If you're going to learn Southern Vietnamese online, có is one of the first words worth truly mastering — because this one little syllable does the work of three English ideas at once. It means to have, it means there is / there are, and it turns almost any sentence into a yes/no question. Let's start where every Saigon day starts: sitting down at a quán and wanting the wifi password.
Notice the answer: not a whole sentence, just Dạ có. That's the magic of có — the same word you use to ask is the same word you use to answer.
Quick answer: có means "to have," "there is/are," and "yes" — and tacking …không (Saigon: …hông / hôn) onto the end turns any statement into a yes/no question.
Có = "to have" (owning, possessing, being related to)
The most everyday use. Somebody có something. Pattern: subject + có + thing. In the South you'll hear tui for "I" among friends, and tụi mình or tụi tui for "we."
See that hổng có? To make có negative you put không (or the softer, very Saigon hổng / hông) in front: không có = "not have / don't have." You'll hear hổng có and hông có constantly on the street.
Local tip
Southerners love to soften không into hổng, hông, or even hôn depending on speed and mood. Hổng có gì đâu ("it's nothing at all") is one of the warmest, most common phrases you'll hear — it's how a Saigon person waves off a thank-you.
Có = "there is / there are" (something exists)
Drop the owner and có suddenly means "there is" or "there are." Pattern: (place) + có + thing. This is how you announce what exists in a spot.
The opposite of "there is" is again just the negative: không có / hổng có = "there isn't / there aren't." And when something has run out, Saigon has a favorite word: hết.
Có…không — asking any yes/no question
Here's the workhorse. Take a statement, wrap the verb or adjective in có … không, and you've got a yes/no question. In Saigon speech that final không almost always melts into hông or hôn.
Notice nhà có mấy người uses có with a "how many" word (mấy) — that's not strictly a yes/no question, but có still carries the "there is/are" meaning: "how many people does the house have?" It's one of the first questions a Saigon auntie will ask you.
Common mistake
Don't leave out the front có and keep only không at the end when you're asking about having or existing. Quán wifi không? sounds broken. Say Quán có wifi không? With plain action verbs you can drop the có (Em ăn cơm chưa?), but for possession and existence, keep it.
How to answer a có…không question
You almost never answer with a full sentence. Pick the right short word and add a polite dạ up front — that dạ is the sound of Southern courtesy.
Quick menu of answers: có = yes (there is / I do), không / hổng có = no (there isn't / I don't), còn = still have / still available, and hết = all gone. Saigon folks stack hết for emphasis: hết trơn or hết sạch = "completely gone."
North vs South: same word, different sound
The grammar of có is the same nationwide. What changes in the South is mostly the không at the end of questions and a few everyday vocabulary choices around it.
| What you mean | Southern (Saigon) | Northern (Hanoi) |
|---|---|---|
| "…or not?" question ending | …hông / hôn / không | …không (crisp) |
| "don't have" (casual) | hổng có / hông có | không có / chả có |
| polite "yes" | dạ có | vâng, có |
| "I" among friends | tui | tớ / mình |
| a "fruit" (classifier) | trái (e.g. có trái ổi) | quả (e.g. có quả ổi) |
Local tip
When you want to sound extra local, tag a soft nha, nghen, or hén onto the end of your reply: Dạ có nha! It signals warmth and agreement, and it's pure Southern flavor — a Hanoi speaker would sooner say vâng ạ.
Putting it together at a Saigon market
Try it yourself
- Ask a café: "Do you have iced coffee?" (use cà phê đá)
- Say: "My family has four people."
- Answer "Is it spicy?" with a polite "No, it isn't."
- Tell a friend: "There's a night market near my house." (use chợ đêm)
- Ask the seller: "Are there any bananas left?" (use chuối and còn)
Answers: 1) Quán có cà phê đá hông? 2) Nhà tui có bốn người. 3) Dạ hổng có cay đâu. 4) Gần nhà tui có chợ đêm. 5) Còn chuối hông cô?
Frequently asked questions
Is có pronounced or written differently in the South?
No — the word có itself is identical everywhere. What sounds different is the question ending không, which Southerners often soften to hông or hôn, and the negative không có, which becomes hổng có.
When can I drop có in a question?
With ordinary action verbs you can often skip it: Em ăn cơm chưa? ("Have you eaten?") needs no có. But for possession or existence — having something, something being there — keep it: Quán có wifi không?
What's the difference between không có and hết?
Không có (or hổng có) means "there isn't / doesn't exist" — it was never there. Hết means "run out / all gone" — it existed but now there's none left. A shop that never sells coffee is hổng có cà phê; a shop that sold out today is hết cà phê rồi.
How do I answer a có…không question politely?
Lead with dạ, then the short word: Dạ có for yes, Dạ hổng có or Dạ không for no. Add nha or nghen at the end to sound friendly and local.
Does có mấy người mean "yes or no"?
No — with a question word like mấy ("how many"), có keeps its "have / there is" meaning. Nhà có mấy người? asks "how many people does the house have?", not a yes/no question.
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