LENGO
App
Languages
Stories
Become a creator
Featuring program
Affiliate program
Beta program
one sec × LENGO
Contact & help
About LENGO
Team & jobs
Press kit
Privacy
Terms
LENGO · GermanGrammar lessons
Study “nicht or kein?”: read the rule, then use it to complete three sentences from the lesson.
Who writes the lessons?
Professional language teachers write the vocabulary and grammar. If you spot a mistake, long-press the word to report it. Our team checks every report.
Each lesson explains the rule with examples, then you practice it in sentences.
nicht or kein?
German has two ways to say not. Use kein before a noun that would otherwise take ein or no article at all: Ich habe ein Auto becomes Ich habe kein Auto (I have no car), Ich habe Zeit becomes Ich habe keine Zeit (I have no time). kein takes the same endings as ein:
- masculine: kein as the subject, keinen as the object
- neuter: kein
- feminine: keine
Use nicht for everything else: verbs (Ich komme nicht), adjectives (Das ist nicht gut), and nouns with der, die, das, a possessive or a name (Ich kenne den Mann nicht). nicht usually goes to the end of the sentence, but it comes before an adjective, a place or a second verb.
Try it yourself
Das Essen ist gut.Show answer
Das Essen ist nicht gut.
Er hat Bruder.Show answer
Er hat keinen Bruder.
Ich komme heute Abend .Show answer
Ich komme heute Abend nicht.