# Chẳng / chả: not (spoken, emphatic) in Vietnamese (B1)

> Chẳng means "not", like không, and sits in the same place, before the verb or adjective: Em chẳng hiểu gì hết. I don't understand a thing.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chang-cha-not/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**not (spoken, emphatic)**

Pattern: `[person] + chẳng / chả + [verb or adjective]`

Level: B1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: chang, cha

Saigon: chẳng | Hà Nội: chẳng; chả

*Chẳng* means "not", like *không*, and sits in the same place, before the verb or adjective: *Em chẳng hiểu gì hết.* I don't understand a thing. It's stronger and more emotional than *không*, and often carries a shrug or a complaint.

In Saigon, *không* is the everyday word. *Chẳng* comes up for emphasis, above all in set phrases: *chẳng ai* (nobody at all), *chẳng có gì* (nothing at all), *chẳng bao giờ* (never ever). You'll also meet it a lot in songs, books and writing. In Hà Nội, *chẳng* and its short form *chả* are ordinary in casual talk: *Chả biết.* Dunno.

*Chẳng* doesn't work as a one-word answer. To say "no", use *không*, or in the South *dạ, không*. And like *không*, it doesn't go straight before *là*: "isn't" with a noun is *chẳng phải*.

While you're learning, keep *không* for your own sentences, learn to recognise *chẳng* and *chả*, and use *chẳng* when you want to sound a little exasperated.

## Examples

- Saigon: Em chẳng hiểu gì hết. | Hà Nội: Em chẳng hiểu gì cả. — I don't understand a thing.
- Chẳng ai nói với em. — Nobody told me.
- Không sao, chẳng có gì đâu. — Don't worry, it's nothing.
- Saigon: Anh ấy chẳng bao giờ đi trễ. | Hà Nội: Anh ấy chả bao giờ đi muộn. — He's never late, ever.

## Compare

- [Not: không before the verb or adjective](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-not/): not

Previous in Saying no and not: [Nearly happened: suýt (nữa thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/suyt-nearly/)
Next in Saying no and not: [Not always: không phải lúc nào cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-phai-luc-nao/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_chang_cha_not
In the app, the grammar points from your own class material are kept with their status, and any word you meet while reading can go into your lexicon with its audio, ready to study.