Where does “không” come from?

không (Vietnamese) comes from Chinese 空, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan (g/k)uŋ — hole; orifice; hole; orifice; inner part.

không (Vietnamese): not; idly, without doing anything; not have; to...

Definitions

  1. not; idly, without doing anything; not have; to...

Ancestry of “không”, step by step

không traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese 空

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese空empty, hollow
2Proto-Sino-Tibetan(g/k)uŋhole; orifice; hole; orifice; inner part

via Middle Chinese 空

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chinese空—

Words derived from “không”

Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan (g/k)uŋ →Every word from Chinese 空 →