What it means
The word 'không' is the workhorse negator and yes/no question marker in Vietnamese — arguably the most-used grammatical word a beginner will encounter. Its meaning hinges entirely on POSITION inside the sentence. Sitting just before a verb or adjective, it cancels the action or quality: 'không đi' (not going), 'không đẹp' (not pretty). Parked at the very end of a statement, it converts that whole statement into a polite yes/no question. There is no tone change, no auxiliary verb, no inversion — just the same syllable, doing two very different jobs depending on where you drop it. In Southern speech the everyday relaxed form is 'hông', which sounds warmer and friendlier; you will hear it in cafés, markets and family conversations all day long.
Từ phủ định đặt trước động từ
In real Southern Vietnamese
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“không” has more than one use
Same word, different jobs in a sentence. These are covered separately:
- không Negation The all-purpose negator "not." Placed directly before a verb or adjective to negate it. Note: the SAME word kh…
Where to go next
More in Negation
Also in "Vietnamese Verbs — How They Work"
Nearby in the A-Z
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