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- "何もありません。"
"何もありません。"
Translation:There is nothing.
75 Comments
It is no particle. 何も is the interrogative 何 with a suffix も, which has the same meaning as the English prefix "no" in a negative sentence. More details at: http://www.punipunijapan.com/nothing-in-japanese/
2018
Thank you. Now that I understand this, I would call it a suffix as well, although the Punipuni lesson that you directed me to does call it a particle. It looks like a great site, though.
You're right. I just called it a suffix, because it was easier for me to remember it that way.
So the telephony company, "Docomo" actually means, "nowhere?" That doesn't seem like a particularly good name.
Only with a negative verb would it mean "nowhere", else it means "everywhere"
@AnaLydiate Please stop misleading these people, 何も does NOT mean "nothing", it means "anything" / "everything else" just by itself, that's why it has to be negated to mean "nothing". も by itself does NOT mean a negative, in any context. That is why it must be negated by ~ない in any sentence or construction where it needs to be a strong negative.
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Hi Jenda, sorry, it doesn't seem I can reply anywhere else. So I looked up なにも in my dictionary and it says it means nothing BUT you are right - it means nothing with a negative verb - in this aspect it's similar to あんまり which is only ever just used with a negative verb. Anyway, I have to thank you because you helped me realise that I have been subconsciously equating the 'n' sound at the start of 何も with a negative! So, no 何も is not a negative word and this sentence isn't an example of a double negative. But having said that you would never use 何も with a positive verb, for instance if you wanted to ask someone if they had something you'd use 何か, it's a little off topic but just thought I'd add it on there, FYI sorry of thing. Thanks for helping me realise my error!
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No, because nanimo means nothing - so the sentence is a double negative - I don't have nothing. But unlike some languages where a double negative equals a positive, a double negative in Japanese makes a for a strong negative.
@AnaLydiate: Yes you are right, 何も is not used with positive verbs. However, its "pure" stand-alone meaning really is "anything", it's just it's not used in this way.
@maran446101: No, I am thinking 何も. 何もあります really sounds weird and is not used, but that doesn't make the original double negative explanation valid, though, because it's not a double negative.
That's not 100% true, japan has instances where double negatives equal a positive, Misa has a video on it
- 738
Yes AmaranthZi - I should have corrected my comment to say in some instances in Japanese a double negative makes for a strong negative and this is one of those instances.
There is not a no- prefix in English. Non-, in- and un- are the obvious ones.
- 673
Well, there's a hyphenated "no-" prefix in English, and there are some words that have absorbed "no" at the beginning of the word (i.e., "nothing" = "no thing"), which you could argue is a "no" prefix, technically, even if it's become its own thing in modern use. But besides "non-" ("nonexistent") "in-" ("inaccurate") and "un-" ("unreliable") there are also "de-" ("devalue") "dis-" ("discredit") "anti-" ("antithesis") and probably more I'm not thinking of. Most of these mean "not" but you could easily argue that "anti" is specifically "the opposite of," which I agree with. It's a more specific form of "not." Of course, then you have stuff like "mal-" which means "bad" (i.e., "malpractice") which is close to "not" but isn't "not." In the example, "malpractice" doesn't mean that it is not "practice." It means that the practice (that is, "action") was harmful.
I'm something of a word nerd, so it was fun to go off on root words like this. ^_^
- 2018
I do not understand how these prefixes are "hyphenated." In any case, no- is not a prefix, but rather a word that has become incorporated into a very old compound word.
- 673
I didn't give an example of a hyphenated "no-" prefix, which is why you didn't see one.
To use pronouns in negative, as "any" in English. だれもいません - there is no one / there isn't anyone
>>>"But unlike some languages where a double negative equals a positive, a double negative in Japanese makes a for a strong negative."
I don't think your statement is correct. For example, how could you explain this?
宿題をしないといけない // Have to do homework. (from here http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/must )
- 738
The construction in this sentence 何も ありません is a double negative - nothing and don't have. But in this instance the double negative results in a strong negative ie. I don't have anything rather than I have everything. Similarly だれも いない means nobody and is not there/does not exist but the combination of these two negatives translates as nobody is there or nobody is around. しない と いけない is a different construction but translating it is very logical - basically it's saying to not do something is not allowed therefore it is something that must be done or has to be done. Spanish is the same no tengo nada - lit. - I don't have nothing ----> I have nothing OR I don't have anything.
Your explanation is absolutely not true. 何も is not a negative, therefore 何も ありません is not a double negative. The も functions like an intensification particle, i.e. 何 means "what", も modifies it to mean "anything" (just as it modifies だれ = "who" to だれも = "anybody" / "everybody") and ありません negates it, therefore the entire construction means "there is nothing" (literally: "there is not anything"). しないといけない is a completely different structure that actually is a double negative, like you mentioned. It is not at all similar to 何もありません.
- 738
Jenda - not sure if you have read it yet but I replied to you on your other comment - thanks for helping me to realise my error! : ) I didn't even realise that I was inadvertently associating the 'n' sound of なにも with a negative meaning.
Hi Ana, sorry, had a few days off. I am going through the comments now, so will be replying wherever it's needed. Sorry if some of my comments sound a bit rude, I don't mince words. It happens, we all do mistakes. Glad I could be of help!
There is nothing. That has got to be the most succinct articulation of nihilism I have ever heard.
Dang, I thought "There is nothing else/after" was a good guess, since も means "also".
- 738
なにもない - There is nothing/nothing exists/I have nothing/I don't have anything.
なんでもない - It's nothing eg. your response when someone, concerned, asks - どうした の? - What's wrong/what happened? なんでもない - It's nothing (nothing's wrong but REALLY there IS something wrong but you don't want to talk about it - you're deflecting)
I'm not sure, but I believe that's an even stronger assertion; 何でもない or 何もありません would be "There's nothing at all." The informal form of 何もありません would be 何もない.
.................IMPORTANT.................. Nani : what Nanika : something Nanimo : everything
Doko : where Dokoka : somewhere Dokomo : Everywhere
Dare : who Dareka : someone Daremo : everyone
Itsu : when Itsuka : sometime Itsumo : always
I hope this help.. I also figured it out just now :-D
I'm just curious as to what this has to do with "Hobby." Doesn't seem like it fits the part.
- 738
This is pretty typical of Duo - sentences about weather in the hobby section, dogs selling hats, butterflies writing books (in the portuguese lessons) :) I wouldn't worry about it.
- 344
If someone asks if you have plans for this weekend, you can say "nanimo arimasen" which I translated as "I don't have anything (planned)"
Can I use "that is nothing" in english (I'm not native speaker)? 'Cause in japanese, if someone asks "why are you sad?", I can answer "何もありません / 何もない". Duolingo didn't accept "that is nothing".
Not really. It doesnt sound grammatically correct. You can say "it's nothing" to respond to "why are you sad?", but "that is nothing" would be to respond to "what is that?" or and pretty much nothing else. Maybe, "i climbed a mountain last week". "Well, that's nothing, i flew to the moon!".
In English "that is nothing " would not be the way to express your meaning. You can say "it's nothing " instead. This expression conveys the meaning that nothing serious is upsetting you.
- 738
なにも ない would be used in answer to for example someone asking if there is any yoghurt left in the fridge. If no yoghurt was left then you would reply なにも ない - none, nothing, there's nothing left/there.
- 932
In English, the answer to that question would be "It's nothing", rather than "That's nothing".
Since "It's nothing" and "There's nothing" can have slightly different meanings in many situations, I don't know if Duolingo should accept it or not.
I would translate that sentiment as "It's nothing." as a response in English. Unfortunately Duo didn't accept that either.
- 738
It cannot. English doesn't use double negatives except for slang eg. I ain't got nothin'.
Does ”何も" mean "something”? That would mean that the phrase means "There is not something" --> "There is nothing"
Pretty much, yeah. It can also be translated as "anything" — there is not anything, there is nothing.
- 140
Another way to look at it would be to think of "XXも" as "no matter XX":
何もありません: "No matter what (you're talking about/thinking), it does not exist" = "There is nothing"
何でもありません: "No matter what (you're talking about/thinking), it is not that" = "It's nothing"
何も食べます: "No matter what (you're talking about/thinking), I will eat it" = "I will eat anything" (*use with care)
どこにもあります: "No matter where (you're talking about/thinking), it exists" = "It's everywhere"
How would you say "nothing happens", "nothing is happening", "nothing happened"? Could you use this same phrase?
With the context of a previous question, I believe so. え？何かあった？ Huh? Did something happen? いや、何もなかったよ。Nah, nothing happened.
If you wanted it to be translated as "nothing is happening" by itself, maybe 何も起きてない.
If the double negative means "There is nothing", how do you say "There isn't nothing" ? I know it's a strange sentence but I'm curious. Thanks
- 738
No - literally it means I don't have nothing or there is not nothing, but it is translated as I don't have anything or there is nothing.
Would this never be used to mean "there is nothing else"? That's how I interpreted the も particle...
If you were Vietnamese, you could translate this very easily. も here in Vietnam means "cũng", which roughly means -ever (as in whatever or whenever) or any- (as in anything or anywhere) in English. Therefore, 何もありません i will understand as "cái gì cũng không có" or "(There) is not anything"
Same as いつも and どこも, which means "lúc nào cũng (whenever or anytime)" and "ở đâu cũng (whereever or anywhere)" respectively
- 140
It's interesting how Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and as far as I'm aware Thai, all use the same construction to express "nothing/nowhere/no one", instead of using independent words like in most European languages.
Is there a different way to translate the sentence "There is nothing there."?
- 738
You could also translate it as I don't have anything OR you, s/he or it, we, etc don't have anything.
- 140
You mean like "There is nothing more (than what we already have)?" I'd guess it's the same as "There is nothing else": "他に(は)何もありません"
Or "これ/それ以外はありません" would probably fit as well. (以外=いがい, "outside of...")
I read the tips and in the tios where they were saying about 'putting letters at the front to make it talk about a place' In the sentences it said 'you' in braccets. Does that mean that 'you' isnt in the sentence but it makes sense to us with 'you'? If thats the case, why is that?
