writing system is much easier to adapt to. So if we're talking about inherent difficulty for an English speaker, Vietnamese probably edges it, especially if your focus is on speaking.
They play the Thai national anthem twice daily; once at 8am and again at 6pm. Thai people and foreigners alike must pay respectto the anthem by ceasing whatever they're doing, whether it be eating a meal, walking in a market or chatting to friends, and stand completely still with hands by their side until it finishes.
Vietnam has shifted from a fierce opponent of the United States to a friendlier relations. Vietnam has for decades has both kept close economic and political ties with China and consistently sought to deny Chinese regional dominance.
In 1850, British lawyer James Richardson Logan detected striking similarities between the Korku language in Central India and Vietnamese. He suggested that Korku, Mon, and Vietnamese were part of what he termed "Mon–Annam languages" in a paper published in 1856.
In fact, the etymology of Thai numerals 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 is Middle Chinese, while the etymology of Thai numeral 5 is Old Chinese, as illustrated in the table below. Numerical digit characters, however, are almost identical to Khmer numerals.
English (v) poses greater problems for Thai speakers as this sound does not occur in Thai at all, either in syllable initial or syllable final position.
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While Thailand offers stunning beaches and a vibrant food scene, Vietnam edges out as the ultimate winner due to its diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and affordability. From the towering limestone cliffs of Halong Bay to the terraced rice fields of Sapa, Vietnam's natural beauty is unparalleled.
Modern relations
As a result, Thai–Vietnamese relations have quickly improved. Thailand, a founding member of ASEAN, supported Vietnam in joining the ASEAN, which occurred in 1995. Thus, the once-poor relationship between Thailand and Vietnam has turned into one of strategic co-operation and alliance.
Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Vietnam was part of China for a thousand years during which time a massive flow of people from China moved South. The Southern part of Vietnam belonged to Cambodia until only recently, so it's understandable a lot of people in the South would look Cambodian/Southeast Asian too.
UNESCO is giving credit where credit is due: Chinese is officially the most difficult language in the world. To give you an idea of the complexity of this language: The written form gives no clues as to pronunciation… And pronunciation and intonation completely change the meaning of a word.
They are described as “hard languages”. Category V – It usually takes 88 weeks or 2200 hours to reach S-3/R-3 proficiency in these languages. This small group of “super-hard languages” includes Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic.