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nichts. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
nichts, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
nichts in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
nichts you have here. The definition of the word
nichts will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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German
Alternative forms
- nix (a very common colloquial pronunciation; frequently seen in informal writing)
- nischt (dialectal, widely restricted to eastern Germany)
Etymology
From Middle High German nihtes niht (“nothing of nothing”), a reenforcing construction with niht. See nicht. Cognate with Dutch niets, Hunsrik nichs.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
nichts n (indefinite pronoun)
- nothing
Ich weiß, dass ich nichts weiß.- I know that I know nothing.
Usage notes
- Used instead of nicht to negate a sentence involving a non-specific noun.
- Gibt es da etwas? Nein, ich sehe nichts. ― Is there something there? No, I don't see anything.
- Frequently, especially in spoken or informal language, accompanied by gar.
- Ich sehe gar nichts. ― I don't see anything at all.
Declension
Invariable. A following adjective is capitalized and declined as a neuter singular in the strong pattern. Thus nichts Neues (“nothing new”) in the nominative and accusative cases; nichts Neuem in the dative case.
A genitive form does not exist. It is paraphrased by means of the preposition von (“of”). After the prepositions statt, trotz, während, and wegen, the dative case is used instead: wegen nichts Wichtigem – “because of nothing important” (i.e. because of something unimportant).
References
Further reading
- “nichts” in Duden online
- “nichts” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Scots
Noun
nichts
- plural of nicht