không

Muong

Muong cardinal numbers

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Cardinal : không

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰoŋ¹/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Vietnamese không.

Numeral

không

1. zero

Etymology 2

From Proto-Vietic *k-roːŋ (“river”), from Proto-Mon-Khmer *ruŋ ~ ruuŋ ~ ruəŋ (“river”); cognate with Vietnamese sông.

Noun

không

1. (Mường Bi) river

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• (Southern Vietnam) hông; hôn (hôông); hổng
• (abbreviations) k, ko; kg; k°; khĝ
• (Internet slang, text messaging) khum

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese 空 (“empty, nothing, none”). This is now the main negator in Vietnamese and, in formal writing, virtually the only negator; however, see the list of other negators at the end of the entry.

The grammaticalization of không into a negative particle began in the 17th century and coinced with the numerous arrivals of Western businessmen in Vietnam. Because the quantifier "zero" is often used in the context of business, a relationship between "zero" and the verbal particle không was established. The development from "empty, vacant" into the numeral "zero" can also been seen in many Min Nan varieties, as well as Korean 공 (gong).

In the beginning of the 20th century, không replaced the original chief negator chẳng of native Vietnamese origin, coinciding with the establishment of French colonial rule over Vietnam.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [xəwŋ͡m˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội)

  (file)

• Audio (South Central Coast)

  (file)

Adverb

không

1. not (negates meaning of verb)

   Tôi không phải là người Việt Nam.

   I am not Vietnamese.

2. idly, without doing anything
   • 1936, Vũ Trọng Phụng, chapter 1, in Số đỏ, Hà Nội báo:

     – Một hào đấy! Bói rẻ còn hơn ngồi không.

     "Here you have a dime! A cheap fortune-teller is still better than sitting without anything to do."

Verb

không

1. not have; to lack

Adjective

không

1. without anything added

   cơm không ― only rice

Interjection

không

1. (to an affirmative question) no
2. (to a negative question) yes

Particle

không

1. at or near the end of a question, makes it a yes-no question

   Có ai ở nhà không (ạ) ?

   Anybody home?

   Đúng không ?

   Is that true?

   Mày chưa làm phải không ?

   You haven't done anything, have you?

Usage notes

• The interrogative expression có … không forms in most cases a yes-no question and encircles the verbal or adjectival predicate. Có is placed in front of the verb or adjective, and không comes at the end of the sentence. Such questions are "open" questions in the sense that there is no expectation of the behalf of the speaker that the answer will be "yes" or "no". The word order is: subject + có + predicate + không? In informal communication, có can be omitted. Such yes-no questions regularly permit the use of the repetition of có as an affirmative answer form.

  A: Mấy đứa bạn anh (có) hay đi phượt không?
  B: Có.

  A: Do your friends often go on road trips on motorbikes?
  B: Yes.

  A: Anh (có) khoẻ không?
  B: Có.

  A: How are you?
  B: Good.

• The interrogative expression có phải … không also forms a yes-no question and encircles the nominal predicate and the predicate expressed by của, creating a yes-no question that tends to expect an affirmative answer. When encircling the nominal predicate, the equative (or linking) verb là is used. When encircling the predicate expressed by của, then là is optional.

  Các bạn anh có phải là sinh viên không? ― Are your friends students?

  Cái máy vi tính này có phải (là) của bạn anh không? ― Does this computer belong to your friend?

  • For an affirmative response to a có phải … không question, vâng is used at the beginning of the response. The negative reply may begin with either không or không phải.

See also

• có; à; hả; ư

Numeral

Vietnamese cardinal numbers

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Cardinal : không

không

1. (cardinal number) zero

   hai nghìn không trăm lẻ một ― two thousand and one (literally, “two thousand zero hundred zero one”)

Usage notes

• This morpheme is often reduced to a tone-bearing syllabic nasal [ŋ̍] in quick colloquial speech, especially in expressions such as không sao (“no problem”).

See also

• chả; chẳng; đừng; đâu; nào; đếch (vulgar); đách (vulgar); đéo (vulgar); cóc; ứ; chớ; chứ; nỏ