Negation with "nicht" and "kein"

Two negators, one simple choice

English mostly negates with "not" plus a helping verb: I do not have a car. German splits the job between two words, and the choice follows a clear rule.

Use kein to negate a noun that has ein in the positive sentence, or no article at all. Ich habe ein Auto becomes Ich habe kein Auto (I have no car / I don't have a car). Er hat Zeit becomes Er hat keine Zeit.

Use nicht for everything else: verbs, adjectives, places, and nouns with a definite article. Ich bin müde becomes Ich bin nicht müde. If you can put "no" or "not a" in front of the English noun, German wants kein; otherwise reach for nicht.

• Ich habe kein Auto.

  I have no car.

  Positive: ein Auto → negative: kein Auto.

• Er hat keine Zeit.

  He has no time.

  Zeit has no article, so kein is used.

• Ich bin nicht müde.

  I am not tired.

"kein" behaves exactly like "ein"

The word kein is simply ein with a k in front, and it takes exactly the same endings. Masculine and neuter: kein (kein Mann, kein Buch). Feminine: keine (keine Lampe). And in the accusative, the masculine form becomes keinen, just as ein becomes einen: Ich habe keinen Hund (I have no dog).

There is one bonus: unlike ein, kein does have a plural form, keine. Ich habe keine Kinder (I have no children). So the pattern to memorise is short: kein, keine, kein — and keinen for a masculine object, keine for any plural. If you can decline ein, you can already decline kein.

• Wir haben keinen Hund.

  We have no dog.

  Masculine direct object: kein becomes keinen.

• Sie trinkt kein Bier.

  She doesn't drink beer.

  das Bier — neuter stays kein.

• Ich habe keine Kinder.

  I have no children.

  keine is also the plural form.

Where does "nicht" go?

The position of nicht follows two rules of thumb that cover almost every A1 sentence.

First: when nicht negates the whole sentence — the action itself — it goes to the end. Er kommt heute nicht (He is not coming today). Ich kaufe den Tisch nicht (I am not buying the table).

Second: when nicht negates one particular word, it stands directly in front of that word. Das Buch ist nicht neu (The book is not new) — nicht sits before the adjective. Wir wohnen nicht in Berlin — nicht sits before the place. Say the sentence and ask what exactly you are denying: everything, or one detail? That question almost always places nicht correctly.

• Er kommt heute nicht.

  He is not coming today.

  nicht at the end negates the whole sentence.

• Das Buch ist nicht neu.

  The book is not new.

  nicht directly before the adjective it negates.

• Wir wohnen nicht in Berlin.

  We do not live in Berlin.

• Ich kaufe den Tisch nicht.

  I am not buying the table.

  Nouns with der/die/das are negated with nicht, not kein.

Answering: ja, nein and the special "doch"

Positive questions get the answers you expect: Kommst du? — Ja (yes) or Nein (no). But German has a third answer word that English lacks: doch. It contradicts a negative question or statement.

If someone asks Hast du keinen Hunger? (Aren't you hungry?), answering ja is confusingly ambiguous in German — so German uses doch to say "yes I am, you're wrong": Doch, ich habe Hunger. Use nein to agree with the negative: Nein, ich habe keinen Hunger. Think of doch as "on the contrary, yes". It is short, extremely common in everyday speech, and using it correctly is one of the quickest ways to sound natural in German.

To finish, run the decision drill one more time, because it is the heart of this lesson. Look at what you want to negate. Is it a noun with ein, or a noun with no article? Then kein, with the ein endings you already know. Is it anything else — a verb, an adjective, a place, a noun with der, die or das? Then nicht, placed at the end for the whole sentence or directly before the one word you are denying. Two words, two rules, and every negative sentence at A1 is within reach.

• Hast du keinen Hunger? — Doch, ich habe Hunger.

  Aren't you hungry? — Yes, I am (hungry).

  doch contradicts a negative question.

• Trinkst du Kaffee? — Nein, ich trinke Tee.

  Do you drink coffee? — No, I drink tea.