Etymology

biển ‎(“sea”) +‎ Hoa Đông ‎(“East China”); the Vietnamese name doesn't follow any pattern of naming the East China Sea in other Chinese-influenced languages, probably to avoid any possible confusion between Chinese 東海 ("East China Sea", Sino-Vietnamese reading: Đông Hải) and Vietnamese "Biển Đông", both of which literally mean "east sea"

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ˀɓiɜn˧˩ hwaː˧˧ ˀɗɜwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ˀɓiɜŋ˧˩ hwaː˧˧ ˀɗɜwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ˀɓiɜŋ˨˦ waː˧˥ ˀɗɜwŋ͡m˧˥]