From an early period a special ideographic script known as chữ nom was also devised for transcribing spoken Vietnamese. According to annals dating from the late 13th century, the poets Nguyễn Thuyen and Nguyễn Sĩ Cố were the first to write in chữ nom. At the turn of the century King Hồ Quy Ly (1400-1407) himself translated the Confucian classic Kinh Thi into nom. Thereafter an increasingly large number of other works were composed in the new script.

The era of the Le kings (14th and early 15th centuries) was a significant period of development for Chữ Nom literature. Of particular note were the works of Nguyễn Trai, scholar and strategist to Le Lợi (later King Le Thai Tổ, 1428-1433) during the resistance war against the invading Ming Chinese. Trai, whose Binh Ngo Đại cao (Proclamation of Victory over the Ngo) remains one of the finest works of Vietnamese national literature, left an important collection of 254 poems written in Chữ Nom known as Quốc Am Thi Tập. Though chữ Han was the official the language of the Vietnamese royal court, two Le monarchs - Le Thai Tong (1434-1442) and Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497) - are remembered for their poems written in Nom. Some 300 works of great historical and literary significance written by Le Thanh Tong may be found in the anthology Hồng Đức Quốc Am Thi Tập ('Collected Poems of the Hồng Đức Period'). However, Nom poetry did not really begin to break free from Chinese influence until the 16th century, a process signalled by the appearance of 100 remarkable works in Nom by Confucian scholar Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiem (1491-1585), brought together as the Bạch Van Thi Tập ('Compilation of Bạch Van's Poems').

The slow demise of the Le dynasty and the corresponding rise of the powerful Trịnh and Nguyễn families during the 16th and 17th centuries seriously undermined respect for the concept of absolute monarchy, leading to the collapse of the Confucian system. This in turn had important consequences for the development of Vietnamese Chữ Nom literature, which now entered a new and exciting phase of development - fresh themes appeared, and the language itself became richer, more concise and more flexible. A particular feature of the period was the appearance of stories and fables which contained thinly-veiled criticisms of official corruption and the shortcomings of feudal society.

However, the golden age for Chữ Nom was the 18th century, which witnessed a truly remarkable literary flowering. Particularly popular at this time were long narrative poems known as Truyện, which borrowed elements of popular oral tradition, fusing them with classical language to create new and vibrant works of literature. These works, with their complex plot, characterisation and structure, were the first to express in writing the personal feelings and desires of the protagonists. Amongst the greatest narrative poems of this period are Chinh phụ ngam (Lament of a Warrior's Wife) by Đặng Trần Con, translated into nom from the original chữ Han by Đoan Thị Điểm (1705-1748), and Cung oan ngam khuc (Lament of a Royal Concubine), written in Nom by Nguyễn Gia Thiều (1741-1798). During the brief reign of King Quang Trung (Nguyễn Huệ, 1788-1792) Chữ Nom was adopted as the national script for official texts and in education, to replace the classical Chinese which had been used for centuries.

The 18th century is known too for its satirical poems and stories, many of which vehemently attacked the ruling Confucian elite. Perhaps best known are the feminist poems of Hồ Xuan Hương (late 18th-early 19th century) and the anonymous popular stories Trạng Lợn (Doctor Pig) and Trạng Quỳnh (Doctor Quỳnh).

Also of significance during this period were historical works written by scholars such as Le Quy Đon (1726-1783), whose Đại Việt Sử Toan Thư ('Complete History of Đại Việt') and Le Triều Thong Sư ('History of the Le Dynasty') marked a major advance in the development of historical studies.

Notwithstanding the revival of a strong monarchy after 1802 under the Nguyễn dynasty, Vietnamese literature continued for some time thereafter to convey the humanistic aspirations and sentiments which had featured so strongly in the literature of the previous century. The best-known work of the early 19th century and today perhaps the most famous work in the history of Vietnamese literature is the narrative poem Truyện Kiều ('The Story of Kiều), written by poet, scholar, mandarin and diplomat Nguyễn Du (1765-1820). Highly regarded for its elegant language and style, this masterpiece relates the story of a beautiful and talented young woman condemned by the actions of a wicked mandarin to 15 years of tribulation and suffering.

During the second half of the 19th century some notable works of Nom literature were created by leading figures in the various patriotic movements set up to fight against French colonialism. These included proclamations, appeals to struggle, funeral orations, stories of combat and patriotic poems by the likes of Phan Đinh Phung, Nguyễn Quang Bich, Phan Văn Trị, Nguyễn Thong and Nguyễn Xuan Dư, together with lengthy but eloquent appeals to the monarch by Nguyễn Trường Tộ and Nguyễn Bộ Trạch. Perhaps the best-known writer of this period was blind poet Nguyễn Đinh Chiểu, who composed several volumes of patriotic literature before his death in 1888.