không

Muong

Muong cardinal numbers

	0	1  >
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

Sino-Vietnamese word from 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 development from "empty, vacant" into the numeral "zero" can also been seen in many Min Nan varieties, as well as Korean 공 (gong).

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?

See also

• có; à; hả; ư

Numeral

Vietnamese cardinal numbers

	0	1  >
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