# Không … ai: nobody / nothing in Vietnamese (A1)

> English has single words for "nobody", "nothing" and "nowhere". Vietnamese builds them from không and a question word (ai, gì, đâu), and the word order…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-khong-nobody/ · Updated 2026-11-08

**nobody / nothing**

Pattern: `[person] + không + [verb] + ai / gì / đâu + (hết / cả) · Không ai + [verb] · Không có gì + để + [verb]`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

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

English has single words for "nobody", "nothing" and "nowhere". Vietnamese builds them from *không* and a question word (*ai*, *gì*, *đâu*), and the word order depends on the job they do in the sentence. After a verb, put *không* before the verb and the question word after it: *Em không biết ai.* I don't know anybody. *Chị không ăn gì.* I'm not eating anything. *Hôm nay anh không đi đâu.* I'm not going anywhere today.

When "nobody" is the one doing something, *không ai* goes first: *Không ai nói với em.* Nobody told me. To say there's nobody or nothing somewhere, use *không có ai* or *không có gì*: *Nhà không có ai.* There's nobody home. For "nothing to …", add *để* before the verb: *Không có gì để ăn.* There's nothing to eat.

To make it stronger, like "at all", add *hết* or *cả* at the end: *Em không biết gì hết.* or *Em không biết gì cả.* I don't know anything at all. Both are used in the North and the South. Some speakers lean one way or the other, but neither belongs to one city.

*Không có gì* on its own is also the everyday answer to *cảm ơn*: "You're welcome", literally "it's nothing".

In everyday talk you'll also hear *chẳng* in place of *không*, a little more emphatic: *Chẳng ai biết.* Nobody knows. *Tôi chẳng đi đâu cả.* I'm not going anywhere.

In a yes/no question, the same question words mean "anyone" or "anything": *Em có cần gì không?* Do you need anything?

## A common mistake

✗ Ai không tới.

✓ Không ai tới.

For "nobody" as the one doing something, *không* comes first: *không ai*. *Ai không tới?* is a question: who didn't come?

## Examples

- Em không biết gì hết. — I don't know anything at all.
- Hôm nay chị không đi đâu. — I'm not going anywhere today.
- Nhà không có ai cả. — There's nobody home.
- Không ai nói với em. — Nobody told me.
- Dạ, không có gì. — You're welcome.

## Compare

- [Anyone? Anything? có … ai / gì … không](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-any-question/): anyone / anything?
- [Everyone, everything, always: ai cũng, gì cũng, lúc nào cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-cung-every/): every- / any-
- [Not (colloquial): chẳng / chả](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/chang-cha-not/): not (spoken, emphatic)

Previous in Asking questions: [It takes (time): mất](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/mat-time-takes/)
Next in Asking questions: [Or in questions: A hay B?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hay-or-question/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_qword_khong_nobody
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.