# Chưa: not yet in Vietnamese (A1)

> Chưa before a verb means "not yet": Tôi chưa ăn. I haven't eaten yet. It says something hasn't happened so far, but still could.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chua-not-yet/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**not yet**

Pattern: `[person] + chưa + [verb] · [person] + [verb] + chưa? → Rồi. / Chưa.`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: chua

*Chưa* before a verb means "not yet": *Tôi chưa ăn.* I haven't eaten yet. It says something hasn't happened so far, but still could. *Không* is a plain no: *Tôi không ăn* means I'm not eating, or I don't eat it.

*Chưa* is the no-answer to every "yet" question. When someone asks *Em ăn cơm chưa?* (Have you eaten?), say *Rồi* for yes and *Chưa* for no, never *Không*. A polite answer to someone older starts with *dạ*: *Dạ, chưa.*

For something you haven't done so far, use *chưa*, not *đã không*: *Tôi chưa đi Đà Lạt.* I haven't been to Đà Lạt yet. *Chưa bao giờ* means "never, up to now": *Tôi chưa bao giờ ăn sầu riêng.* I've never had durian.

*Chưa* works before adjectives too: *Em chưa đói.* I'm not hungry yet. Add *vẫn* for "still not": *Em vẫn chưa hiểu.* I still don't understand. And *chưa có gia đình* is how people say they're not married yet. At the end of an exclamation, *chưa* means "see?": *Thấy chưa!* See? I told you.

## A common mistake

✗ Không, em không ăn.

✓ Dạ chưa, em chưa ăn.

A question ending in *chưa* asks "yet?", so the no-answer is *chưa*. *Không ăn* sounds as if you don't want to eat at all.

## Examples

- Em ăn cơm chưa? — Have you eaten yet?
- Dạ, chưa. Em chưa đói. — Not yet. I'm not hungry yet.
- Tôi chưa đi Đà Lạt. — I haven't been to Đà Lạt yet.
- Chị chưa có gia đình. — I'm not married yet.
- Tôi chưa bao giờ ăn sầu riêng. — I've never had durian.

## Words in this pattern

- [chưa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/chua-not-yet/#lx_chua): not yet

## Compare

- [Not: không before the verb or adjective](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-not/): not
- [Already: … rồi, and Rồi as the yes to 'yet?'](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/roi-already/): already
- [Have you … yet? (đã) … chưa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/da-chua-question/): have you … yet?

Previous in Time and when things happen: [No đã or sẽ needed when a time word says when](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/time-word-no-marker/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Often: hay before the verb, and có hay … không?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hay-often/)

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