không

• IPA^(key): /kʰoŋ¹/

Borrowed from Vietnamese không.

không

1. zero

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

không

1. (Mường Bi) river

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

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 grammaticalization of không into a negative particle began in the 17th century and coincided 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 Southern Min varieties, such as Hokkien 空 (khòng), Teochew 空 (kang³), Hainanese 空, 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.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

• Audio (South Central Vietnam):

  (file)

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

không

1. Negates the meaning of the modified verb or adjective: not

   Tôi không phải là người Việt.

   I am not a Vietnamese.

2. not at all

   Synonym: chẳng

   Màu nó không phải đỏ, mà là xanh.

   It is not red but actually green.

3. idly; without doing anything else
   • 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."

4. (colloquial) at a level that feels like nothing at all

   Việc dễ không mà cũng không làm được. ― It was a piece of cake, but you just can't even get it done.

không

1. only, without anything else

   cơm không ― only rice

2. empty

   Synonym: trống

   vườn không nhà trống ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (in compounds) air; space; nothing

không

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) clipping of không trung (“the air”)

   nhào lộn trên không ― freely flying midair.

2. (Buddhism) the intangible, non-material aspect

   Antonym: sắc

không

1. (to an affirmative question) no
2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (to a negative question) yes

không

1. or else

   Mặc áo vào đi, không là ốm đấy. ― You'll catch a cold unless you put these clothes on.

không

1. Used to form polar questions, placed at the end of a question

   Anh ấy đang chạy đúng/phải không?

   He is running, isn't he?

   Bạn chưa làm phải không?

   You haven't done anything, have you?

   Có ai ở nhà không (ạ)?

   Anybody home?

   Đúng không?

   Is that true?

2. Used as an answer of refutation to a polar question: no

   Bạn có phải là người Anh không? Không, tôi không/chả phải (là người Anh).

   Are you British? No, I'm not.

• có; à; hả; ư

không

1. (cardinal number) zero

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

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