They were compiled by Ngo Thi Bich Thu, a Vietnamese language lecturer in Germany and her husband Martin Großheim, a professor of the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian history at the Republic of Korea’s Seoul National University.

The first book, which includes about 1,500 common idioms and proverbs, is the first bilingual of this kind to be published in Germany. Meanwhile, the other two, entitled “Modern Vietnamese 1” and “Modern Vietnamese 2”, not only make it easy for people to learn the Vietnamese language and culture but also contain a lot of up-to-date information about Vietnam in various fields.

Stemming from the couple’s enthusiasm and love of Vietnamese culture as well as the students' need to learn about Vietnamese idioms and proverbs, the couple decided to publish a book on this issue.

The publication of two books will contribute to improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, Großheim said, adding that each topic is carefully translated and explained in German.

According to Thu, it is not easy to publish the books as it requires a lot of efforts and persistence./.