nicht

Etymology

From Middle Dutch nichte, from Old Dutch *nift, from Proto-West Germanic *nifti, from Proto-Germanic *niftiz, from Proto-Indo-European *néptih₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɪxt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nicht
• Rhymes: -ɪxt

Noun

nicht f (plural nichten, diminutive nichtje n)

1. female cousin; daughter of someone's uncle or aunt

   Mijn nicht is een jaar jonger dan ik en we zijn goede vriendinnen.

   My female cousin is one year younger than me, and we are good friends.

2. niece; daughter of someone's brother or sister

   Mijn broer en zijn vrouw hebben twee nichten, een tweeling.

   My brother and his wife have two nieces, twins.

3. niece; daughter of someone's brother- or sister-in-law

   Mijn oom van vaders kant heeft drie nichten, waarvan er twee getrouwd zijn.

   My paternal uncle has three nieces, two of whom are married.

Noun

nicht m (plural nichten, diminutive nichtje n)

1. (sometimes derogatory) male homosexual, a gay man; in particular one who is camp or effeminate

Alternative forms

• nich, nich' (informal writing, reflecting the common pronunciation)
• net, nit (colloquial; in central Germany, southern Germany, Austria)

Etymology

From Middle High German niwiht, niweht, niht, a contracted form of Old High German niowiht, from nio (“never”) + wiht (“being, creature”), the last from Proto-Germanic *wihtą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɪçt/, [nɪxt]
  • IPA^(key): [nɪçt] (predominant)
  • IPA^(key): [niçt] (Bavaria; parts of Austria; Ruhrgebiet)
  • IPA^(key): [nɪxt], [nixt], [-χt] (Switzerland; parts of Austria)
  • IPA^(key): [nɪɕt], [nəɕt], [-ʃt] (parts of central Germany)
• IPA^(key): /nɪç/ (common speech; quasi-standard in northern and central Germany; alternations as above)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪçt, -ɪç

Adverb

nicht

1. not, non- (negates the meaning of a verb, adjective, or adverb)

   Bitte nicht stören!

   Please do not disturb!

   Das ist nicht wahr.

   That is not true.

Interjection

nicht?

1. (tag question, dated or formal) right?; is it?; is it not?

   Synonyms: gell, ne, nicht wahr, oder, oder nicht, wa

   Du bist sicher die Claudia, nicht?

   You must be Claudia, aren't you?

Further reading

• “nicht” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “nicht” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “nicht” in Duden online

Etymology

Clipping of Proto-Slavic *nikъto. By surface analysis, ni- +‎ chto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɲixt/
• Rhymes: -ixt
• Syllabification: nicht

Pronoun

nicht

1. nobody, no one

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893) “ńixt”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), page 127
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “nikt”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
• “nicht”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Pronunciation

• (Greater Poland):
  • (Kuyavia) IPA^(key): /ˈɲixt/

Pronoun

nicht m pers

1. (Middle Polish, Kuyavia) Alternative form of nikt

Further reading

• Oskar Kolberg (1867) “nicht”, in Dzieła wszystkie: Kujawy (in Polish), page 273

Etymology

From Old English niht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɪçt/, /nixt/

Noun

nicht (plural nichts)

1. night, evening
   • c. 1495, William Dunbar, The Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo:

     Apon the Midsummer evin, mirriest of nichtis, / I muvit furth allane [...].

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (definite singular) tonight
   • It's a braw, bricht, moonlit nicht the nicht. It's a beautiful, bright moonlit night tonight.

Alternative forms

• nift

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch nicht.

Noun

nicht c (plural nichten, diminutive nichtsje)

1. female cousin

   Coordinate term: neef

2. (archaic) niece