Negation with не: saying what is not true in Russian

Я не знаю. Он не работает.I don't know. He isn't working.

The Russian word for "not" is не. It is a small word with no ending that goes straight before the word it denies, usually the verb. It works the same way in every tense.

Quick shortcut: put не right before the word you deny (Я не знаю), and when a negative word such as ничего or никогда is in the sentence, keep не before the verb too (Я ничего не знаю).

не before the verb

The most common pattern is не + verb. The verb keeps its normal ending, and не is written as a separate word:

• Я не знаю. (I don't know.)
• Ты не работаешь. (You aren't working.)
• Мы не говорим по-французски. (We don't speak French.)
• Они не живут здесь. (They don't live here.)

Russian has no helping verb like English "do", so nothing else changes. The same pattern works with the verbs from Present tense: first-conjugation verbs, Present tense: second-conjugation verbs and Modal verbs with the infinitive, where не goes before the modal verb: Я не хочу работать. (I don't want to work.)

In the past tense, не goes in the same place: Я не знал. (I didn't know.) Она не работала. (She didn't work.) See Past tense: the -л form.

не before other words

Because the copula быть is usually omitted in the present tense, не often stands before a noun, an adjective, or a place word. See Zero copula and есть:

• Он не врач. (He is not a doctor.)
• Это не книга. (This is not a book.)
• Дом не большой. (The house is not big.)
• Она не дома. (She is not at home.)

A yes/no question with не keeps the word order and is marked by intonation: Ты не знаешь? (Don't you know?)

не ... а ...: "not this, but that"

To correct or contrast, Russian uses не with а ("but, rather"): the word you deny gets не, and the right one follows а.

• Я работаю не в офисе, а дома. (I work not in an office but at home.)
• Это не чай, а кофе. (This is not tea but coffee.)

"Not yet", "no longer", "not either"

Three small words combine with не:

• ещё не = not yet: Я ещё не знаю. (I don't know yet.)
• уже не = no longer: Я уже не работаю. (I don't work any more.)
• тоже не = not either: Я тоже не знаю. (I don't know either.)

Negative words: you need не as well

English avoids two negatives in one sentence ("I don't know anything"). Russian requires them: when a sentence has a negative word, the verb still gets не.

Some of these words change with the case: никто becomes никого for a direct object (Я никого не знаю. I don't know anyone), as in The accusative case: animate objects and pronouns. The verb still keeps не.

не or нет?

The two words look alike but do different jobs:

• Не denies a particular word and goes before it: Я не знаю.
• Нет is the answer "no": Ты студент? — Нет. (Are you a student? No.) It also means "there is not / there is no" before a genitive noun, as in The genitive case: absence with "нет": Здесь нет банка. (There is no bank here.)

A full negative answer often combines them: Нет, я не знаю. (No, I don't know.)

Common mistakes

• ❌ Я знаю не. → ✅ Я не знаю. (не goes before the word it denies)
• ❌ Он нет работает. → ✅ Он не работает. (нет is the answer "no", not the word that goes before a verb)
• ❌ Я ничего знаю. → ✅ Я ничего не знаю. (with ничего the verb still needs не)
• ❌ Никто работает здесь. → ✅ Никто не работает здесь. (the same holds for никто)
• ❌ Я никогда курю. → ✅ Я никогда не курю. (and for никогда)

Quick check

How would you say each sentence in Russian?

1. I don't know.
2. He is not at home.
3. I don't understand anything.
4. She never works.
5. Nobody knows.

Key takeaways

• Не goes right before the word it denies, usually the verb, and works the same way in every tense.
• Before a noun, adjective or place word it denies that word: Он не врач. Она не дома.
• Не ... а ... means "not ..., but ...": Это не чай, а кофе.
• With ничего, никто, никогда, нигде, никуда, the verb still needs не: Я ничего не знаю.
• Нет is the answer "no" and also means "there is no"; не is the word that goes before what you deny.