chưa

In Vietnamese, chưa is an incredibly common and essential word with two main jobs:

1. Saying 'Not Yet' (Statement)
Place chưa directly before a main verb or adjective. Unlike không (which means a flat 'no' or 'not'), chưa implies an expectation, intention, or possibility that the action will happen later.

• Tôi không biết. = I don't know. (And that is a fact)
• Tôi chưa biết. = I don't know yet. (But I might find out later)
• Tôi chưa đói. = I'm not hungry yet.

2. Asking 'Have you... yet?' (Question)
Place chưa at the end of the clause (though politeness particles like ạ can still follow it) to turn it into a yes/no question about whether an action is completed.

• Bạn ăn cơm chưa? = Have you eaten yet?

To answer these questions, use:

• Rồi = Already / Yes, I have. (Full sentence: Tôi ăn rồi.)
• Chưa = Not yet / No, I haven't. (Full sentence: Chưa, tôi chưa ăn.)

Answering Tip: Do not use có (yes) or không (no) to answer these questions! That is a common mistake made by English speakers. In Vietnamese, có and không are used to answer có ... không? questions, not chưa questions. Instead, just use rồi or chưa. When speaking to elders or strangers, you can add the polite particle dạ to introduce your answer: Dạ rồi (Yes, I have) or Dạ chưa (No, not yet).

Common Extensions & Casual Speech:

• Vẫn chưa: Still haven't. (e.g., Tôi vẫn chưa ăn. = I still haven't eaten.)
• Chưa bao giờ / chưa từng: Have never (up to now). Use these to say you have never done something in your life, but might in the future. This is different from không bao giờ, which means you never do it as a habit or rule (e.g., Tôi không bao giờ hút thuốc. = I never smoke).
• Asking 'Have you ever...?': To ask if someone has ever done something, use đã từng ... chưa? or add bao giờ chưa at the end. (e.g., Bạn đã từng đến Việt Nam chưa? = Have you ever been to Vietnam?)
• Dropping the subject: In casual speech, native speakers frequently drop the subject pronoun. Bạn ăn cơm chưa? simply becomes Ăn chưa?

Important Note on 'đã': Many textbooks teach that you must use the past-tense marker đã in these questions (e.g., Bạn đã ăn cơm chưa?). While grammatically correct, native speakers overwhelmingly drop đã in natural, everyday spoken Vietnamese.