# Cấm: no …ing / forbidden in Vietnamese (A2)

> Cấm means "forbid", and you'll see it most on signs, straight before a verb: Cấm hút thuốc (no smoking), Cấm đậu xe (no parking; in Hà Nội, Cấm đỗ xe).

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/cam-prohibit/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**no …ing / forbidden**

Pattern: `Cấm + [verb] · Không + [verb] (signs) · cấm + [person] + không được + [verb]`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: formal

Typed without accents: cam

Variants:

- nghiêm cấm (strictly prohibited)

*Cấm* means "forbid", and you'll see it most on signs, straight before a verb: *Cấm hút thuốc* (no smoking), *Cấm đậu xe* (no parking; in Hà Nội, *Cấm đỗ xe*). It's short and strong, the language of rules.

Signs also use plain *không* before the verb, which is a little softer: *Không hút thuốc*. Polite notices in hotels and shops start with *vui lòng* (please): *Vui lòng không hút thuốc.* On official notices, *nghiêm cấm* means "strictly prohibited".

In speech, *cấm* tells someone what the rule is: *Ở đây cấm chụp hình nha anh.* You can't take photos here. When a person does the forbidding, they come first and the one forbidden goes after *cấm*: *Mẹ cấm tụi nhỏ ăn kẹo.* Mum doesn't let the kids eat sweets. People often add *không được* before the verb as well. It looks like a double "no", but it means the same: *Bác sĩ cấm ba không được hút thuốc nữa.*

*Cấm* sounds like authority, so don't use it to ask a friend not to do something. For that, say *đừng*: *Anh đừng hút thuốc nha.* To state a rule to someone yourself, *không được* is the everyday choice: *Em không được hút thuốc ở đây.*

## Examples

- Saigon: Cấm đậu xe. | Hà Nội: Cấm đỗ xe. — No parking.
- Vui lòng không hút thuốc. — Please do not smoke.
- Saigon: Ở đây cấm chụp hình nha anh. | Hà Nội: Ở đây cấm chụp ảnh nhé anh. — You can't take photos here.
- Saigon: Bác sĩ cấm ba không được hút thuốc nữa. | Hà Nội: Bác sĩ cấm bố không được hút thuốc nữa. — The doctor has told Dad he mustn't smoke any more.

## Words in this pattern

- [cấm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/cam-forbid/#s_cam_forbid): forbid

## Compare

- [Must not: không được + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-duoc-must-not/): must not, not allowed
- [Don't: đừng + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/dung-dont/): don't

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Next in Can, must, should, want: [Requesting formally: đề nghị / yêu cầu + person + verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/de-nghi-yeu-cau/)

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