Learn the difference between nein, nicht and kein
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| Hi everybody! Anja here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common German questions. |
| The question for this lesson is: What’s the difference between nein, nicht and kein? |
| Nein means “no” and is used in the same way as the English “no,” such as Nein, danke, “No thank you.” Or, Wohnst du in Berlin? - Nein, ich wohne in Hamburg. “Do you live in Berlin? - No, I live in Hamburg.” |
| Nicht means “not” and is used to make a sentence negative. Ich wohne nicht in Berlin. - Ich auch nicht mean “I don’t live in Berlin. - Me neither.” respectively |
| Kein is also used to make a sentence negative. However, it's only used before nouns with an indefinite article, such as “a” or “an” in English, or no article at all. In these cases, kein replaces the need for nicht. For example, Ich habe einen Hund. - Ich habe keinen Hund which means, “I have a dog,” and “I don’t have a dog,” respectively. The second sentence literally means, “I have no dog.” |
| Let’s do some more examples so you can learn how to use nein, nicht, and kein more effectively. |
| Nein on its own is often considered rude, so people add danke, in order to make the sentence Nein danke, which means, “No, thank you.” For example, Nein, danke, ich habe schon gegessen, meaning, “No thank you, I have already eaten.” If someone asks if you have ever been somewhere, such as, Warst du schon mal in Rom? “Have you ever been to Rome before?” simply saying the word nein might signal to the person you're talking to that the conversation has ended. So, it may be better to say, Nein, noch nie which literally means, “No, never (so far).” |
| With the word nicht, a common expression is noch nicht, which means “not yet.” It's often the answer to a question containing the word schon which means, “already,” or “yet.” For example, Hast du den Film schon gesehen? - Noch nicht. “Have you seen the movie yet? - Not yet.” However, it can also be used to show you're planning on doing something. For example, Warst du heute einkaufen? - Noch nicht, aber ich gehe gleich,” which means, “Have you gone shopping today? - Not yet, but I will go soon.” |
| An example with kein would be, Ich habe keine Lust which is a common expression meaning “I don’t want to.” or “I don’t feel like it.” It's often used to complain about having to go to work, school, or a similar commitment, such as in Ich habe wirklich keine Lust auf Arbeiten heute. which means, “I really don’t feel like working today.” It would be considered rude to use it as a direct reply to someone asking if you want to do something. In that case, it would be better to say, Ich fühle mich nicht nach Arbeiten heute, which also means, “I don’t feel like working today,” but implies that it’s because you don’t feel well. |
| If you feel like you’ve got it, and really want to challenge yourself, you can use all three in the same sentence with this phrase-- Nein, ich kann nicht, ich habe keine Zeit, which means “No, I can’t. I don’t have time.” |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer them! |
| Tschüss, bis zum nächsten Mal! “Bye, see you next time!” |
Comments
HideWhat German learning question do you have?
Hi PHILLIP,
Thank you for posting. 👍
Good question but no, it's not slang. The sentences are slightly different
in meaning.
Your own sentence is correct from what I can see:
Ich habe ein bißchen Geld. - I have a little money (saved?).
Her sentence, if I am not mistaken: "Ich habe ein kleines bißchen Geld."
could be translated to "I have money (on me), but only very little."
It depends on what you were trying to say(?). 😉
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
I had a friend wjo was from hesse and anytime i qouls say Ich habe eine bischen gelt or etc but she would correct me and ite ich habe kleinen bisschrn gelt is that slang or whT?
Hi Anita,
Thank you for your feedback! 👍
The translation of the sentence says "I really don't feel like working today."
So yes, you are right: it is translated as working and the use of "Arbeiten" as
a noun is similar to the gerund in English. 😉
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
In the lesson/screen on “Kein”, it says “Ich habe wirklich keine Lust auf Arbeiten heute”. Why is Arbeiten capitalized when it is used as a verb here and not a noun? Is Arbeiten translated here as “work” or “working”? Thank you. Danke.
Hi Deniz,
Thank you for your feedback.
To answer your question, I best give you the link
to this lesson:
https://www.germanpod101.com/lesson/absolute-beginner-questions-answered-by-anja-7-what-are-the-different-versions-of-ein-and-eine-and-how-do-i-use-them/
😉
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
When doe we use ein, eine and einen ?
Hallo robert groulx,
Danke schön for posting. We are very happy to have you here. Let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Levente
Team GermanPod101.com
thank you for the lesson transcript
favorite phrase is ich habe keine Zeit,
robert
Hi Joe,
You are perfectly right.👍
As it says in the lesson, you may use the phrase to come
across as less direct, but both meanings can be implied.
Thank you.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi Marcolorenzo,
Thank you for posting.👍
It is very tempting to use a translation from English since the two
languages are often quite similar but no, it wouldn't be grammatically
correct.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi, Team!
Does " Ich fühle mich nicht nach . . . " ALWAYS imply that " I don't feel well enough to . . . " or can it also simply mean " I don't feel inclined to. . . " ?
Vielen Dank!
✋ 😎 🗽
Joe B.
Can you say: Ich habe nicht einen Hund. as well as Ich habe keinen Hund
Hi Joe,
Thank you for your question.
The meaning of "durchschnittsdeutsch" is similar to saying in English
"average German". It isn't strictly speaking a proper word but everyone will understand
it as being a combination of "Durchschnitt" and "Deutsch". What I would like to mention though, is
that I think of it as a noun and it should therefore be spelled with a capital "D".
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi, Team. !
PS ----- I wondered if the word could be " durchschnittsdeutsch " and perhaps refer to " cutting through " a German verb to get a smaller word to be used as a noun.
Am I very far afield. ?
Thanks. !
Vielen Dank. !
♥ 👌 😎
Hi. !
Guten Tag. !
I noticed this word ----- " durschnittsdeutsch " ----- in a Comment.
Assuming the word is properly spelled, please explain what it refers to. .
Thanks. !
Vielen Dank. !
♥ 👌 😎