German negation: nicht vs kein — when to use each (A1)
Use kein to negate a noun that takes ein or has no article; use nicht to negate verbs, adjectives, and nouns with a definite article or possessive.
German has two negation words, and choosing between them depends on what you negate.
Use kein when the positive sentence has ein (a/an) or a bare noun (no article). Kein replaces the article and takes the same endings as ein.
Use nicht for everything else: to negate a verb, an adjective, or a noun that already has a definite article (der/die/das) or a possessive (mein, dein).
| Positive | Negative | Word |
|---|---|---|
| Ich habe ein Auto. | Ich habe kein Auto. | kein |
| Ich habe Zeit. | Ich habe keine Zeit. | kein |
| Ich kenne das Buch. | Ich kenne das Buch nicht. | nicht |
| Er schläft. | Er schläft nicht. | nicht |
Position of nicht: it goes at the end of a simple sentence, but before an adjective it negates (Das Auto ist nicht neu).
For English speakers: English uses not / not a / no somewhat freely; German forces the choice — if you'd say a or nothing, use kein; otherwise use nicht.
Examples
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form habenPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build kein Auto.
I don't have a car.
Grammatical analysisBase form wirCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberPlural (plural)Person1st person plural (wir)Checked deterministically before build haben keine Zeit.
We don't have time.
Das Kind Grammatical analysisBase form schlafenPerson3rd person singular (er/sie/es)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build nicht.
The child is not sleeping.
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form kennenPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build das Buch nicht.
I don't know the book.
Grammatical analysisBase form derCaseNominativ (nominative)Gendermaskulin (masculine)NumberSingular (singular)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form ApfelCaseNominativ (nominative)Gendermaskulin (masculine)NumberSingular (singular)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form seinPerson3rd person singular (er/sie/es)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build nicht rot.
The apple is not red.
Common mistakes
When a noun would take ein, negate with kein, not nicht + ein. Kein already contains the idea of "not a".
A bare (article-less) noun like Zeit is negated with kein too — here feminine keine. Nicht cannot directly negate such a noun.
Kein only negates nouns. To negate a verb, use nicht at the end of the clause.
Related topics
Practice
Ich habe ___ Bruder.
Wir haben ___ Zeit.
Das Kind schläft ___.