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ни

very common #50B1
  • 1.

    not a single, no, not even one

    Он не сказа́л ни сло́ва.

    He didn't say a single word.

    Used with an accompanying negation (не, нет, без); often with genitive: ни слова, ни разу.

  • 2.

    neither ... nor

    У меня́ нет ни де́нег, ни вре́мени.

    I have neither money nor time.

    As a paired construction: ни ... ни; the verb still takes не.

  • 3.

    -ever, no matter what

    Что бы он ни говори́л, я ему не ве́рю.

    Whatever he says, I don't believe him.

    After question words in concessive clauses: кто бы ни, что бы ни, как ни.

Usage info

  • genitive

Examples

Typical usagePRO

  • Neither…nor (correlative ни…ни)

    • ни ... ни ...

      neither ... nor

    • ни ры́ба, ни мя́со

      wishy-washy; bland

    • ни туда́ ни сюда́

      stuck; doesn’t fit anywhere

    • ни то ни сё

      so-so; neither one thing nor another

  • With не: complements and quantifiers

    • ни у кого́

      from/at nobody

    • ни с кем

      with nobody

    • ни о чём

      about nothing; on no topic

    • ни на что

      for anything (at all)

  • Strong prohibition/refusal

    • ни в ко́ем слу́чае

      under no circumstances

    • ни при каки́х обстоя́тельствах

      under no circumstances

    • ни за что

      no way; under no circumstances

    • ни за каки́е коври́жки

      not for love nor money (absolutely not)

LockedUnlock typical usages

Fixed expressions

Related words

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Contributions

  • Iron edited translation 1 week ago.
  • Iron edited translation 1 week ago.
  • nrimanliyev edited translation 1 month ago.
  • drvuquangson edited usage info 3 years ago.