chatterbug

! German Grammar
Explained /
Nein, nicht or kein?
Share this article with others: " # $

There are only three ways of negating in

German: NEIN, NICHT and KEIN. Compare this
to English where there are many other
possibilities such as No, not, never, none,
nobody, nothing...this is one of those instances
where German is less complex than English!
So how do we know whether we should use
nein, nicht or kein?

Möchtest du ein Bier?

Would you like a beer?

» Nein, danke!
No, thank you!

» Ich trinke nicht.

I don't drink.

» Ich mag kein Bier.

I don't like beer. (Literally: I like no beer.)

1. When do we use "nein"?

​ Nein is used exclusively to answer yes/no-

questions, we never use it in the middle of a
sentence.

Lernst du Deutsch?
Are you learning German?

» Nein.
No.

2. When do we use "kein/keine"?

We use kein/keine before nouns:

Ich habe ein Auto. (I Ich habe kein Auto. (I

have a car) have no car)
Ich habe eine Ich habe keine
Limousine. (I have a Limousine. (I have no
limousine) limousine)

3. When do we use "nicht"?

For all the rest.

For example:

to negate verbs: Ich trinke nicht. (I

don’t drink)
to negate adverbs: Ich wohne nicht
hier. (I don’t live here)
to negate adjectives: Wir sind nicht
alt. (We are not old)

A good way to assimilate this is by making a

few positive sentences and then negating
them. This is an easy but important bit of
grammar that is used in everyday speech all
the time!​

For the Grammar Nerds

1. What is a verb?
A word used to describe an action, state, or
occurrence, such as hear, learn, or happen.

2. What is an adjective?
A word naming an attribute of a noun, such
as sweet, blue, or magical.

3. What is an adverb?
Adverbs provide information about:
manner: He spoke slowly.
place: We met there.
time: We will meet tomorrow.
degree: It was quite interesting.

SIGNUP TO STUDY MORE!

% Previous grammar topic: Gerne and lieber

Next grammar topic: Verb Conjugation &

©2021 Chatterbug Inc hello@chatterbug.com

Learn with German Media

Learn German Grammar Blog Help