ne

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ne"

English

Etymology

From Middle English ne, from Old English ne, from Proto-Germanic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nə/

Adverb

ne (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Not.
   • 1481, William Caxton, Lyf of the Noble and Crysten Prynce, Charles the Grete:

     I ne entende but onely to reduce thauncyent ryme in to prose.

     I ne intend, but only to reduce thauncient rhyme into prose.

   • c1500, Melusine (translation):

     For she ne dare doo, but to commande.

   • 1512, Robert Copland, The History of Helyas, Knight of The Swan:

     And whan the good quene herde these pyteous tydynges lytel lacked that the ne dyed for sorowe / wherfore all lamentably the began to complayne her sayenge.

   • 1513, Gavin Douglas, The Aeneid (translation):

     To suffir exile he said that he ne couth.

   • 1513, Gavin Douglas, The Aeneid (translation):

     I ne ask na land, nor realm.

   • c1520, Andria by Terence (translation):

     This shold haue bene his skuce at the lest / And it ne had bene but good & honest.

   • c1520, Andria by Terence (translation):

     O so incessaunt thow ad in thy desyre / For so that thow thy mynde now mayst haue / Thow ne caryst what thow dost requyre.

   • 1550, The Mirror for Magistrates:

     For he ne had, nor could increase his line.

   • 1562, Arthur Brooke, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet:

     In geving me to him whom I ne can, ne may, ne ought to love.

   • 1576, William Lambarde, A perambulation of Kent:

     Mary (quoth the king) so might me mine, ne haddest thou been Earle Godwine: casting in his dish the murder of his brother Alfred, which was done to death at Elie by the Counsell of Godwine.

   • 1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender:

     Ne durst again his fieri face out-show.

   • 1587, Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe, Jocasta:

     Ioc: How can that be and thou my ioy in warre? Po: Henceforth n'am I your ioy ne yet your sonne.

   • c1590, William Fowler, The Works of William Fowler:

     What happs might chance me I ne knewe.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:

     His forces faile, ne can no lenger fight.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:

     As when a ship, that flyes faire vnder saile, / An hidden rocke escaped hath vnwares, / That lay in waite her wrack for to bewaile, / The Marriner yet halfe amazed stares / At perill past, and yet it doubt ne dares / To ioy at his foole-happie ouersight.

   • 1591, John Phillip, A Commemoration on the Life and Death of the Right Honourable, Sir Christopher Hatton:

     And now sweete death most welcome vnto mee, thy stroakes ne can, ne shall me once dismay.

   • 1592, Robert Greene, A Looking Glass for London:

     And twenty thousand infants that ne wot the right hand from the left.

   • 1607, Thomas Walkington, The Optick Glasse of Humors:

     But when he spoke, his plenteous words did flow / Like to thick-falling flakes of winter snow, / Ne any couth his wit so hiely straine.

   • 1614, John Davies of Hereford, Eclogue Between Young Willy the SInger of His Native Pastorals, and Old Wernocke His Friend:

     Now, siker ( Wernocke ) thou hast split the marke / Albe that I ne wot I han mis-song: / But, for I am so yong, I dread my warke / Woll be misualued both of old and yong.

   • 1812, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto I, 2:

     Whilom in Albion's isle there dwelt a youth, / Who ne in virtue's ways did take delight [...].

Conjunction

ne

1. (obsolete) Nor.
   • 1484, Original Letters, King Edward the Fifth, under the direction of his Uncle, to Otes Gilbert, Esq., commanding him to receive Knighthood at the expected Coronation:

     That than I shall not geve therunto faith ne credence, nor therfore put them to any maner ponyssement, before that they or any of them so accused may be at their lawful defence and answer.

   • 1489, The gouernayle of helthe:

     And therin is no drede nor bytternes ne expences, but therin is pure recreacyon of body and of soule soo it be donn in clene places.

   • 1489, The gouernayle of helthe:

     Be not to hasty ne sodenly vengeable, to poure folke doo no vyolence.

   • 1489, The gouernayle of helthe:

     Moreouer no man be so hardy to drynk fastyng cold water, ne after that he hath accompanyed wyth a woman, ne after gret trauayle, ne after exersice tyll he haue fyrst rested hym, ne by nyght namely yf he haue do gloue tofore.

   • 1500, The Example of Euyll Tongues:

     A false tonge wyll euer Imagyne and saye / That neuer by creature was sayd ne thought.

   • 1509, Wynkyn de Worde, The fyftene joyes of maryage:

     For chastyce can he not by daye ne nyght his wyfe but by his betynge maketh lyght and hote the loue bytwene her and her frende.

   • 1511, The Records of the City of Norwich:

     Item, that noo woman nor maide weyve any worsted stamynges ne sayes for that that thei be nott of sufficient powre to werke the said worsteddes as thei owte to be wrought, upon payne of iij s iiij d as often as thei be founde wevyng to be devyded and leuyed in maner and forme aboue expressed.

   • 1520, Richard Pynson, The Lyfe of The Blessed Martyr Saynte Thomas:

     That they shulde no lenger kepe ne susteyne Thomas the archebysshope.

   • 1526, The Grete Herball:

     The rote ought to be gadered in the begynnynge of somer and dryed in the sonne bycause [tha]¬t it corrupt ne rotte bycause of the moystnesse[,] & it may be kept two yeres;

   • 1535, Thomas Elyot, The Education or Bringing up of Children:

     For lyinge is a detestable vice, and to be hated of all men, ne to be suffred amonge seruantis ne other persones[,] howe poure estate so euer they be of.

   • 1542, Nicholas Udall, Apophthegms (translation):

     Thus some persones beeyng inuited and exhorted to falle to the studie of lettres, make their excuse that thei bee sickely, that thei can not slepe ne take their naturall reste in the nightes.

   • 1558, Thomas Phaer, The Aeneid (translation):

     We Moores be not so base of wit, ne yet so blunt of mynd.

   • c1560, Edward Gosynhill, The Schoolhouse of Women:

     The deuyll gossyp, ought me a shame / And prayde I am nowe, euerye penye I wolde god he had, be blinde and lame / The daye and houre, he fyrste woed me / Ware not gossyp, these chyldren thre I wolde not tary, ye may be sure / Longer with hym, daye ne houre.

   • 1562, Arthur Brooke, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet:

     Neither extremitie, ne gentle meanes could boote; she hydeth close within her brest, her secret sorowes roote.

   • 1562, Arthur Brooke, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet:

     Ne on her teares or plaint, at all to have remorse, but (if they can not with her will,) to bring the mayde perforce.

   • 1570, John Thynne, The Debate betweene Pride and Lowlines:

     His hart encreaseth not thereby ne lesseth as edoon these fooles.

   • 1577, The Hereford Municipal Manuscript:

     And that no victualer ne other person or persons forestall any kynde of victualls cominge to the said Cyty or within the precyncte of the same before the same victualls be come to the place.

   • 1587, Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe, Jocasta:

     Ioc: How can that be and thou my ioy in warre? Po: Henceforth n'am I your ioy ne yet your sonne.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.1:

     But to her cry they list not lenden eare, / Ne ought the more their mightie strokes surceasse.

   • 1634, W. Lathum:

     Whose worth all outward is in shew alone / But inward sent hath not, ne vertue none.

   • 1798, Samuel Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", ll. 443-6:

     The pang, the curse, with which they died, / Had never pass'd away; / I could not draw my een from theirs / Ne turn them up to pray.

Usage notes

The word ne survives only as part of the oral tradition in rural Scotland and Northern England. It is almost never used in common speech.

Anagrams

• -en, EN, en, en-

---

Albanian

Alternative forms

• (Gheg) na

Etymology

The nominative-accusative is from accusative Proto-Albanian *nōs, stressed form of clitic Proto-Indo-European *nos, which is continued by the clitic na. Neve and nesh are innovated, but Gheg retains dative nahe (Old Albanian nae) from a genitive *nosōm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɛ]

Pronoun

ne (accusative ne, dative neve, ablative nesh)

1. we, us

Declension

forms of ne

	ne (1st person plural)
nominative	ne
ablative	nesh
	full form	clitic
accusative	ne	na
dative	neve	na
	possessive adjective	possessive pronoun
	ynë	yni

See also

Albanian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		unë	ne
2nd person		ti	ju
3rd person	masculine	ai	ata
	feminine	ajo	ato

---

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *ni.

Particle

ne

1. not

Usage notes

Used combined with ket, mirroring French ne ... pas.

---

Catalan

Pronoun

ne (enclitic, contracted 'n, proclitic en, contracted proclitic n')

1. represents an indeterminate number or quantity of a given noun
2. represents a place (associated with the action described by the verb) that would be introduced by the preposition de
3. replaces a phrase introduced by the preposition de
4. replaces the object of a causative verb

Usage notes

• Ne cannot be used more than once as the object of a given verb.
• While ne is usually used to replace phrases beginning with the prepostion de, adverbial phrases (eg de pressa) are replaced with hi.
• Ne is sometimes used instead of ho to replace an adjective or indefinite noun as the predicate of a verb.
• Ne is sometimes used popularly to add emphasis to a sentence: in this sense, it has no translation in English.

See also

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi3	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
1st person majestic1	nós	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal1	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person very formal2	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’4	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal2	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
1) Behaves grammatically as plural. 2) Behaves grammatically as third person.			3) Only as object of a preposition. 4) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

---

Chuukese

Conjunction

ne

1. to (connects verbs)

Preposition

ne

1. Expressing a fraction or a ratio. Preceded by a nominator and followed by the denominator.

---

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛ/

• audio

  (file)

Interjection

ne

1. no!

Particle

ne

1. not

See also

• ano

---

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin nec, neque. Compare Italian nè, French and Spanish ni, Romanian nici.

Adverb

ne

1. neither

---

Deg

Noun

ne

1. water

References

• Maurice Delafosse, Vocabulaires comparatifs de plus de 60 langues ou dialectes parlés à la Côte d’Ivoire et dans les régions limitrophes : avec des notes linguistiques et ethnologiques, une bibliographie et une carte (Paris, E. Leroux, 1904), page 231

---

Dutch

Alternative forms

• nen

Etymology

From nen through apocope, itself a contraction of eenen, enen, the now-obsolete accusative form of een.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Article

ne

1. (Brabantian) a, an

   ne man

   a man

Usage notes

ne is used primarily in the dialects that retain the three-gender split. It is only used for masculine words, while een is used for feminine and neuter words.

The form nen is used before vowels (as the English an) and certain consonants (commonly b, d and t), differing from dialect to dialect.

See also

• den

Anagrams

• en

---

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

• Audio

  (file)

Particle

ne

1. no
2. not
3. non-

Antonyms

• jes

---

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈne/, [ˈne̞]
• Hyphenation: ne
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

ne (plural, stem nii-)

1. (demonstrative, of things and animals) they (plural of the pronoun se (“it”))
2. (demonstrative) When used like a definite article, “the” or “those”.

   Tässä ne kirjat nyt ovat. — “This is where those books are now.” (literally, “Here those books now are”)

3. (colloquial, dialectal, of people) they (in literary standard: he).

Inflection

The case suffixes are mostly regular (except inessive and elative singular). Abessive is never used in singular and extremely seldom in plural. Instructive niin is more or less a theoretical construction, since it has developed into an adverb, and its current meaning cannot be derived from ne.

Declension of ne noun case singular plural adverbial form singular plural nominative se ne superessive siellä – genitive sen niiden niitten delative sieltä – partitive sitä niitä sublative sinne – accusative se, sen ne lative siis – inessive siinä niissä temporal silloin – elative siitä niistä causative siten – illative siihen niihin multiplicative – – adessive sillä niillä distributive – – ablative siltä niiltä temp. dist. – – allative sille niille prolative – – essive sinä niinä situative – – translative siksi niiksi oppositive – – instructive – (niin) abessive – (niittä) comitative – niine

See also

• tämä
• tuo
• se
• nämä
• nuo

Anagrams

• -en, en

---

French

Etymology

From Latin nōn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nə/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ə

Particle

ne

1. (literary) not (used alone to negate a verb; now chiefly with the verbs pouvoir, savoir, cesser and oser)
   • 1713, Voltaire, letter, Dec 1713:

     Je ne sais si je dois vous appeler Monsieur ou Mademoiselle […] .

     I don't know if I should call you Mr or Miss.

   • 1826, Victor Hugo, Bug-Jargal, XXXVIII:

     Le prince de France nous aime, celui d'Espagne ne cesse de nous secourir.

     The prince of France loves us, that of Spain never stops helping us.

   • 1868, Emile Zola, Madeleine Férat:

     Je n’ose te jurer que je t'aime toujours, parce que je sens bien que tu ne me croirais pas.

     I dare not swear that I still love you, for I sense that you would not believe me.

   • 1943, Jean-Paul Sartre, Réflexions sur la question juive:

     Mais je ne le crois pas : un homme qui trouve naturel de dénoncer des hommes ne peut avoir notre conception de l'humain […] .

     But I don't think so: a man who finds it natural to denounce men cannot have our idea of being human.

2. not, no (used before a verb, with a subsequent element following; see Usage Notes, below)
   • 1851, Henri Murger, Le pays latin:

     Je ne sais rien de plus odieux que l'hypocrisie.

     I don't know anything more odious than hypocrisy.

   • 1998, Michel Houellebecq, Les Particules Élémentaires:

     Bruno se rendit compte qu'il ne serait jamais accepté par les hippies […] .

     Bruno realised that he'd never be accepted by the hippies.

   • 2012, Le Monde, 3 May 2012:

     "Il n’y a pas eu un truc auquel on ne s'attendait pas", affirme Stéphane Le Foll.

     ‘There wasn't anything we weren't expecting,’ stated Stéphane Le Foll.

3. Used in a subordinate clause before a subjunctive verb (especially when the main verb expresses doubt or fear), to provide extra overtones of doubt or uncertainty (but not negating its verb); the so-called "pleonastic" or "expletive" ne.
   • 1829, Victor Hugo, Le Derner Jour d'un Condamné, XXVII:

     Ah! mes cheveux blanchiront avant que ma tête ne tombe!

     Oh! My hair will go white before my head falls!

   • 1837, George Sand, Mauprat:

     Oui, mais je crains qu'elle ne soit plus malade qu'elle ne l'avoue, repartit l'abbé.

     ‘Yes, but I think she might be more ill than she's letting on,’ the priest replied.

4. In comparative clauses usually translated with the positive sense of the subsequent negative

   apprendre le français est plus facile qu'on ne pense

   learning French is easier than you think

Usage notes

• Ne is typically followed by a verb and then a negative adverbial pas, plus, jamais, guère, or (now literary) point; by a negative pronoun personne or rien; or by a negative determiner, aucun or nul.
• In colloquial French, ne is often omitted:

  Je le veux pas ― I don't want it

• In literary French, ne can be used alone with certain verbs, as specified above.

See also

• guère
• jamais
• pas
• personne
• plus
• point
• que
• rien

Further reading

• “ne” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
• French grammar: Negation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• en

---

German

Etymology 1

Contraction of nicht, dialectal net, nit, ni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nə/

Interjection

ne

1. (colloquial) right?; is it?; is it not?; tag question

   Wir müssen da lang, ne?

   We need to go that way, don't we?

   Du hast keine Geschwister, ne?

   You don't have siblings, do you?

Synonyms

• gell
• nicht
• nicht wahr
• oder
• wa

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /neː/

Interjection

ne

1. Alternative spelling of nee

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nə/

Article

ne

1. (nonstandard) Alternative spelling of 'ne

---

Gothic

Romanization

nē

1. Romanization of 𐌽𐌴

---

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈnɛ]

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

ne

1. don't

   Ne hallgass rá! - Don't listen to him!

Usage notes

Used before the verb in an imperative clause to negate that clause; ne is always used instead of nem in the imperative mood.

Derived terms

• (Compound word): nehogy
• (Expressions): ajándék lónak ne nézd a fogát, ne igyál előre a medve bőrére, ne keltsd fel az alvó oroszlánt

---

Ido

Etymology

From Esperanto ne, from French ne, Russian не (ne).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/, /nɛ/

Adverb

ne

1. not, don’t

Noun

ne (plural ne-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter N/n.

See also

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze

Derived terms

• ne- (“non-, un-, in-, im-, ir- (etc.)”)

---

Isthmus Zapotec

Conjunction

ne

1. and

---

Istro-Romanian

Etymology

From Latin nix, nivem, through Proto-Romanian (compare Romanian nea, Aromanian neao), from Proto-Italic *sniks, from Proto-Indo-European *snígʷʰs (“snow”), root noun derived from *sneygʷʰ- (“to snow”).

Noun

ne f (definite nevu, genitive/dative lu nevu)

1. snow

---

Italian

Etymology

From Latin inde (“thence”). Compare French en (adverb, pronoun).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e

Adverb

ne

1. from there

   Ne uscirono tre. ― Three of them came out from there.

Usage notes

The adverb ne replaces di là (“from there”):

Sono di Genova; ne sono venuto stamattina.

I am from Genova; I came from there this morning.

Pronoun

ne

1. about it

   Ne ho sentito parlare. ― I have heard about it.

   Cosa ne pensi? ― What do you think about it?

2. of it

   C'è della torta? Ne voglio una fetta. ― Is there any cake? I want a slice of it.

3. of them (sometimes not translated in English)

   Non ne ho più. ― I've got no more (of them) left.

Usage notes

The pronoun ne stands for di + [pronoun], and so can be a translation of “[preposition] + it/them” for any preposition that is translated as di in Italian.

See also

Italian personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Reflexive	Accusative	Dative	Locative	Genitive	Disjunctive
Singular	first	—	io	mi, m'			—		me
	second	—	tu	ti, t'					te
	third	m	lui	si,2 s'	lo, l'	gli	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'	lui, sé
		f 1	lei, Lei		la, l', La	le,3 Le			lei, Lei, sé
Plural	first	—	noi	ci, c'			—		noi
	second	—	voi	vi, v'					voi
	third	m	loro, Loro	si, s'	li	gli, loro (formal), Loro	ci, c', vi, v' (formal)	ne, n'	loro, Loro, sé
		f 1			le
1	The feminine gender forms are also used as formal terms of address, sometimes capitalised as Lei, Loro etc. to distinguish them.
2	Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3	In informal speech sometimes replaced with gli (nonstandard).

Contraction

ne

1. Apocopic form of nel

   Massimo Troisi ha vinto un oscar per la sua interpretazione ne "Il postino".

   Massimo Troisi won an Oscar for his performance in "Il Postino".

Usage notes

Ne is used where nel, nella, etc, would ordinarily be used, but cannot be because the article is part of the title of a film, book, etc.

See also

• de

See also

• né

---

Japanese

Romanization

ne

1. Rōmaji transcription of ね
2. Rōmaji transcription of ネ

---

Kalasha

Determiner

ne

1. no

Particle

ne

1. no

---

Kurdish

Interjection

ne

1. no (used to show disagreement or negation)

This Kurdish entry was created from the translations listed at no. It may be less reliable than other entries, and may be missing parts of speech or additional senses. Please also see ne in the Kurdish Wiktionary. This notice will be removed when the entry is checked. (more information) December 2008

---

Ladin

Adverb

ne

1. not

---

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /neː/

Etymology 1

Extended from Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”) (whence Old Latin ne (“not”)).

Adverb

nē (not comparable)

1. no, not

Derived terms

• nē quidem (not even)

Conjunction

nē (+ subjunctive)

1. that not, in order not to and similar; lest
   • Vereor, ne videatur oratio mea stulta.

     I fear lest my oration seem foolish.

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with the affirmative particle ne (see Etymology 2).

Derived terms

• nēve/neu
• nē quō (“to no place, nowhither”)
• nē quis
• nē utīquam

Related terms

• -ne
• ne-
• neque/nec
• nī
• nōn
• sīn
• quīn

Etymology 2

From the same source as enim, Ancient Greek νή (nḗ), ναί (naí).

Interjection

nē

1. truly!, indeed!; commonly connected with other affirmative particles

---

Latvian

Conjunction

ne

1. not

   ne tikai ― not only

   ne visai ― not quite

---

Lithuanian

Interjection

ne

1. no (used to show disagreement or negation)

This Lithuanian entry was created from the translations listed at no. It may be less reliable than other entries, and may be missing parts of speech or additional senses. Please also see ne in the Lithuanian Wiktionary. This notice will be removed when the entry is checked. (more information) October 2009

---

Livonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

Pronoun

ne

1. they; plural nominative form of tämā

---

Luganda

Conjunction

ne

1. and (only used if the overall statement is grammatically positive)

See also

• na

References

The Essentials of Luganda, J. D. Chesswas, 4th edition. Oxford University Press: Nairobi. 1967, p. 94.

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Luganda is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

---

Mandarin

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Romanization

ne (Zhuyin ˙ㄋㄜ)

1. Pinyin transcription of 吶, 呐
2. Pinyin transcription of 呢

ne

1. Nonstandard spelling of né.
2. Nonstandard spelling of nè.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

---

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch ne, from Proto-Germanic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *ne.

Adverb

ne

1. not

Usage notes

Immediately precedes the verb. Often found in combination with the synonymous niet or another negating adverb, which is placed elsewhere.

Alternative forms

• en

Descendants

• Dutch: n- (prefix)

Further reading

• “ne (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “ne (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “en (V)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929
• “ne”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

---

Middle English

Adverb

ne

1. not

Conjunction

ne

1. nor

---

Middle French

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• n'

Adverb

ne

1. not (used to negate a verb)
   • 1488, Jean Dupré, Lancelot du Lac, page 22:

     Ha ha pourdieu franc chevalier et preux ne me occisez mie

     Ha! For the love of God honest and valiant knight, don't kill me!

   • 1530, François Rabelais, Pantagruel

     et ne m'advint oncques de mentir ou asseurer chose que ne feust veritable

     It never happened to me to lie or to assure someone of something that wasn't truthful

   • 1562, Henry IV of France, Lettres Missives

     Catherine de Médicis, ne tarda pas à faire venir auprès de lui, en 1561, sa femme et ses enfants.

     Catherine of Medicis did not hesitate to bring to him, in 1561, his wife and his children

Usage notes

• As in modern French, may be used in combination with another adverb, such as ne... iamais, ne... pas, ne... gaire, ne... mie, ne... oncques, ne... poin(c)t and ne... rien(s), but such an adverb is not required.

Etymology 2

See ny

Conjunction

ne

1. Alternative form of ny (“neither; nor”)

---

Negerhollands

Verb

ne

1. take

References

• Language Contact in the Danish West Indies (2012, →ISBN

---

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ne (“not”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

Adverb

ne

1. not

Descendants

• Middle English: ne
  • Scots: ne
  • English: ne

---

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nec.

Adverb

ne

1. not; used to form negative constructions

Descendants

• French: ne

Conjunction

ne

1. neither (not one or the other)
   • circa 1180, Chrétien de Troyes, Lancelot ou le Chevalier de la charrette:

     A lor seignor gaires n’antendent
     Ne les serors ne li cinc frere

     They didn't listen to their father
     Neither the sisters nor the five brothers

Descendants

• French: ni

---

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• ni

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ne.

Adverb

ne

1. not

Descendants

• Middle Low German: ne, en

---

Phuthi

Etymology

From Proto-Nguni *-ne, from Proto-Bantu *-nàì.

Adjective

-ne

1. four

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

---

Romanian

Alternative forms

• нє (pre-1860s Cyrillic form)

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin nīs, from Latin nos. Compare nă (old form) and Aromanian nã.

Pronoun

ne (unstressed accusative and reflexive form of noi)

1. (direct object, first-person plural) us

   El ne urmează.

   He's following us.

Related terms

• noi (stressed accusative)

Pronoun

ne (unstressed dative and reflexive form of noi)

1. (indirect object) (to) us

   Ele ne dau cadouri.

   They give us presents.

Related terms

• nouă (stressed dative)

See also

• ne-
• vă
• mă
• te
• se

---

Scots

Etymology

From Old English ne, from Proto-Germanic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /neɪ/, /nɛ/, /nə/, /n(ː)/

Adverb

ne

1. (archaic, rare) Not.

   Ne look at the sky, when ye tread bumpy roads.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   (A Northern English folk saying)

Conjunction

ne

1. (archaic, rare) Nor.

   Ne mother, ne father, ne friends, ne foes ne-knew what had worthen of him.

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Usage notes

• Ne is a negative particle and it is used preverbally, i.e. it is placed directly before a verb, for example,ː"What haps might chance me I ne knew" (William Fowler (makar), 1590) and "To suffer exile he said that he ne couth" (Gavin Douglas, Virgil's Aeneid, 1513). Now archaic and chiefly dialectal, it is still understood and used by a few rural speakers in Scotland and Northern England.
• As a conjunction, it is placed immediately before the word it negates as inː ne mickle, ne little; Twas ne man, ne woman.. ne beast; ne rich, ne poor, ne bold, ne meek, ne stong, ne weak can escape God's wrath.
• In urban areas and cities became displaced by na or nae.

Further reading

• “ne” in Dictionary of the Scots Language, Scottish Language Dictionaries, Edinburgh

---

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/

Particle

ne (Cyrillic spelling не)

1. not (denoting negation)

   ne znam — I don't know

   on je ne samo darovit, već i jako marljiv — he is not only talented, but also very industrious

   htio-ne htio — whether you want it or not

   da ne spavaš? / ne spavaš li? / zar ne spavaš? — aren't you sleeping?

   ne mogu, a da ne.. — I cannot but...

   reći ne — to say no; refuse, decline

   ne manje nego/od.. — no less than...

   ne doći — to fail to come, not come

   .... Zar ne? — ... Aren't you? (Isn't it?, Do you?, Don't you?)

   "neću" — I won't

Interjection

ne (Cyrillic spelling не)

1. no

   Jesi li demokrat? Ne! — Are you a democrat? No!

Synonyms

• jok (dialectal)

Antonyms

• da

---

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *ne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɛ́/, /nɛ/
• Tonal orthography: nȅ, ne

Particle

nè

1. not (negates meaning of verb)
2. no (expresses disapproval, disagreement)

Antonyms

• (no): dà, já

---

Swazi

Etymology

From Proto-Nguni *-ne, from Proto-Bantu *-nàì.

Adjective

-ne

1. four

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

---

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish نه‎ (ne, “what, whatever, how”), from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (ne, “what”), from Proto-Turkic *nē- (“what”). The only Turkic root beginning with /n/. The earliest PT form must have contained a unique initial nasal, having yielded specific reflexes in modern languages.

Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰤𐰀‎ (ne, “what, which”), Karakhanid [script needed] (nē, “what”), Old Uyghur [script needed] (ne, “what”), Azerbaijani nə (“what”), Bashkir ни (ni, “what”), Chuvash мӗн (mĕn, “what”), Kazakh не (ne, “what”), Khakas ниме (nime, “what”), Kyrgyz не (ne, “what”), Tatar ни (ni, “what”), Turkmen nǟmä (“what”), Tuvan чүү (čüü, “what”), Uyghur نېمە‎ (nëme, “what”), Uzbek na (“what”), Yakut туох (tuox, “what”).

Pronoun

ne

1. what

   Ne istiyorsun? ― What do you want?

2. whatever

   Ne istersen yaparım. ― I will do whatever you want.

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	ne
Definite accusative	neyi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ne	neler
Definite accusative	neyi	neleri
Dative	neye	nelere
Locative	nede	nelerde
Ablative	neden	nelerden
Genitive	nenin	nelerin

Related terms

Terms related to ne

• nasıl
• ne denli
• ne gibi
• nece
• neden
• neli

• nere
• nesne
• nesi
• nesiz
• netekim

• neyse
• nice
• nitelik
• niye
• niçin

Adverb

ne

1. what, how, such

   Ne güzel! ― How beautiful!

   Ne güzel bir gün! ― What a beautiful day!

2. Used as an intensifier to express surprise, astonishment, together with expressions like be!, ha!.

   Ne osurdun be! ― You farted such (that probably the whole world heard it).

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish نه‎ (ne, “neither; nor”), from Persian نه‎ (na). Cognate to Old English ne (“not”).

Conjunction

ne

1. neither; nor

   Ne bu ne şu ― Neither this nor that

Usage notes

• Not used alone but rather as ne...ne..., the way it is used is directly copied from Persian نه...نه...(“neither; nor”).

Antonyms

• ...de...de, ...da...da

Noun

ne

1. The name of the Latin-script letter N/n.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze

---

Tuvaluan

Particle

ne

1. past tense marker, inserted immediately before the relevant verb

---

Unami

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nə]

Pronoun

në

1. that (inanimate)

---

Ura (Vanuatu)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne/, [ne]

Noun

ne

1. water
2. river

Further reading

• Terry Crowley, Ura: A Disappearing Language of Southern Vanuatu (1999)

---

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Nguni *-ne, from Proto-Bantu *-nàì.

Adjective

ne

1. four

---

Yup'ik

Noun

ne (absolutive ena)

1. house

---

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Nguni *-ne, from Proto-Bantu *-nàì.

Adjective

-ne

1. four

Inflection

Adjective concord, tone class L
	Modifier	Copulative
1st singular	engimune	ngimune
2nd singular	omune	umune
1st plural	esibane	sibane
2nd plural	enibane	nibane
Class 1	omune	mune
Class 2	abane	bane
Class 3	omune	mune
Class 4	emine	mine
Class 5	eline	line
Class 6	amane	mane
Class 7	esine	sine
Class 8	ezine	zine
Class 9	ene	ine
Class 10	ezine	zine
Class 11	olune	lune
Class 14	obune	bune
Class 15	okune	kune
Class 17	okune	kune

Derived terms

• isine

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “-ne”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ne”