Making negative sentences in German does not have to be a negative experience!
If you understand how to use nein, nicht and kein then you will have no problem negating sentences in German.
The Coffee Break German Show is a podcast series of bite-sized, friendly conversations, in which we demystify tricky German language topics. In the latest episode, Mark and Thomas discuss how negation works in German using nein, nicht and kein.
Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?
Nein
Nein is used as an answer to a closed question. In all cases, it simply means “no”. For example:
– Möchtest du ein Stück Kuchen? – Nein, danke.
– Would you like a piece of cake? – No, thanks.
– Besuchen wir morgen deine Eltern? – Nein, am Freitag.
– Are we visiting your parents tomorrow? – No, on Friday.
Nicht
Nicht is used to negate different parts of a sentence, including prepositions, adverbs, adjectives and verbs. Let’s look at some examples:
Dieser Salat ist nicht frisch.
This salad is not fresh.
Wir fahren heute nicht nach Berlin.
We are not travelling to Berlin today.
The position of nicht emphasises the part of the sentence you are negating. In the sentence above the position of nicht negates the piece of information nach Berlin (“to Berlin”). It emphasises that Berlin is not the destination today.
Wir fahren nicht heute nach Berlin.
We are not travelling to Berlin today.
As the sentence is now worded, the adverb heute is negated, meaning that maybe another day they will travel to Berlin, but not today.
Das weiß ich nicht.
I don’t know that.
Ich tanze nicht.
I am not dancing.
In the examples above, the nicht is placed at the end, negating the whole sentence.
Negating with modal verbs
In German, how do you negate a sentence when you are using modal verbs? This is possibly best demonstrated with examples:
Ich kann nicht schwimmen.
I cannot swim.
Note that nicht is placed before the infinitive.
Ich möchte diese Hose nicht anziehen.
I would not like to put on these trousers.
There is further information in this sentence, but nicht is still placed before the infinitive.
Kein
Kein is used to negate nouns.
Kein can be seen as the negative of the indefinite article – the opposite of “a”. It is therefore placed before the noun it is negating. Take a look at the examples below to demonstrate its use:
Ich habe einen Hund.
I have a dog.
Ich habe keinen Hund.
I don’t have a dog. / I have no dog.
Ich habe heute Lust ins Kino zu gehen.
I want to go to the cinema today.
Ich habe heute keine Lust ins Kino zu gehen.
I don’t want to go to the cinema today.
One important point to remember when using kein is that it has to agree with the noun it is negating. This means it has to take account of the noun’s gender, whether it is plural or singular, and the case being used.
Other forms of negating
There are two other ways to negate your sentences that are worth mentioning:
nichts
nothing
niemand
nobody
For example:
Sie will heute nichts machen.
She wants to do nothing today. / She doesn’t want to do anything today.
Leider ist niemand auf die Party gekommen.
Unfortunately, nobody came to the party.
In conclusion
Once you have a good grasp of forming negative phrases and sentences in German you will be more comfortable in conversation. Of course, it is easy to make mistakes with this and it is all part of the learning process – keep practising and you will improve.
If you found this post interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Mark and Thomas on The Coffee Break German Show. This is the series in which we look at a range of topics for German learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.
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