NegativesNegative words and phrases

Hilfsvokabeln– Helpful vocabulary

• nie (adv) – never
• noch nicht (adv) – not yet
• kaum (adv) – hardly
• nichts (adv) – nothing
• niemand (adv) – no-one
• nirgendwo (adv) – nowhere

nieandniemals

There are two words for 'never' – nie and niemals. They are interchangeable, but nie is used most.

Look at these examples:

• Ich esse nie Fleisch. – I never eat meat.
• Sie gewinnen nie. – They never win.
• Ich will nie durch den Tunnel fahren. – I never want to go through the tunnel.
• Ich habe nie geraucht. – I have never smoked.
• Ich würde das nie machen. – I would never do that.

noch nicht

noch nicht means 'not yet' and can also be used to be emphatic.

• Wir waren noch nicht in New York. – We haven't been to New York yet.
• Ich bin noch nicht fertig. – I'm not finished yet.
• Sie wissen es noch nicht. – They don't know yet.

nichts

nichts means 'nothing' or 'not anything'.

It is used in two ways:

Example one

As an indefinite pronoun, in other words when we refer to non-specific people or things.

• Was hast du in der Hand? Nichts. – What do you have in your hand? Nothing.
• Ich sehe nichts. – I can't see anything. (literally: I see nothing)
• Ich verstehe nichts. – I don't understand anything. (literally: I understand nothing)
• Ich will nichts mehr. – I don't want any more. (literally: I want nothing more)

Example two

With an adjective, as part of an adjectival phrase.

• nichts Interessantes – nothing interesting
• nichts Neues – nothing new
• nichts Besseres – nothing better

Note that the adjective must begin with a capital letter, as it is used as a noun.

niemand and nirgendwo

There are two other negative words you may need to recognise:

• niemand – no one
• nirgendwo – nowhere

The endings of niemand have to change according to its case, but nirgendwo never changes.

• niemand hat mir geholfen – no one helped me
• ich will mit niemandem sprechen – I don't want to talk to anyone
• ich kann das Auto nirgendwo sehen – I can't see the car anywhere