Language/Hindi/Grammar/Negation

Hindi Grammar - Negation

Hi Hindi learners! 😊
In this lesson, you will learn about negation in Hindi. This topic is crucial to understand if you want to communicate in Hindi without making grammatical errors. We will explore different ways to form negative sentences in Hindi, the use of negative adverbs, and some useful expressions.
Don't forget that the more you practice, the more you will become proficient in Hindi grammar. Feel free to use Find native speakers and ask them any questions you may have about negation in Hindi.

Negation in Hindi

When we want to negate something in Hindi, we use negative words or expressions. In Hindi grammar, we negate sentences in two ways:

1. Using "नहीं" (nahin) to negate a sentence. 2. Using "मत" (mat) to negate an imperative sentence.

Let's go through each one of these ways of negation in detail:

Using "नहीं" (nahin) to negate sentences in Hindi

"नहीं" (nahin) is the most commonly used negative word in Hindi. We use it with different parts of speech to negate a sentence. Here are some examples:

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
मैं नहीं जाता।	main nahin jata	I do not go.
क्या तुमने कुछ नहीं खाया?	Kya tumne kuch nahin khaya?	Did you not eat anything?
दुकान अभी खुली नहीं है।	Dukaan abhi khuli nahin hai	The shop is not open yet.

In the examples above, "नहीं" (nahin) is used to negate the verbs "to go", "to eat" and "to be open". You can see that "नहीं" (nahin) comes after the verb. The word order in Hindi is different from English.

We also use "नहीं" (nahin) with adjectives or adverbs to express negation.

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
ये किताब अच्छी नहीं है।	Ye kitaab acchi nahin hai	This book is not good.
मैं अभी तक नहीं सो रहा हूँ।	Main abhi tak nahin so raha hoon	I am not sleeping yet.
वह बहुत अच्छी तरह से नहीं खेलता।	Vah bahut acchi tarah se nahin khelta	He does not play very well.

In the examples above, "नहीं" (nahin) is used to negate the adjectives "good" and "well", and the adverb "yet". You can see that "नहीं" (nahin) comes after the word it negates.

Using "मत" (mat) to negate imperative sentences

"मत" (mat) is used to negate an imperative sentence or a request in Hindi. It is usually added to the end of the sentence to show that the speaker is giving a negative command. Here are some examples:

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
कल सुबह जल्दी नहीं उठना मत।	Kal subah jaldi nahin utna mat	Don't wake up early tomorrow.
अपने कमरे को साफ़ नहीं करना मत।	Apne kamre ko saaf nahin karna mat	Don't clean your room.
उससे मत बात करो।	Usse mat baat karo	Don't talk to him.

In the examples above, "मत" (mat) is added at the end of the sentence to give a negative command. You can see that the word order is the same as in English.

Negative Adverbs

Apart from "नहीं" (nahin) and "मत" (mat), we also use negative adverbs to negate a sentence in Hindi. Here is a list of some common negative adverbs in Hindi:

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
कभी नहीं	kabhi nahin	never
किसी भी तरह से नहीं	kisi bhi tarah se nahin	in no way
कहीं नहीं	kahin nahin	nowhere, not anywhere
कोई नहीं	koi nahin	no one, nobody
कभी भी नहीं	kabhi bhi nahin	not at any time, never

We use these negative adverbs to add emphasis to the negative meaning of a sentence. Here are some examples:

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
मैं कभी नहीं जाता उस रेस्त्राँ पर।	Main kabhi nahin jata us restaurant par	I never go to that restaurant.
मुझे कहीं नहीं जाना है आज।	Mujhe kahin nahin jana hai aaj	I don't want to go anywhere today.
कोई भी मेरे साथ नहीं गया।	Koi bhi mere saath nahin gaya	No one went with me.

In the examples above, we use the negative adverbs "कभी नहीं" (kabhi nahin), "कहीं नहीं" (kahin nahin), and "कोई नहीं" (koi nahin) to add emphasis to negate the sentences.

Useful expressions

Here are some useful expressions that use negation in Hindi:

Hindi	Pronunciation	English
कोई बात नहीं।	Koi baat nahin	It's okay.
कुछ नहीं।	Kuch nahin	Nothing.
मुझे नहीं मालूम।	Mujhe nahin maloom	I don't know.
मतलब नहीं है।	Matlab nahin hai	It doesn't matter.

In the examples above, we use negation to express different meanings such as okay, nothing, not knowing, or not mattering.

Practice with Dialogue

Here's a dialogue to help you understand negation in Hindi:

• Person 1: क्या तुमने खाना खाया? (Kya tumne khana khaya?) Have you eaten food?
• Person 2: नहीं, मैंने कुछ नहीं खाया। (Nahin, maine kuch nahin khaya.) No, I haven't eaten anything.
• Person 1: कल क्या करना है? (Kal kya karna hai?) What do we have to do tomorrow?
• Person 2: कुछ नहीं, घर पर ही रहेंगे। (Kuch nahin, ghar par hi rahenge.) Nothing, we will stay at home.
• Person 1: क्या वहां कोई नहीं है? (Kya vahan koi nahin hai?) Is there no one there?
• Person 2: नहीं, कोई नहीं है। (Nahin, koi nahin hai.) No, there isn't anyone.

Sources

• Hindi
• Negative Adverbs in English Grammar
• Negative Politeness

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