# Có … ai … không: anyone / anything? in Vietnamese (A2)

> In a có … không question, ai, gì, đâu and nào stop meaning "who", "what", "where" and "which", and mean "anyone", "anything", "anywhere" and "any": Anh…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-any-question/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**anyone / anything?**

Pattern: `[person] + có + [verb] + ai / gì / (noun) nào + không?`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: co … ai … khong, co … gi … khong

In a *có … không* question, *ai*, *gì*, *đâu* and *nào* stop meaning "who", "what", "where" and "which", and mean "anyone", "anything", "anywhere" and "any": *Anh có muốn uống gì không?* Would you like anything to drink? *Cuối tuần chị có đi đâu không?* Are you going anywhere this weekend? The question word sits where the thing would go, usually after the verb.

When "anyone" is the one doing something, *có ai* opens the question: *Hôm qua có ai gọi cho em không?* Did anyone call me yesterday? *Nào* goes after a noun: *Gần đây có quán phở nào ngon không?* Is there a good phở place near here?

Answer yes with *có* and the details, or no with the pattern you know: *Dạ, không có ai hết* (in Hà Nội, *cả*).

The frame changes the meaning. *Anh muốn uống gì?* asks what you'd like; *Anh có muốn uống gì không?* asks whether you'd like anything at all. It works with *chưa* too: *Em ăn gì chưa?* Have you eaten anything yet?

With *cũng* instead, the same words mean "every": *ai cũng biết*, everyone knows.

## Examples

- Anh có muốn uống gì không? — Would you like anything to drink?
- Hôm qua có ai gọi cho em không? — Did anyone call me yesterday?
- Saigon: Dạ, không có ai hết. | Hà Nội: Dạ, không có ai cả. — No, nobody did.
- Cuối tuần chị có đi đâu không? — Are you going anywhere this weekend?
- Gần đây có quán phở nào ngon không? — Is there a good phở place near here?

## Compare

- [Nobody, nothing, nowhere: không … ai / gì / đâu](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-khong-nobody/): nobody / nothing
- [Everyone, everything, always: ai cũng, gì cũng, lúc nào cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-cung-every/): every- / any-
- [Someone, something, somewhere: ai đó, gì đó, đâu đó](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-do-some/): some- (indefinite)

Previous in Asking questions: [Yes/no questions with có … không](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-khong-question/)
Next in Asking questions: [Everyone, everything, always: ai cũng, gì cũng, lúc nào cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-cung-every/)

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