не

See also: нѐ, -не, не-, н. е., and Appendix:Variations of "ne"

Belarusian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nʲe]
• IPA^(key): [nʲa] (before a stressed syllable, even if no change in spelling)
• Rhymes: -a, -e

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

не • (nje)

1. no (word used to indicate disagreement or negative)

Particle

не • (nje)

1. not

   я не разуме́ю ― ja nje razumjéju ― I don't understand

Usage notes

• By some standards and conventions не (nje) is always written, even if it's pronounced as ня (nja).
• ня (nja) can sometimes be replaced with не (nje) but не (nje) can't be replaced with ня (nja) if it's not in a pre-tonal position, for example:
  1. я ня ве́даю (ja nja vjédaju) = я не ве́даю (ja nje vjédaju)
  2. я ня разуме́ю (ja nja razumjéju) = я не разуме́ю (ja nje razumjéju)
• ня (nja) can't replace не (nje) in any stressed position or as an adverb no (word used to indicate disagreement or negative)

Alternative forms

• ня (nja) — Taraškievica orthography (before a stressed syllable)

Bulgarian

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne

Proto-Slavic *ne

Old Church Slavonic не (ne)

Bulgarian не

Inherited from Old Church Slavonic не (ne), from Proto-Slavic *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɛ]

• Audio (Standard Bulgarian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -nɛ
• Homophone: не- (ne-)

Particle

не • (ne)

1. used to show disagreement or negation, no

   Не, грешиш.

   Ne, grešiš.

   No, you are mistaken.

   Не, сега не може да гледаш телевизия.

   Ne, sega ne može da gledaš televizija.

   No, you may not watch television now.

2. used to negate the meaning of the following word or phrase, not, n't

   Не знам.

   Ne znam.

   I don't know.

   Не мога.

   Ne moga.

   I cannot.

   Мария не им даде възможност да се извинят.

   Marija ne im dade văzmožnost da se izvinjat.

   Maria didn't give them a chance to apologize.

   Не Мария им даде възможност да се извинят.

   Ne Marija im dade văzmožnost da se izvinjat.

   It was not Maria who gave them a chance to apologize. (Someone else did.)

   Не на тях Мария даде възможност да се извинят.

   Ne na tjah Marija dade văzmožnost da se izvinjat.

   It was not to them that Maria gave a chance to apologize. (She gave it to someone else.)

   Не възможност да се извинят им даде Мария.

   Ne văzmožnost da se izvinjat im dade Marija.

   It was not a chance to apologize that Maria gave them. (She gave them something else.)

   Не да се извинят им даде възможност Мария.

   Ne da se izvinjat im dade văzmožnost Marija.

   It was not a chance to apologize that Maria gave them. (She gave them a chance to do something else.)

Anagrams

• не- (ne-)

Kazakh

Alternative scripts

Arabic	نە
Cyrillic	не
Latin	ne

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *nē- (“what”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

Pronoun

не • (ne)

1. (interrogative) what

Conjunction

не • (ne)

1. either... or...

   Маған не айран, не қымыз бер ― Mağan ne ayran, ne qımız ber ― Give me either ayran or koumiss

2. neither... nor...

   Не қазақша, не орысша сөйлемейді ― Ne qazaqša, ne orısša söylemeydi ― She speaks neither Kazakh nor Russian

Macedonian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: нѐ (nè)

Adverb

не • (ne)

1. no

Particle

не • (ne)

1. not

Old Church Slavonic

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né.

Particle

не • (ne)

1. no
2. not

Related terms

• ни (ni)

Old East Slavic

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ne. Cognates include Old Church Slavonic не (ne) and Old Polish nie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛ/→/nʲɛ/→/nʲɛ/

• (ca. 9^th CE) IPA^(key): /nɛ/
• (ca. 11^th CE) IPA^(key): /nʲɛ/
• (ca. 13^th CE) IPA^(key): /nʲɛ/

• Hyphenation: не

Particle

не (ne)

1. no
2. not
   • 1076, Sviatoslav's izbornik‎^[1], page 2:

     не рече оустꙑ тъчью иꙁгл҃аахъ·

     ne reče usty tŭčĭju izgl:aaxŭ·

     He didn't say: I just pronounced [them] with [my] mouth;

Descendants

• Old Ruthenian: не (ne)
  • Belarusian: не (nje)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: не (ne)
  • Ukrainian: не (ne)
• Russian: не (ne)

References

• Sreznevsky, Izmail I. (1902), “не”, in Матеріалы для Словаря древне-русскаго языка по письменнымъ памятникамъ [Materials for the Dictionary of the Old East Slavic Language Based on Written Monuments]‎^[2] (in Russian), volume 2 (Л – П), Saint Petersburg: Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, column 354

Russian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né. Cognates include Lithuanian ne, Old English ne, German nicht, nie, Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni), Irish ní, Latin ne, Sanskrit न (ná).

Pronunciation

• (unstressed) IPA^(key): [nʲɪ]
• (stressed) IPA^(key): [ˈnʲe]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: ни (ni) (when unstressed)

Particle

не • (ne)

1. (negative in full) not, no, -n't, without

   Он не зна́ет ― On ne znájet ― He does not know.

   не долете́в до це́ли ― ne doletév do céli ― without having reached the target

   он не ге́ний ― on ne génij ― he is no genius

   Не де́лай э́того! ― Ne délaj étovo! ― Don’t do it!

   Не говори́ ни сло́ва! ― Ne govorí ni slóva! ― don’t say a word!

2. Idiomatic negative usage

   (мне) не по себе́ ― (mne) ne po sebé ― (I) feel sick; (I) feel uncomfortable

   не раз ― ne raz ― more than once (literary: not once); time and again; repeatedly; many a time

   Я ви́дел вас не раз. ― Ja vídel vas ne raz. ― I have seen you often.

   тем не ме́нее ― tem ne méneje ― nevertheless

3. (partial negative) perhaps not, whether ... or not

   Сча́стье не сча́стье, но что́-то похо́жее. ― Sčástʹje ne sčástʹje, no štó-to poxóžeje. ― Perhaps not happiness, but something very much like it.

   Хо́чешь не хо́чешь, а придётся сде́лать. ― Xóčešʹ ne xóčešʹ, a pridjótsja sdélatʹ. ― like it or not, you’ll have to do it.

4. will never (implying impossibility to do something)

   Ему́ э́того не сде́лать. ― Jemú étovo ne sdélatʹ. ― He will never do it.

5. (usually not translated, gives affirmative meaning for expression, especially in exclamations)

   Како́й ру́сский не лю́бит бы́строй езды́! ― Kakój rússkij ne ljúbit býstroj jezdý! ― What Russian doesn't like fast driving!

   Кто не лю́бит пое́сть! ― Kto ne ljúbit pojéstʹ! ― Who doesn't like a good meal!

Usage notes

не sometimes appears stressed, e.g. in the past negative of быть (bytʹ, “to be”), where the forms appear as не́ был (né byl), не была́ (ne bylá), не́ было (né bylo), не́ были (né byli) (i.e. не is stressed in the masculine singular, the neuter singular and the plural, but not the feminine singular).

Prefix

не • (ne)

1. (With prepositions and pronouns не actually is a prefix, in spite of the fact that it is written separately.)

   не́ с кем (né s kem, “from”) → не́кем (nékem)

   не́ из чего́ (né iz čevó, “from”) → не́чего (néčevo)

Interjection

не • (ne)

1. (colloquial) no (used to show disagreement or negation)

   Synonym: (standard and common term) нет (net)

   Помо́жешь мне? Не, да́же и не ду́май. ― Pomóžešʹ mne? Ne, dáže i ne dúmaj. ― Will you help me? No, don't even think about it.

See also

• нет (net)
• ни (ni)

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né.

Particle

не (Latin spelling ne)

1. not (denoting negation)

   Не знам. ― I don't know.

   Он је не само даровит, већ и јако марљив. ― He is not only talented, but also very industrious.

   хтео-не хтео ― whether you want it or not

   Да не спаваш? ― Aren't you sleeping?

   Не могу, а да не… ― I cannot but…

   рећи не ― to say no, refuse, decline

   не мање него… ― no less then…

   не доћи ― to fail to come, not come

   … Зар не? ― … Aren't you? (Do you?, Don't you?)

Interjection

не (Latin spelling ne)

1. no

   Да ли си демократа? Не! ― Are you a democrat? No!

Synonyms

• јок (dialectal, from Turkish)

Antonyms

• да

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *nàsъ. Cognates include Macedonian нѐ (nè) and Bulgarian ни (ni).

Alternative forms

• нас (standard)

Pronoun

не ? (Latin spelling ne)

1. (Torlakian) us (short accusative plural of ја (“I”))

Usage notes

• Not all forms of Torlakian use the pronoun не, some instead use ни.

References

• Radmila Žugić, Rečnik govora jablaničkog kraja, Institut za srpski jezik SANU, Beograd, 2005. page 227
• Ljubisav Ćirić, Govori Ponišavlja, Institut za srpski jezik SANU, Beograd, 1999. page 127

Southern Altai

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *nē-. Cognate with Kazakh не (ne), Karakalpak ne, Nogai не (ne, “what?”), Kyrgyz не (ne), Crimean Tatar ne, Kumyk не (ne), Bashkir ни (niy), Tatar ни (ni), Azerbaijani nə, Salar neñ, Turkish ne (“what?”), Uzbek na, Uyghur نە (ne), Khakas ноо (noo), Shor ноо, Tuvan чүү (çüü), Western Yugur ne, etc.

Pronoun

не • (ne)

1. what

References

• N. A. Baskakov, Toščakova N.A, editor (1947), “не”, in Ojrotsko-Russkij Slovarʹ [Oyrot-Russian Dictionary], Moscow: M.: OGIZ, →ISBN

Tajik

Regional synonyms of "no"

Dari	نه, نی
Iranian Persian	نه
Tajik	не, на

Etymology

Inherited from Classical Persian نی (nē), see there for more. Doublet of на (na).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈne/, [né]

Adverb

не • (ne) (Persian spelling نی)

1. no, not

   Antonyms: бале (bale), оре (ore), ҳа (ha)

Particle

не • (ne) (Persian spelling نی)

1. (more formal) no

   Synonym: на (na) (less formal)

Further reading

• “не”, in Вожаҷӯ / واژه‌جو [Vožajü] (in Tajik), 2026
• Jilani, Jon (2009), Tajik-English/English-Tajik practical dictionary, New York: Hippocrene Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 73

Tundra Nenets

Etymology

From Proto-Samoyedic *ne, from Proto-Uralic *niŋä.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nʲe]
• Hyphenation: не

Noun

не • (nye)

1. woman
2. wife

Declension

Declension of не (nye) (regular)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	не (nye)	нехэʼ (nyexeh)	неˮ (nyeq)
genitive	неʼ (nyeh)	нехэʼ (nyexeh)	неˮ (nyeq)
accusative	нем (nyem°)	нехэʼ (nyexeh)	не (nye)
allative	нен (nyen°)	нехэняʼ (nyexenyah)	нехэˮ (nyexeq)
locative	нехэна (nyexena)	нехэняна (nyexenyana)	нехэˮна (nyexeqna)
ablative	нехэд (nyexed°)	нехэняд (nyexenyad°)	нехэт (nyexet°)
prolative	невна (nyewna)	нехэнямна (nyexenyamna)	неˮмӑна (nyeqmăna)

References

• Pyrerka, A. P.; Tereščenko, N. M. (1948), Русско-ненецкий словарь [Russian–Nenets Dictionary], Moscow: Огиз, page 78
• L. V. Homich (1954), “не”, in Ненецко-русский словарь для ненецкой начальной школы [Nenets-Russian dictionary for Nenets primary schools], Leningrad, page 37
• N. M. Tereschenko (1965), “не”, in Ненецко-русский словарь, Moscow: Советская Энциклопедия
• N. M. Tereschenko (2005), “не”, in Словарь ненецко-русский и русско-ненецкий, 3rd edition, Saint Petersburg: Просвещение, →ISBN
• Irina Nikolaeva (2014), A Grammar of Tundra Nenets, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, →ISBN, page 33

Ukrainian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

не • (ne)

1. not (used to negate verbs)

   Я тебе не знаю. ― Ja tebe ne znaju. ― I don't know you.

See also

• ні (ni)