Russian · phrasebook
No in Russian
No in Russian is нет (nyet). It is also the word for there is not: нет времени means there is no time, with the missing thing in the genitive case.
Aurélien CuvelierAug 9, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026The ways to say it
нет (nyet), standard
нет-нет (nyet-nyet), emphatic: doubled for a firm or hurried refusal
не (ne), not: negates a word, never answers a question alone
How to use it
Нет answers questions; не negates verbs and adjectives inside a sentence (я не знаю, I don't know). Mixing them up is the most common beginner negation error, and Russians will notice instantly.
The existential нет is everywhere in daily life: у меня нет денег (I have no money), здесь нет воды (there is no water here). Whatever is absent takes the genitive; this is the single highest-frequency use of the case.
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