niemand

See also: Niemand

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch niemand.

Pronoun

niemand

  1. nobody; no one
  2. none

Dutch

Etymology

From n- +‎ iemand

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈni.mɑnt/
  • Audio(file)

Pronoun

niemand (genitive niemands)

  1. nobody

Antonyms

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old High German nioman.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈniːmant/

Pronoun

niemand

  1. nobody, no one
    • 1707, Bach, BWV 4, Christ lag in Todes Banden:
      Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt.
      Nobody could defeat death.

Usage notes

  • Niemand is synonymous with keiner (“no one”), which is the nominalised masculine form of the pronoun kein (“no”). In written German, niemand is more common than keiner, whereas colloquial German often prefers the latter. (Note that keiner can also be used in other senses, in which niemand is not applicable.)
  • Niemand may or may not take the case endings -em (dative) and -en (accusative). Thus: “Ich suche niemand” and “Ich suche niemanden” are both correct translations of “I'm looking for nobody.” The latter is probably somewhat more common (at least in writing).
  • With a following adjective, niemand is always uninflected. The adjective itself is capitalized and declined in the strong pattern. It generally uses neuter forms: niemand Neues – "nobody new". In the accusative case it may also take a masculine form: “Ich suche niemand Neuen” alongside “Ich suche niemand Neues.” ("I'm looking for nobody new.") The dative form has -em either way. The genitive case cannot be used with an adjective, but needs to be paraphrased.

Declension

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Further reading

  • niemand in Duden online
  • Niemand in Adelung's Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart at Zeno.org
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