Chu Nom is the ancient script written by early Vietnamese people which influenced the Chinese writing script. It was not until the 18th century that it was modernized and restored by Quang Trung Nguyen Hue.

Here is an example with the word sơn (mountain):

The chinese character for this would be 山. Now the nom character would be 杣.

As you can see for the nom, they have the character from the chinese to explain what the character means, while the character to the left of it explains how you pronounce it in Vietnamese.

Another example is the số chín (number nine):

The chinese character for this word would be 九. Now the nom character would be ��.

As you can see for the nom, they have the character from the chinese to explain what the character means, while the character to the right of it explains how you pronounce it in Vietnamese.

The program has been kindly brought to you by the people at the Vietnamese Nom Preservation Foundation whom try to preserve the Nom characters. Their website is here

For the program to type on Word documents, click here

Thanks in advance.

ern... 山 = sơn ; = núi

杣 is paint wax-tree according to nom-foundation website's dictionary. It doesn't mean mountain.

木 "Mộc - tree" is a picture on a tree, combining with 山 "Sơn - mountain" to present a tree in a mountain. The character on the left suggest the meaning of the character while the right character suggests the pronunciation.

Thanks for the correction. I should of made sure with the actual website before posting. So yeah, your explanation seems to be more accurate.