Vietnamese normally builds a negative directive with a dedicated preverbal frame: đừng + predicate. The verb itself does not acquire an imperative form. Who is speaking to whom, the address term, intonation, and particles such as nhé, nha, ạ, and sometimes đâu determine whether the utterance sounds caring, firm, deferential, or confrontational.
This is therefore not simply the negative version of an English imperative. Không ordinarily denies a fact, whereas đừng tries to prevent an action. For positive directives with hãy, cứ, mời, and bare predicates, see Positive Directives with Hãy, Cứ, and Bare Predicates.
The basic frame: đừng + predicate
Place đừng immediately before the predicate whose realization you want to prevent. An overt addressee is common because Vietnamese relationship terms do social work that English often leaves to tone alone.
Đừng đi, ngoài trời đang mưa lớn.
Don't go; it's raining heavily outside.
Con đừng mở cửa cho người lạ nhé.
Don't open the door to strangers, okay, child?
Anh đừng lo, em đã gọi được xe rồi.
Don't worry; I've managed to call a car already.
In the second example, con identifies a parent-to-child relationship and nhé seeks cooperation. Neither is a disposable decoration. Without them, Đừng mở cửa cho người lạ is still grammatical, but it sounds more like a general instruction or a sharper command in a family conversation.
A force-and-register guide
| Pattern | Typical value | Register and stance |
|---|---|---|
| Đừng đi. | Do not go. | Neutral everyday prohibition; force depends heavily on context |
| Đừng nói nữa. | Stop talking / do not say any more. | Everyday; asks for an ongoing or repeated action to stop |
| Chớ chủ quan. | Do not be complacent. | (formal/literary) warning, maxim, slogan, or proverb |
| Không được hút thuốc ở đây. | Smoking is not allowed here. | Rule-, authority-, or permission-based prohibition |
| Em đừng thức khuya nha. | Don't stay up late, okay? | (informal) personal concern; nha is especially common in Southern speech but widely understood |
| Xin đừng chạm vào hiện vật ạ. | Please do not touch the exhibit. | Deferential public-facing request; ạ marks respect |
Đừng is the normal conversational choice. Chớ survives productively in fixed warnings, proverbs, public rhetoric, and elevated writing, but using it throughout an ordinary chat can sound theatrical or sententious. Không được says that an action lacks permission; it invokes a rule, authority, safety constraint, or speaker's right to forbid it.
Chớ thấy sóng cả mà ngã tay chèo.
Do not lose heart merely because the waves are high. (proverbial/literary)
Không được để xe chắn lối thoát hiểm.
Vehicles must not be left blocking the emergency exit. (formal rule)
Đừng...nữa: stop or do not repeat
Add nữa after the relevant predicate when the unwanted action is already happening, has happened before, or is being considered again. English may translate the result as stop, not anymore, or don't ... again.
Đừng nói nữa, kẻo chị ấy nghe thấy.
Stop talking, or she might hear us.
Em đừng bỏ bữa nữa nhé; dạ dày em đang đau đấy.
Please don't skip meals again; your stomach is already hurting.
Compare Đừng gọi cho tôi tối nay “Don't call me tonight” with Đừng gọi cho tôi nữa “Don't call me anymore.” The first blocks one future event. The second presents calling as an existing pattern or a relationship the speaker wants to end. That additional presupposition can make nữa emotionally strong.
Do not mechanically attach nữa to every English again. In Đừng quên mang ô nữa, the intended scope can be unclear. If the meaning is “don't forget the umbrella again,” Đừng quên mang ô lần nữa is possible but marked; in a real reminder, speakers more naturally say Lần này đừng quên mang ô nhé “This time, don't forget the umbrella.”
Address terms and final particles recalibrate force
Vietnamese often names the addressee as anh, chị, em, con, cháu, cô, chú, or another relationship term. Choosing it correctly can matter more than inserting a word meaning please.
- nhé asks for alignment and often makes caring advice cooperative.
- nha has a warm, conversational flavor (informal; especially Southern), though it is not confined to one region.
- ạ marks deference toward the addressee; it does not by itself make a harsh ban gentle.
- đâu can reassure or contradict an imagined fear in patterns such as Đừng lo đâu. It is not a general politeness suffix.
Bác đừng xuống cầu thang vội ạ, để cháu bật đèn.
Please don't go down the stairs yet, sir/ma'am; let me turn on the light. (deferential)
Đừng lo đâu, hồ sơ của chị vẫn còn hạn.
Don't worry; your application is still valid.
An address term can also increase authority. A parent saying Con không được chạy ra đường! invokes a nonnegotiable safety rule. The same parent might say Con đừng chạy nhanh quá nhé as concerned advice. The contrast is not “polite versus impolite”; it is authority-based prohibition versus an interpersonal appeal.
Đừng versus không được
Use đừng when the speech act is essentially “I urge you not to do this.” Use không được when the logic is “this is not permitted.” They overlap in forceful warnings, but their perspectives differ.
Anh đừng đỗ xe ở đây, lát nữa xe rác đến.
Don't park here; the garbage truck will come later.
Theo nội quy, khách không được đỗ xe ở đây.
Under the regulations, visitors are not allowed to park here.
The first can be friendly advice based on local knowledge. The second attributes the ban to regulations. On a sign, Cấm đỗ xe “No parking” is even more impersonal and official. In conversation, using không được toward an equal can sound parental or controlling unless the speaker truly has authority or is citing a shared rule.
Why không alone is not conversational “don't”
English builds don't go with an auxiliary plus negation. Vietnamese không đi normally describes or denies an event: “not go / won't go,” with its subject recoverable from context. It does not automatically command the listener.
— Em không đi à? — Vâng, em không đi.
— You're not going? — Right, I'm not going.
— Đừng đi một mình nhé. — Vâng, em sẽ đợi chị.
— Don't go alone, okay? — All right, I'll wait for you.
In the first exchange, em không đi reports the younger person's plan. In the second, đừng đi directs that person. Signs and telegraphic institutional wording can omit material in ways that look different, but learners should not generalize from a sign to intimate conversation.
A natural dialogue: denial or prohibition?
— Sao em chưa về? — Em không về; em đang chờ Linh.
— Why haven't you gone home? — I'm not going home; I'm waiting for Linh.
— Trời tối rồi, em đừng về một mình nhé. Đợi anh năm phút. — Vâng, em đợi.
— It's dark already; don't go home alone, okay? Wait five minutes for me. — Okay, I'll wait.
— Còn lối cầu thang này thì sao? — Không được đi lối đó; cửa dưới đang khóa.
— What about this staircase? — You mustn't go that way; the door downstairs is locked.
Em không về is a statement of intention, em đừng về một mình is a concerned directive, and không được đi lối đó is a safety prohibition. Substituting không for đừng in the second line would sound like the speaker was predicting or asserting nondeparture, not asking for it.
Common Mistakes
1. Using không alone as a one-for-one translation of imperative “don't.”
❌ Em không chạm vào ổ điện!
Wrong for a direct command — this most naturally asserts that you are not touching the outlet.
✅ Em đừng chạm vào ổ điện!
Don't touch the electrical outlet!
The repair selects a prohibitive speech act rather than ordinary predicate negation.
2. Placing the prohibitive after the verb on an English-like model.
❌ Nói đừng chuyện đó nữa.
Incorrect — đừng does not follow the verb it prohibits.
✅ Đừng nói chuyện đó nữa.
Don't mention that again.
3. Treating chớ as the everyday equivalent of đừng.
❌ Tối nay anh chớ quên mua sữa nha.
Stylistically mismatched — proverbial/formal chớ clashes with this ordinary household reminder.
✅ Tối nay anh đừng quên mua sữa nhé.
Don't forget to buy milk tonight, okay?
4. Using không được when the speaker merely offers advice.
❌ Chị không được mang áo khoác; tối nay hơi lạnh đấy.
Wrong meaning — this says she is forbidden to bring a jacket.
✅ Chị đừng quên mang áo khoác nhé; tối nay hơi lạnh đấy.
Don't forget to bring a jacket; it will be a little cold tonight.
5. Treating a final particle as optional English-style decoration.
❌ Con đừng nói với mẹ ạ.
Potentially confusing stance — ạ defers to the addressee, but a parent addressing a child would not normally defer this way.
✅ Con đừng nói với mẹ như thế nhé.
Don't speak to your mother like that, okay?
Key Takeaways
- Put đừng before the predicate: đừng + V, not V + đừng.
- Đừng...nữa asks an ongoing or repeated behavior to stop.
- Chớ is mainly formal, literary, proverbial, or slogan-like; it is not neutral chat.
- Không được encodes lack of permission or an authoritative rule.
- Không + predicate ordinarily makes a negative statement, not a negative command.
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- Constituent Negation and ContrastB2 — Negate a Vietnamese subject, object, reason, time, or description precisely with không phải, không phải là, and không X mà Y.
- Negative Answers: Không, Chưa, and Đâu CóC1 — Answer negatively by distinguishing categorical denial with không, pending noncompletion with chưa, and corrective contradiction with đâu có.
- Positive Directives with Hãy, Cứ, and Bare PredicatesA2 — Choose among bare predicates, hãy, cứ, mời, address terms, and final particles to shape positive Vietnamese directives.
- Đi as Directive SoftenerB2 — Use sentence-final đi to turn an action into an urging, encouraging, or softened directive while controlling its interpersonal force.