chưa

Thân thiện

Cháu đã ăn cơm chưa?

Definition

1. Adverb:
   • Not yet, still not: Indicates that an action or state has not occurred up to the present moment but is expected or possible in the future. It negates the completion of an event.
   • Used in question tags: A particle placed at the end of a question to seek confirmation or agreement, often translated as "right?", "isn't it?", or "haven't you?".

Usage

• As an adverb of negation (not yet): Typically precedes the main verb or adjective it modifies.
• As a question tag: Placed at the end of a yes-no question or an exclamatory sentence to invite affirmation.

Usage Examples

• Adverb (Not yet):
  • Tôi chưa ăn tối. (I have not had dinner yet.)
  • Cô ấy chưa về đến nhà. (She has not arrived home yet.)
  • Họ chưa bao giờ đến Việt Nam. (They have never been to Vietnam.)
• Question Tag:
  • Trời nóng quá, chưa? (It's so hot, isn't it?)
  • Anh làm xong bài tập chưa? (Have you finished your homework yet?)
  • Phim đó hay chưa? (That movie is great, right?)

Advanced Usage

• "chưa... đã...": A structure meaning "not yet... but already..." or "hardly/barely... when...", used to express that a second action happens surprisingly soon after the first.
  • Nó chưa học đã quên. (He forgets before he even finishes learning / He hardly learns it when he already forgets.)
• "còn... chưa...": Emphasizes that something "still has not" happened.
  • Tôi còn chưa kịp nói gì. (I still haven't had a chance to say anything.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chưa từng: An emphatic form meaning "never (ever) before".
  • Tôi chưa từng thấy cảnh đẹp như vậy. (I have never seen such a beautiful scene.)
• Chưa hẳn: Means "not necessarily" or "not quite".
  • Điều đó chưa hẳn đã đúng. (That is not necessarily true.)
• Chưa đầy: Means "less than" (a quantity or time).
  • Cô ấy cao chưa đầy một mét sáu. (She is less than 1.6 meters tall.)

Synonyms

• Vẫn chưa: Still not yet (adds emphasis on the ongoing state of "not yet").
  • Mưa vẫn chưa tạnh. (The rain still hasn't stopped.)
• Không: No, not (a general negator, but "chưa" specifically implies "not yet" with future possibility).

Related Idioms and Proverbs

• Chưa đỗ ông nghè đã đe hàng tổng: Literally "Not yet passed the mandarin exam but already threatens the village chief"; equivalent to "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" or "Selling the bear's skin before one has caught the bear."
• Chưa học bò đã lo học chạy: Literally "Haven't learned to crawl but already worries about learning to run"; means "to want to run before you can walk" or "to skip essential basics."
• Chưa ráo máu đầu: Literally "The blood on the head is not yet dry"; means "to be still wet behind the ears" or "to be an inexperienced youth."

Học thuật

adv

1. Yet, not yet
   • chưa ai tới cả
     nobody has come yet
   • chưa bao giờ
     never before
   • ăn chưa no
     not to have eaten one's fill yet
   • mười hai giờ rồi, đi ngủ chưa?
     it is 12, are you going to bed yet?
2. (Particle used in question tags, asking for affirmation)
   • tai hại chưa, trời mưa rồi!
     it is disastrous, isn't it? It has started raining
   • lạ chưa kìa, đến giờ này mà không thấy anh ấy đến?
     it is strange, isn't it, that he has not turned up at this late hour
   • chưa ráo máu đầu
     to be still a chicken