Learn the difference between nein, nicht and kein
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| Michael: What's the right way to say "no" in German? |
| Anja: And what's the difference between nein, nicht and kein? |
| Michael: At GermanPod101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| In the following situation, Ben Lee, a college student, finds his friend, Hanna Hanselmann, standing outside the door of the conference room, where they're supposed to meet for their group project. The door is locked, however, and Hanna says, |
| "I don't have the key." |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Ben Lee: Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Michael: I don't have the key. |
| Ben Lee: Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| Michael: I also have no key. |
| Many students can get confused when trying to work out the differences between |
| Anja: nein, nicht |
| Michael: and |
| Anja: kein. |
| Michael: In German, the word you'll use will change depending on what part of speech it's related to. |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at both responses. |
| Do you remember how Hanna says, |
| "I don't have the key." |
| [Pause 4 seconds] |
| Hanna Hanselmann: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Michael: Here, Hanna uses the word |
| Anja: nicht |
| Michael: meaning "not" to negate the verb "have" or |
| Anja: Haben. |
| Michael: You can think of |
| Anja: nicht |
| Michael: As the most basic way to use negation in German sentences. It's very close to the English "not" and can negate the meaning of a verb, an adverb, or an adjective. For example, |
| Anja: Er ist nicht schüchtern. |
| Michael: means "He is not shy." In this sentence, |
| Anja: nicht |
| Michael: Is negating the word for "shy," |
| Anja: Schüchtern, |
| Michael: which is an adjective. It can also be used to negate a noun with a definite article. For example, to say "It is not the dog," you would use |
| Anja: nicht der Hund. |
| Michael: to say the "not the dog" part. |
| Michael: Now let's take a look at |
| Anja: kein. |
| Do you remember how Ben says, |
| "I also have no key." |
| [pause 4 seconds] |
| BEN: Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| Michael: Here Ben used the word |
| Anja: keinen |
| Michael: which is a declined form of |
| Anja: kein |
| Michael: and literally means "no." It's used to negate nouns that have an indefinite article or no article at all. In these cases, |
| Anja: kein |
| Michael: replaces |
| Anja: nicht. |
| Michael: For example, the sentence "It is a dog," |
| Anja: Es ist ein Hund. |
| Michael: will be negated by replacing the word "ein" with "kein." |
| Anja: Es ist kein Hund. |
| Michael: literally means "It is not a dog." |
| The last way to say "no" in German is |
| Anja: Nein. |
| Michael: This one simply means "no" and is used in the same way as the English "no," as in "No, thank you." |
| Anja: Nein, danke. |
| Michael: or as the basic answer to all simple yes-no questions such as "Do you live in Berlin?" |
| Anja: Nein, ich wohne in Hamburg. |
| Michael: "No, I live in Hamburg." |
| Michael: In short, |
| Anja: nein |
| Michael: is the basic equivalent of the English "no," and is used similarly. |
| Anja: Nicht |
| Michael: is close to the English "not," and is used to negate a verb, a noun with a definite article, an adverb, or an adjective. |
| Anja: Kein |
| Michael: is only used to negate nouns accompanied by indefinite articles or sometimes by no articles at all. |
| Michael: Now let's look at some examples. Our first example is |
| Anja: Ich bin nicht hungrig (enunciated). |
| Ich bin nicht hungrig. |
| Michael: "I am not hungry." Here |
| Anja: Nicht |
| Michael: negates the adjective |
| Anja: hungrig |
| Michael: meaning "hungry." |
| Michael: However, in German we can say "I am not hungry" in one more way, using a noun with an indefinite article. |
| Anja: Ich habe keinen Hunger. (enunciated). |
| Ich habe keinen Hunger. |
| Michael: This sentence literally means "I have no hunger." Here, the noun |
| Anja: Hunger |
| Michael: meaning "hunger" is negated using the word |
| Anja: kein. |
| Michael: Let's look at some more examples. |
| Anja: Nicht lustig (enunciated). |
| Nicht lustig. |
| Michael: "Not funny." This uses the, |
| Anja: nicht |
| Michael: to negate the adjective "funny." |
| Anja: Ich kenne die Antwort nicht (enunciated). |
| Ich kenne die Antwort nicht. |
| Michael: "I don't know the answer." This uses the |
| Anja: nicht |
| Michael: because we're negating |
| Anja: die Antwort, |
| Michael: "the answer," a noun with a definite article. |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the German speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Hanna says, |
| "I don't have the key." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ich habe den Schlüssel nicht. |
| Michael: And do you remember how BEN LEE says, |
| "I also have no key." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Anja: Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Anja: Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ich habe auch keinen Schlüssel. |
| Michael: To say, |
| Anja: nein, |
| Michael: on its own is often considered rude. If someone asks if you've ever been somewhere, as in, |
| Anja: Warst du schon mal in Rom? |
| Michael: "Have you ever been to Rome?" Simply saying the word "no" in response might signal to the person that the conversation has ended. And so it might be better to say, |
| Anja: Nein, noch nie. |
| Michael: which literally means, "No, never." |
| Michael: Great job. Now you know different ways to say "no" in German. That's all there is to it! |
| Be sure to download the lesson notes for this lesson at GermanPod101.com — and move onto the next lesson! |
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