phải không

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• phải hôn

Etymology

phải (“true; correct; just”) +‎ không (question marker).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [faːj˧˩ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [faːj˧˨ kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [faːj˧˨ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [faːj˨˩˦ kʰəwŋ͡m˧˧] ~ [faːj˨˩˦ xəwŋ͡m˧˧]

Particle

phải không

1. is that true or not?; yes?; no?

   Synonym: đúng không

   Hôm qua không làm bài tập phải không ?

   You didn't do your homework yesterday, did you?

Usage notes

• The interrogative expression phải không is placed at the end of a statement and may be preceded by a comma to form a question when the speaker expects his hearer to confirm what he or she just said.
• The negative reply begins either with không (or its variants, such as hông) or không phải, no matter whether the predicate is verbal, adjectival or nominal.