# Không: not in Vietnamese (A1)

> Không before a verb or an adjective means "not": Tôi không uống cà phê. I don't drink coffee. Hôm nay trời không nóng. It isn't hot today.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-not/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**not**

Pattern: `[person] + không + [verb or adjective]`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: khong

*Không* before a verb or an adjective means "not": *Tôi không uống cà phê.* I don't drink coffee. *Hôm nay trời không nóng.* It isn't hot today. Nothing else changes: there's no extra word like "do" or "does", and the verb stays the same for every person.

The past works the same way: *Hôm qua em không đi làm.* I didn't go to work yesterday. The time word shows it's past, so you usually leave out *đã*. With *sẽ* (will), *không* comes after it: *Tôi sẽ không quên.* I won't forget.

On its own, *Không* means "no", the answer to a *có … không* question. In the South a polite "no" starts with *dạ*: *Dạ, không.*

In everyday sentences, *không* doesn't go straight before *là*. For "is not" with a noun, say *không phải là*: *Tôi không phải là người Mỹ.* For "not yet", use *chưa*: *Em chưa ăn* means "I haven't eaten yet", while *Em không ăn* means "I'm not eating" or "I don't eat it".

## A common mistake

✗ Tôi có không tiền.

✓ Tôi không có tiền.

*Không* goes before the verb, here *có* (have). English "no money" becomes "not have money" in Vietnamese.

## Examples

- Tôi không uống cà phê. — I don't drink coffee.
- Hôm nay trời không nóng. — It isn't hot today.
- Hôm qua em không đi làm. — I didn't go to work yesterday.
- Em có ăn cay không? — Do you eat spicy food?
- Dạ, không. Em không ăn cay. — No, I don't eat spicy food.

## Words in this pattern

- [không](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/khong-no/#lx_khong): no, not

## Compare

- [Is not (a noun): không phải là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-phai-la/): is not
- [Not yet: chưa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chua-not-yet/): not yet
- [Where không goes with đã, đang, sẽ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/negation-tense-order/): negation with time words
- [Without, when ordering: dish + không + ingredient](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-without-ordering/): without (an ingredient)

Previous in Saying no and not: [Not very: không … lắm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khong-lam-not-very/)
Next in Saying no and not: [But I didn't! có … đâu, đâu có](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-dau-denial/)

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