LinguaThe frame có ... không?
A yes-or-no question is built by putting the word you ask about between có and không: Anh có khỏe không? – word for word, 'you HAVE well NOT?'. The person you ask comes first, and that person is named by the address word, not by a pronoun for you: Anh có khỏe không? to an older man, Chị có khỏe không? to an older woman. Nothing else moves – the frame stays the same whatever you put inside it.
| Question | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Anh có khỏe không? | Are you well? (to a man a little older) |
| Chị có mệt không? | Are you tired? (to a woman a little older) |
| Bạn có khỏe không? | Are you well? (to someone your own age) |
In everyday speech the có is often dropped: Anh khỏe không? means exactly the same and sounds lighter. Keep có while you are learning – it makes the frame visible – but expect to hear it missing.
Anh có khỏe không?Are you well? (to a man a little older than you)
Answering
There is no word for yes in this answer. You reply with the adjective itself: Khỏe. or, in full, Tôi khỏe. To say no, put không in front of it: Tôi không khỏe. In between sits Bình thường – 'the usual' – which is what most people actually say. vẫn ('still') and rất ('very') go straight before the adjective: Tôi vẫn khỏe, Tôi rất khỏe.
| Answer | When you use it |
|---|---|
| Tôi khỏe. | you feel fine |
| Tôi vẫn khỏe. | nothing has changed since you last met |
| Bình thường. | so-so – the usual |
| Tôi mệt. | you feel tired |
| Không sao. | nothing is wrong with you |
Cảm ơn chị, tôi khỏe.I'm fine, thank you. (answering a woman a little older than you)
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| khỏe | well; in good health | Tôi khỏe, cảm ơn anh. I'm well, thank you. |
| mệt | tired | Tôi không mệt. I'm not tired. |
| bình thường | so-so; as usual | Tôi bình thường, cảm ơn chị. I'm so-so, thank you. |
| cảm ơn | to thank; thank you | Em cảm ơn cô ạ. Thank you (politely, to a female teacher). |
| không sao | it is nothing; no problem | Tôi không sao. I'm all right. |
| có | to have; opens a yes-or-no question | Anh có khỏe không? Are you well? (to a man a little older than you) |
| không | no; not; closes a yes-or-no question | Chị có mệt không? Are you tired? (to a woman a little older than you) |
| vẫn | still | Tôi vẫn khỏe. I'm still well. |
| rất | very | Tôi rất khỏe. I'm very well. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
You want to ask a woman a little older than you whether she is tired. Which question fits?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.