Published on June 23, 2023
Negation in German: Kein vs. nicht
Negation in German is centered around three words: nein for no, kein for no/none and nicht for no. Confused yet? We recommend starting with nein, which is probably one of the first and most important words to learn in German. It answers a closed question. (For example: Do you want to get more homework? Nein.) As for nicht and kein, well, that’s where things get a bit more complex.
In this article, we’ll explain when and how to use all of the various German methods of negation. Be prepared to dive into declension and basic sentence structure, which shouldn’t be too difficult if you follow the examples closely. Other than nicht and kein, you’ll also learn some other words to form negative sentences in German.
The German nicht might be challenging to pronounce, but it’s easy to use. When you want to build a basic negative sentence in German, you can most likely count on nicht to be the right word. You use nicht to negate a verb, a noun with a definite article, a proper noun (a name), a possessive adjective, any adjective or an adverb.
| Verb | Ich gehe nicht. (I don’t go.) |
| Noun | Ich kenne nicht den Film, sondern das Buch. (I don’t know the movie, but I do know the book.) |
| Name | Ich heiße nicht Maria. (My name isn’t Maria.) |
| Possessive adjective | Das ist nicht mein Hund. (That’s not my dog.) |
| Adjective | Das Haus ist nicht blau. (The house isn’t blue.) |
| Adverb | Sie läuft nicht schnell. (She doesn’t run fast.) |
Have you noticed how the word nicht takes a different position in the sentences above? As a rule of thumb, nicht comes after the verb and before any other part of the sentence. If you want to negate the sentence as such, put nicht at the end of the sentence. Read the examples above again and look carefully at the placement of nicht.
Note: Nicht usually precedes adverbs, but follows adverbs of time such as später (later), früher (earlier), gestern (yesterday) and morgen (tomorrow). For example: Sie kommt heute nicht. (She doesn’t come today).
Verbs can pose a special challenge if they consist of more than one word.
| Where to place nicht | Example | |
| Modal verbs | before the infinitive | Ich kann nicht singen. (I can’t sing.) |
| Separable verbs | before the prefix | Sie ruft nicht an. (She doesn’t call.) |
| Reflexive verbs | after the pronoun | Sie wäscht sich nicht. (She doesn’t wash.) |
| Auxiliary verbs | before the past participle | Sie ist nicht gegangen. (She didn’t go.) Sie war nicht gegangen. (She hadn’t gone.) Sie wird nicht gegangen sein. (She will not have gone.) |
Other than that, the correct place for nicht depends a lot on which part of the sentence you want to stress. To say “I don’t go swimming today,” you can alternatively say:
Each of the above examples technically means the same thing, but each stresses a different part of the sentence’s meaning.
What is the difference between kein vs. nicht in German? Kein negates a noun that comes with no article or an indefinite article (a/an). Nicht negates everything else, including nouns with a definite article.
| Positive statement | Negation |
| Ich mag Gemüse. (I like vegetables.) | Ich mag kein Gemüse. (I don’t like vegetables.) |
| Ich mag Pizza. (I like pizza.) | Ich mag keine Pizza. (I don’t like pizza.) |
In the above examples, kein acts as an article.
Kein can also replace the noun it negates if the noun is known:
In these examples, kein acts as a pronoun.
Did you notice how the ending of kein changes? Yes, that’s right — we are talking about declension. Kein has to match the noun it accompanies in gender, number and case:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | |
| Nominative singular | kein | keine | kein |
| Genitive singular | keines | keiner | keines |
| Accusative singular | keinen | keine | kein |
| Dative singular | keinem | keiner | keinem |
| Nominative plural | keine | keine | keine |
| Genitive plural | keiner | keiner | keiner |
| Accusative plural | keine | keine | keine |
| Dative plural | keinen | keinen | keinen |
The declension for kein as a pronoun is slightly different, but only for some singular forms:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | |
| Nominative singular | keiner | keine | keines |
| Genitive singular | keines | keiner | keines |
| Accusative singular | keinen | keine | keines |
| Dative singular | keinem | keiner | keinem |
Example:
Ist da ein Hund im Garten? Nein, da ist keiner. (Nominative singular masculine)
Läuft da ein Kind über die Straße? Nein, da läuft keines. (Nominative singular neutral)
Hast du ein Auto? Nein, ich habe keines. (Accusative singular neutral)
While kein and nicht are the two basic words to form negative sentences in German, there are many other options, too. We could start with adding mehr or noch to kein and nicht:
Other negations in German are:
Kein in German is used to negate a noun that has an indefinite article or no article at all. Nicht is used in all other cases. Kein has to adapt to the gender, number and case of that noun. Nicht usually stands after the verb or before any other part of the sentence you want to highlight. There are other words to negate a sentence that have close English equivalents.
