những

See also: nhung, nhúng, and nhưng

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

  • (North Central Vietnam, rare) dững
  • (shorthand) ~,

Etymology

    Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese (to continue; to be done repeatedly; many; still, SV: nhưng). Compare nhưng.

    Pronunciation

    • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ɲɨŋ˦ˀ˥]
    • (Huế) IPA(key): [ɲɨŋ˧˨]
    • (Saigon) IPA(key): [ɲɨŋ˨˩˦]
    • Audio (Hà Nội):(file)

    Determiner

    những • (, )

    1. Plural marker.
      tất cả những người khácall the others

    Usage notes

    • Những (“some; several [of the same category]”) has a slightly literary flavour, and is not used very often in colloquial speech, where mấy may be used instead.
    • Generally speaking, những suggests that only certain of the total possible number are referred to, as opposed to các, which implies that all of a given set of entities are involved.
    • Plural marking is not always grammatically required in Vietnamese, and may be omitted in many situations.

    Derived terms

    • những ai

    Adverb

    những

    1. (archaic) only; just (followed by a verb)

    Derived terms

    Particle

    những

    1. Emphasizes the quantity of noun: as many as; as much as
      Bài kiểm tra rồi tớ được những tám điểm đấy!
      I got an EIGHT on the last exam!
    2. (colloquial) Emphasizes the abundance and uncountability of something: nothing but
      những hoa là hoanothing but flowers
    3. (literary, otherwise rare) Emphasizes the overwhelming nature of a psychological or emotional state.