German negation

Nicht or kein?

Learn how to say not and no in German. Practice nicht, kein, keine and keinen in common everyday German sentences.

Quick rule:
nicht usually means "not".

Ich spreche nicht Deutsch.

kein means "no" or "not a".

Ich habe kein Auto.

Use kein with nouns and nicht with verbs, adjectives and many other sentence parts.

 

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Examples and answer key

Here are the sentences, answers and explanations from this exercise.

Show examples and answer key
1. Ich spreche ... Deutsch.
Answer: nicht
I do not speak German.
Nicht is used to negate verbs.
2. Ich habe ... Auto.
Answer: kein
I do not have a car.
Kein is used before masculine and neuter nouns.
3. Sie hat ... Katze.
Answer: keine
She does not have a cat.
Keine is used with feminine nouns.
4. Wir haben ... Hund.
Answer: keinen
We do not have a dog.
Keinen is used for masculine accusative nouns.
5. Er kommt heute ... .
Answer: nicht
He is not coming today.
Nicht negates the verb phrase.
6. Ich trinke ... Kaffee.
Answer: keinen
I do not drink coffee.
Kaffee is masculine.
7. Sie kauft ... Zeitung.
Answer: keine
She is not buying a newspaper.
Zeitung is feminine.
8. Wir haben ... Zeit.
Answer: keine
We do not have time.
Zeit is feminine.
9. Das Auto ist ... neu.
Answer: nicht
The car is not new.
Nicht negates adjectives.
10. Ich habe ... Problem.
Answer: kein
I do not have a problem.
Problem is neuter.
11. Er liest ... Buch.
Answer: kein
He is not reading a book.
Buch is neuter.
12. Wir kaufen ... Äpfel.
Answer: keine
We are not buying any apples.
Keine is used with plural nouns.
13. Du arbeitest heute ... .
Answer: nicht
You are not working today.
Nicht negates the sentence.
14. Sie hat ... Freunde in Berlin.
Answer: keine
She has no friends in Berlin.
Freunde is plural.
15. Ich sehe ... Mann.
Answer: keinen
I do not see a man.
Mann is masculine accusative.
16. Das ist ... gut.
Answer: nicht
That is not good.
Nicht negates adjectives.
17. Wir haben ... Geld.
Answer: kein
We do not have money.
Geld is neuter.
18. Er kauft ... Fahrrad.
Answer: kein
He is not buying a bicycle.
Fahrrad is neuter.
19. Sie spricht ... Englisch.
Answer: nicht
She does not speak English.
Languages are usually negated with nicht.
20. Wir haben ... Tickets.
Answer: keine
We do not have tickets.
Tickets is plural.
German negation
Exercises
1. Ich spreche ... Deutsch.
2. Ich habe ... Auto.
3. Sie hat ... Katze.
4. Wir haben ... Hund.
5. Er kommt heute ... .
6. Ich trinke ... Kaffee.
7. Sie kauft ... Zeitung.
8. Wir haben ... Zeit.
9. Das Auto ist ... neu.
10. Ich habe ... Problem.
11. Er liest ... Buch.
12. Wir kaufen ... Äpfel.
13. Du arbeitest heute ... .
14. Sie hat ... Freunde in Berlin.
15. Ich sehe ... Mann.
16. Das ist ... gut.
17. Wir haben ... Geld.
18. Er kauft ... Fahrrad.
19. Sie spricht ... Englisch.
20. Wir haben ... Tickets.
German negation
Answer key
1. nicht
I do not speak German.
Nicht is used to negate verbs.
2. kein
I do not have a car.
Kein is used before masculine and neuter nouns.
3. keine
She does not have a cat.
Keine is used with feminine nouns.
4. keinen
We do not have a dog.
Keinen is used for masculine accusative nouns.
5. nicht
He is not coming today.
Nicht negates the verb phrase.
6. keinen
I do not drink coffee.
Kaffee is masculine.
7. keine
She is not buying a newspaper.
Zeitung is feminine.
8. keine
We do not have time.
Zeit is feminine.
9. nicht
The car is not new.
Nicht negates adjectives.
10. kein
I do not have a problem.
Problem is neuter.
11. kein
He is not reading a book.
Buch is neuter.
12. keine
We are not buying any apples.
Keine is used with plural nouns.
13. nicht
You are not working today.
Nicht negates the sentence.
14. keine
She has no friends in Berlin.
Freunde is plural.
15. keinen
I do not see a man.
Mann is masculine accusative.
16. nicht
That is not good.
Nicht negates adjectives.
17. kein
We do not have money.
Geld is neuter.
18. kein
He is not buying a bicycle.
Fahrrad is neuter.
19. nicht
She does not speak English.
Languages are usually negated with nicht.
20. keine
We do not have tickets.
Tickets is plural.
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How to use this exercise effectively

This exercise trains you to fill in the correct word or phrase in real sentences.

The goal is not only to understand the language but to start feeling which patterns sound natural.

⚡ Click mode = fast recognition

It is usually best to start with Click mode.

This trains your brain to quickly recognize:

  • common sentence patterns
  • word order
  • verb forms
  • small grammar details
  • natural expressions and chunks

The goal here is repetition and volume.

After seeing many examples, the correct answers begin to feel natural automatically.

✍️ Writing mode = deeper learning

Once the sentences start feeling familiar, switch to Write mode.

This is where you notice what you can actually produce yourself.

When you must type the answer:

  • memory becomes much stronger
  • you notice details you missed before
  • spelling and grammar stick better

Many learners recognize the correct answer immediately, but only writing reveals whether you truly know it actively.

🧠 Why you must type the correct answer before continuing

If you answer incorrectly, the correct answer is shown, but the exercise does not let you skip ahead immediately.

This is intentional.

The brain learns much better when you:

  1. see the correct answer
  2. type it yourself immediately afterward
  3. repeat the spelling and movement pattern

This makes a big difference for long-term memory.

🔊 Use the audio a lot

Listen to the same sentence several times if needed.

Try to connect:

  • how the language sounds
  • how it is written
  • how the sentence pattern feels

You do not need to fully understand every grammar rule immediately. Repetition builds intuition over time.

📈 A good way to practice

  • Start in Click mode
  • Switch to Write mode afterward
  • Practice often in short sessions
  • Focus on patterns instead of perfection

After a while, the sentences start to feel natural without needing to think step by step.