không ... nữa

In Vietnamese, the word nữa fundamentally means "more" or "further." However, when paired with a negative word like không, it creates the meaning of "not... more," which we translate as "not anymore."

Key points to remember:

• Word Order: nữa typically goes after the verb or adjective and any objects. If there is a location or time phrase, nữa can go either right after the verb/object or at the very end of the clause. While it often sits at the end of a sentence, it can be followed by sentence-final particles like đâu or nhé. To give a short refusal, native speakers do not say Không nữa. Instead, they repeat the verb (e.g., Không ăn nữa), use Thôi, or say Không đâu.
• Possession and Existence: When expressing that you no longer have something, you cannot just say không [noun] nữa. You must use có (to have) or còn (to remain). Use không có [noun] nữa (don't have [noun] anymore) or không còn [noun] nữa (no longer have [noun] / ran out of [noun]). For example, Tôi không còn tiền nữa ("I ran out of money"). However, if the noun is simply the object of an action verb (e.g., Tôi không ăn thịt nữa - "I don't eat meat anymore") or part of a "to be" sentence (e.g., Tôi không phải là sinh viên nữa - "I am not a student anymore"), you use the noun directly without adding có or còn.
• No Longer (States/Feelings): You will also hear không còn ... nữa used with verbs and adjectives to emphasize that a state, condition, or feeling no longer remains. For feelings and states, không ... nữa and không còn ... nữa are highly interchangeable (e.g., Tôi không yêu anh ấy nữa and Tôi không còn yêu anh ấy nữa both mean "I don't love him anymore").
• Emphasizing the Change: Because this pattern inherently signals a change of state, it is very commonly paired with the sentence-final particle rồi (already). Adding rồi at the end emphasizes that the change has taken effect (e.g., Tôi không ăn nữa rồi - "I am not eating anymore" or Tôi không còn tiền nữa rồi - "I have run out of money already").
• Imperatives: To tell someone to stop doing something, use the pattern đừng ... nữa (e.g., Đừng khóc nữa - "Don't cry anymore").
• Never Again: You can combine this with không bao giờ to create không bao giờ ... nữa, meaning "never ... again".
• Change of State: This pattern inherently signals that a change has occurred. The action, state, or condition was true before, but it is not true now. It works equally well with verbs and adjectives.
• Subjective Decisions: In daily conversation, it is often used to express a sudden decision to quit doing something (e.g., "I'm not going anymore!").
• Tense-Neutral: This pattern does not change for the past tense. To say you "didn't do something anymore," you use the exact same structure (không [verb] nữa), with the past tense established by context or time phrases.
• Pronunciation Warning: Pay close attention to the tone: nữa (ngã tone) means "more", while nửa (hỏi tone) means "half". Mixing them up changes the meaning entirely (e.g., không ăn nữa means "not eating anymore", whereas không ăn một nửa means "not eating one half").
• Not Yet vs Not Anymore: Be careful not to confuse this with chưa (not yet). However, chưa can be paired with nữa to mean "still haven't... yet" (e.g., Tôi chưa ăn nữa). This is highly colloquial and strongly associated with the Southern dialect.
• Literary Equivalent: You might also encounter chẳng ... nữa, which is a slightly more emphatic or literary equivalent to không ... nữa.