Muong

Adverb

chẳng

1. no

Vietnamese

Etymology

Originally meant "no" in early Vietnamese; this usage was replaced by không, but chẳng is still used for effect. Cognate with Muong chẳng, Nguôn chẳng. Compare Thai ช่าง ‎(châang), Lao ຊ່າງ ‎(sāng, “to not care”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ṯɕɐŋ˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ṯɕɐŋ˧˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [c̻ɐŋ˨˦]

Adverb

chẳng ‎(庄, 拯, 庒, 極, 丕, 丞)

1. not at all

   Chẳng biết.

   No idea.

2. even if not

   Chẳng chua cũng thể là chanh.

   Even if it isn’t sour, it could still be a lemon.

3. if not
4. there is not

Synonyms

• (not at all): đâu; không; chả; đếch; đéo; cóc; ứ

References

• "chẳng" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)
• Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)