German Negation

Negation

Negation in German is mainly expressed using 'nicht' and 'kein'. The key difficulty is not the word itself, but what part of the sentence you are negating.

Gender / Case	Positive	Negative
Masculine	ein Mann	kein Mann
Feminine	eine Frau	keine Frau
Neuter	ein Kind	kein Kind
Plural	Kinder	keine Kinder

Used to negate verbs (actions).
Used with adjectives and adverbs.
Placed before the element being negated or at the end of the clause.
Does NOT replace articles.

Scope of Negation

German negation depends on what part of the sentence is being denied.

Ich habe kein Auto.I do not have a car.

Sie hat keine Zeit.She has no time.

Wir haben keine Kinder.We have no children.

Ich komme nicht.I am not coming.

Er ist nicht müde.He is not tired.

Ich spreche nicht gut Deutsch.I do not speak German well.

'Nicht' comes after the verb in simple sentences.
It comes before adjectives and adverbs it negates.
It often goes to the end if negating the whole sentence.
It always stays close to what it negates.

Ich sehe nicht den Hund, sondern die Katze.I do not see the dog, but the cat.

Ich trinke nicht Kaffee, sondern Tee.I do not drink coffee, but tea.

Er kommt nicht heute, sondern morgen.He is not coming today, but tomorrow.

Common Mistakes

Negation errors often come from direct English translation.

Using 'nicht' instead of 'kein' with nouns.
Placing 'nicht' too early in the sentence.
Forgetting agreement in 'kein' forms.
Negating the wrong part of the sentence.

Common Negation Patterns

These are the most frequent structures in everyday German.

{"example": "Ich komme nicht.", "pattern": "nicht + verb", "translation": "I am not coming."}
{"example": "Er ist nicht müde.", "pattern": "nicht + adjective", "translation": "He is not tired."}
{"example": "Ich habe kein Geld.", "pattern": "kein + noun", "translation": "I have no money."}

Using 'kein'

'Kein' is used to negate nouns and works like 'no' or 'not a/an'.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Before using negation, identify what you are negating.

Am I negating a noun or an action?
Should I use 'nicht' or 'kein'?
What exactly is being negated?
Is the sentence structure correct?
Am I placing 'nicht' close enough to the target?

What Is Negation?

Negation is used to make a statement negative. German uses 'nicht' to negate verbs, adjectives, and full statements, and 'kein' to negate nouns.

Using 'nicht'

'Nicht' is used to negate verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or whole phrases.

Example Sentences

Ich habe keine Zeit.I have no time.

Er kommt nicht heute.He is not coming today.

Wir sehen den Film nicht.We are not watching the movie.

Sie ist nicht zu Hause.She is not at home.

Ich trinke keinen Kaffee.I do not drink coffee.

Ich sehe den Mann nicht.I do not see the man.

Er ist nicht hier.He is not here.

Ich komme heute nicht.I am not coming today.

Das Auto ist nicht schnell.The car is not fast.

Die Aufgabe ist nicht schwer.The task is not difficult.

Er ist nicht glücklich.He is not happy.

Position of 'nicht'

Word order determines what exactly is being negated.

Negating Adjectives

Adjectives are negated using 'nicht' placed directly before them.