Aba

Noun

nie

1. water

References

• D. T. Tryon, Towards a Classification of Solomon Islands Languages

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch niet, nie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/ (generally)
• IPA^(key): /‿i/ (commonly after a verb that ends in a consonant)

Adverb

nie

1. not

   Hy kan nie Afrikaans praat nie.‎

   He can't speak Afrikaans.

Usage notes

• This word has to be repeated at the end of a sentence, unless it is already the last word according to its natural position. (See the Wikipedia article about double negatives in Germanic languages.) Double negation is optional when the last word is another negator, such as nooit ‎(“never”).

Related terms

• niemand
• niks

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni/

Adverb

nie

1. (dialectal) Alternative form of niet

Usage notes

• While the spelling nie and the invariable use of the corresponding pronunciation are dialectal, the standard word niet is not rarely given the same pronunciation, particularly in fast speech.

French

Verb

nie

1. first-person singular present indicative of nier
2. third-person singular present indicative of nier
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of nier
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of nier
5. second-person singular imperative of nier

German

Etymology

From Old High German nio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niː/
• Rhymes: -iː

Adverb

nie

1. never, never at all (referring to an indefinite period of time)

   Das ist nie passiert! – That has never happened!

   Wir werden die Wahrheit wohl nie erfahren. – We'll probably never know the truth.

2. never, not once (referring to a defined period of time; see usage notes below)

   Er hat sich in zwei Wochen nie die Haare gewaschen.

   He never washed his hair in two weeks' time.

Usage notes

• (not once): In English it is quite common to use the word “never” referring to a defined period of time: “I was waiting all night, but he never called.” German generally prefers, and often requires, to use nicht ‎(“not”) in such contexts, possibly emphasized by another adverb such as gar or überhaupt: Ich habe den ganzen Abend gewartet, aber er hat (gar) nicht angerufen. Using nie is only possible if such a period of time is (unusually) long, as in the example sentence above.

Synonyms

• (never at all): niemals, nimmer (archaic)
• (not once): nicht, gar nicht, überhaupt nicht

Derived terms

• nie und nimmer

Anagrams

• ein

Japanese

Romanization

nie

1. rōmaji reading of にえ

Mandarin

Romanization

nie

1. Nonstandard spelling of niē.
2. Nonstandard spelling of nié.
3. Nonstandard spelling of niě.
4. Nonstandard spelling of niè.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɲɛ]

Particle

nie

1. Negation particle for nouns; no
2. Negation particle for verbs and participles; not, don't, didn't

Related terms

• nie-

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

nie

1. Obsolete spelling of nije