Lesson 10: Basic negation with "không", "chưa", "chẳng"

To negate a statement in Vietnamese, you generally place a negation word directly before the verb or adjective you want to negate. The three most common words are không, chưa, and chẳng.

Universal negation with "không"

This is the standard, all-purpose negation. It is used for facts, habits, or general statements.

Tôi không đói.
"I am not hungry."

Anh ấy không đi làm.
"He is not going to work."

The "not yet" concept with "chưa"

One of the most important patterns in Vietnamese is the distinction between "not" and "not yet." If something hasn't happened but might or should happen in the future, you use chưa.

Tôi chưa ăn cơm.
"I have not eaten yet."

Trời chưa mưa.
"It has not rained yet."

Emotional negation with "chẳng"

This is a more casual and sometimes more emphatic way of saying "not." It often carries a bit of emotion or a dismissive tone.

Nó chẳng nói gì cả.
"He did not say anything at all!"

Pre-verb placement

In all these cases, the negation word comes right before the action or the quality. Unlike English, which sometimes uses "don't," "doesn't," or "isn't," Vietnamese keeps it simple by just swapping the negation word.

Họ chẳng bao giờ đến muộn.
"They never come late (not ever)."

Examples

Em không biết.
"I don't know."

Tôi không thích trà.
"I don't like tea."

Mai chưa về.
"Mai has not returned yet."

Note on nuance

The choice between không and chưa is very common in daily life. If someone asks if you've done something, answering with chưa is often more natural than không, because it implies that you might do it later. As you immerse more, you'll start to feel the slight "attitude" that chẳng adds to a sentence.