Muong edit

Muong cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : không

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

Borrowed from Vietnamese không.

Numeral edit

không

  1. zero

Etymology 2 edit

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

Noun edit

không

  1. (Mường Bi) river

Vietnamese edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Sino-Vietnamese word from (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 development from "empty, vacant" into the numeral "zero" can also been seen in many Min Nan varieties, as well as Korean (gong).

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

không

  1. not (negates meaning of verb)
    Tôi không phải người Việt Nam.
    I am not Vietnamese.
  2. idly, without doing anything
    • 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."

Verb edit

không

  1. not have; to lack

Adjective edit

không

  1. without anything added
    cơm khôngonly rice

Interjection edit

không

  1. (to an affirmative question) no
  2. (to a negative question) yes

Particle edit

không

  1. at or near the end of a question, makes it a yes-no question
    Có ai ở nhà không (ạ) ?
    Anybody home?
    Đúng không ?
    Is that true?
    Mày chưa làm phải không ?
    You haven't done anything, have you?

See also edit

Numeral edit

Vietnamese cardinal numbers
0 1  > 
    Cardinal : không

không

  1. (cardinal number) zero
    hai nghìn không trăm lẻ mộttwo thousand and one (literally, “two thousand zero hundred zero one”)

Usage notes edit

  • This morpheme is often reduced to a tone-bearing syllabic nasal [ŋ̍] in quick colloquial speech, especially in expressions such as không sao (no problem).

See also edit