نہیں

See also: نهين

Punjabi

Alternative forms

• نَئیں (na'īṉ)

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit नहि (nahi).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Punjabi) IPA^(key): /nə˩˥ĩː/, /ˈnə.ɦĩː/

Adverb

نہیں • (nahī̃) (Gurmukhi spelling ਨਹੀਂ)

1. no
2. not

   میں نہیں جاواں گا!

   maĩ nahī̃ jāvāṅgā!

   I will not go!

Noun

نہیں • (nahī̃) f (Gurmukhi spelling ਨਹੀਂ)

1. a no, nay

Urdu

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit नहि (nahí, “surely not”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *naǰʰí, from earlier *ná gʲʰí, from Proto-Indo-European *né + *gʰí. Cognate with Bengali নাই (nai)/নেই (nei), Early Assamese নাহি (nahi), Assamese নাই (nai), Braj नहीं (nahī̃).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /nə.ɦĩː/
• (colloquial) IPA^(key): [nə͡.ĩː], [nə͡.iː]
• (Punjabic Urdu, Overseas, Europe) IPA^(key): [nĩː]

• Audio (Pakistan):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ĩː

Adverb

نہیں • (nahī̃) (Hindi spelling नहीं)

1. no, not, nay (indicative negation)

   بالکل نہیں! ― bilkul nahī̃! ― absolutely not!

   یہاں گاجر نہیں ہیں۔ ― yahā̃ gājar nahī̃ ha͠i. ― there are no carrots here.

Usage notes

Often preceded by the honorific particle جی (jī) to be more polite in answering those given respect.

Compare the subjunctive negation نہ (nā).

Derived terms

• جی نہیں (jī nahī̃)
• نہیں تو (nahī̃ to, “if not...then, else, otherwise”)

Particle

نہیں • (nahī̃) (Hindi spelling नहीं)

1. (informal) don't

   Synonyms: مت (mat), نہ (nā)

   تم نہیں جاؤ۔ ― tum nahī̃ jāo. ― Don't go.

Further reading

• “نہیں”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “نہیں”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “نہيں”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.