Ne ... rien = Nothing (French Negations)

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In French, to express not ... anything, you use a specific negative structure: ne ... rien.

Negative sentences with "ne ... rien" in French

Look at these examples:

Je n'ai rien !I have nothing.

Je ne sais rien !I know nothing!

Je ne regrette rien !I regret nothing!

Ça va ? - Oui, ce n'est rien.Are you ok? - Yes, it's nothing.

Notice that to say "nothing / not...anything" with a verb, you wrap the two words ne… rien around the verb.

N.B: you can also use rien on its own to mean 'nothing'.

Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? - Rien.What would you like? Nothing.

 

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Examples and resources

Ça va ? - Oui, ce n'est rien.Are you ok? - Yes, it's nothing.
Je n'ai rien !I have nothing.
Je ne sais rien !I know nothing!
Je ne regrette rien !I regret nothing!

rien = nothing


Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? - Rien.What would you like? Nothing.
I'll be right with you...