Where does “không” come from?
không (Muong) comes from Vietnamese không, from Chinese 空, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan (g/k)uŋ — hole; orifice; hole; orifice; inner part.
không (Muong): zero; river
Ancestry of “không”, step by step
không traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese không
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | không | not; idly, without doing anything; not have; to... |
| 2 | Chinese | 空 | empty, hollow |
| 3 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | (g/k)uŋ | hole; orifice; hole; orifice; inner part |
via Proto-Vietic k-roːŋ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Vietic | k-roːŋ | river |
| 2 | Proto-Mon-Khmer | ruŋ | river, channel; to fall, to drop off |