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German · Grammar · A1 to B1

German negation: nicht or kein, where nicht goes, and doch

Make it negative · pick a sentence
Positive
IchIhabehaveeinaAuto.car
ikh HAA-be ain AU-toh · “I have a car.”
Negative · kein
IchIhabehavekeinnoAuto.car
ikh HAA-be kain AU-toh · “I don’t have a car.”
Why: Ein + noun becomes kein + noun. German literally says “I have no car”.

Short answer: use kein to negate a noun that has ein or no article: Ich habe ein Auto → Ich habe kein Auto. Use nicht for everything else: verbs, adjectives, names and nouns with der, die, das. Nicht usually goes at the end, or just before the part it negates. To say “yes” to a negative question, use doch.

The endings of kein

Kein works like ein

Kein takes exactly the endings of ein, and unlike ein it also has a plural: keine Kinder. A case is the form a word takes for its job in the sentence.

Casemasculinefeminineneuterplural
Nominativekein Hundkeine Katzekein Kindkeine Kinder
Accusativekeinen Hundkeine Katzekein Kindkeine Kinder
Dativekeinem Hundkeiner Katzekeinem Kindkeinen Kindern
Genitivekeines Hundeskeiner Katzekeines Kindeskeiner Kinder
Where nicht goes

At the end, or just before what it negates

To negate a whole sentence, nicht goes at the end of the main clause, but before any second verb part. To negate one part, put nicht directly in front of it.

  1. 1
    Whole sentence: at the end
    Erhekommtcomesheutetodaynicht.not
    air KOMT HOI-te NIKHT · “He isn’t coming today.”
  2. 2
    Before an adjective
    Der Filmthe filmistisnichtnotgut.good
    dair FILM ist NIKHT GOOT · “The film isn’t good.”
  3. 3
    Before a place
    Sieshewohntlivesnichtnotin Köln.in Cologne
    zee VOHNT NIKHT in KÖLN · “She doesn’t live in Cologne.”
  4. 4
    Before the infinitive
    IchIkanncannichtnotschwimmen.swim
    ikh KAN NIKHT SHVI-men · “I can’t swim.”
  5. 5
    Before the separable prefix
    IchIrufecalldichyounichtnotan.on
    ikh ROO-fe dikh NIKHT AN · “I won’t call you.”
  6. 6
    Before one part, to contrast
    Nichtnotich,Isondernbuter.he
    NIKHT ikh, ZON-dern AIR · “Not me, but him.”
Answering negative questions

Ja, nein, doch

English uses “yes” for two jobs. German separates them: ja agrees with a positive question, and doch contradicts a negative one.

“Kommst du?”Ja!
Ja,yesichIkomme.come
YAA, ikh KO-me · “Yes, I’m coming.”
“Kommst du nicht?”Doch!
Doch,yes-I-doichIkomme!come
DOKH, ikh KO-me · “Yes, I am coming!”
“Kommst du nicht?”Nein.
Nein,noichIkommecomenicht.not
NAIN, ikh KO-me NIKHT · “No, I’m not coming.”
Other negative words

Nie, nichts, niemand, noch nicht

German uses one negative word per sentence: Ich sehe niemanden, never with an extra nicht. Tap a word to hear it in a sentence.

Correcting with sondern

Nicht A, sondern B

After a negative, English “but” is sondern when you replace one thing with another, and aber when you add a contrast. A conjunction is a joining word; neither of these changes word order.

sondern · instead
IchIbinamnichtnotmüde,tiredsondernbut-ratherhungrig.hungry
ikh bin NIKHT MÜ-de, ZON-dern HUNG-rikh · “I’m not tired, I’m hungry.”
DasthatistiskeinnoHund,dogsondernbut-ratherein Wolf.a wolf
das ist KAIN HUNT, ZON-dern ain VOLF · “That’s not a dog, it’s a wolf.”
aber · however
IchIbinamnichtnotmüde,tiredaberbutichIgehegoins Bett.to bed
ikh bin NIKHT MÜ-de, AA-ber ikh GAY-e ins BET · “I’m not tired, but I’m going to bed.”
Esitistisnichtnotteuer,expensiveaberbutgut.good
es ist NIKHT TOI-er, AA-ber GOOT · “It isn’t expensive, but it’s good.”
Negative words built with un- and -los

Unmöglich, unhöflich, sinnlos

Many adjectives become negative with the prefix un- (like English “un-”), and many nouns become “without X” with the suffix -los (“-less”). Tap a pair.

Keep going

Related guides

Word order →Why nicht goes where it does. Verb zweiter StelleThe four cases →The endings that kein shares with ein. keinen, keinemSeparable verbs →Nicht before the prefix. ich rufe nicht anParticles →Doch also adds emphasis. Komm doch!