German grammar · Beginner (A1)
Negation: nicht and kein
How to say “not” and “no” in German: when to use kein, when to use nicht, and where nicht goes in the sentence.
Kein: “no” or “not a”
Use with nouns that would otherwise have or no article at all. It means “no”, “not a” or “not any”. has the same endings as , and in the plural it's .
| Case | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | ||||
| accusative | ||||
| dative |
- Das ist kein Problem.That's no problem.
- Ich habe kein Auto.I don't have a car.
- Wir haben keine Kinder.We don't have any children.
- Ich habe keinen Hunger.I'm not hungry.
Nicht: “not”
Use for everything else: to negate a verb, an adjective, a name, or a noun with , , or .
- Ich komme heute nicht.I'm not coming today.
- Das ist nicht teuer.That's not expensive.
- Das ist nicht mein Handy.That's not my phone.
- Ich verstehe das nicht.I don't understand that.
Where does nicht go?
To negate the whole sentence, usually goes near the end, after the object and time words.
But comes before an adjective, a place or direction (, …), and the second verb part at the end (an infinitive, a participle or a separable prefix).
- Ich kenne den Mann nicht.I don't know the man.
- Ich wohne nicht in Berlin.I don't live in Berlin.
- Ich kann nicht schwimmen.I can't swim.
- Wir haben das Spiel nicht gesehen.We didn't see the match.
- Ich rufe dich heute nicht an.I won't call you today.
Other negative words
German has a few more useful negative words. Note that German doesn't use double negatives: one negative word is enough.
| German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nothing | (I didn't buy anything.) | |
| nobody | (Nobody is at home.) | |
| never | (I never drink coffee.) | |
| not yet | (He isn't here yet.) | |
| no longer | (She doesn't live here any more.) | |
| … | no more | (We've run out of milk.) |