How to Say 'No' in Hmong: Pronunciation and Tones

The Hmong word for "no" is "tsis" (sometimes spelled tsi in older romanizations).

Pronunciation

• Initial: ts — a voiceless alveolar affricate, like the "zz" in "pizza" but unvoiced (similar to "ts" in "cats").
• Vowel: i — high front unrounded, like "ee" in "see" but shorter.
• Tone: High-falling (tone 5 in most Hmong tone systems). Start at high pitch, drop sharply. In RPA (Romanized Popular Alphabet), it's written tsis (no tone marker = high tone; but actually "tsis" carries the high-falling tone).

Audio tip: Say "tsee" with a sharp, falling pitch—like a quick "Tsee↘".

Usage

Tsis negates verbs: Kuv tsis paub = "I don't know." Tsis muaj = "Don't have."

Note on "Know"

If you meant "know" (the verb), it's "paub" (mid tone). Kuv paub = "I know."