kein

Breton

Etymology

Cognate with Welsh cefn (“back”), Cornish keyn (“back”), Gaulish Cebenna (“ridge, height”) (whence French Cévennes), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kebno- (“back”), from Pre-Celtic *kebn-, which could be related to *kambos (“crooked, bent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛjn/

Noun

kein m (plural keinoù)

1. back (the rear of body)

Mutation

Mutation of kein

	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
singular	kein	gein	c'hein	unchanged
plural	keinoù	geinoù	c'heinoù	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Breton.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German kein, back-formation of original nekein (“not any”), from Old High German nihein, from Proto-West Germanic *nehwain, from Proto-Germanic *nehw ainaz (“not any”). Compare Dutch geen, Yiddish קיין (keyn). More at none.

Pronunciation

• (Standard German)
  • IPA^(key): /kaɪ̯n/

  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

    (file)

• (Swabian)
  • IPA^(key): /kɔɪ̯/
• Rhymes: -aɪ̯n
• Homophone: Kain
• Homophone: keinen (according to a common pronunciation of this form)

Pronoun

kein

1. no; not a(n); not one; not any

   Das ist kein Bett. ― That is not a bed. (literally, “That is no bed.”)

   Es gibt kein Brot. (accusative) ― There is no bread.

   • 2020 December 24, Bernd Ulrich, “Das Jahr, in dem die Normalität zu Ende ging”, in Die Zeit‎^[1], archived from the original on 22 June 2023:

     Nein, das hier wird kein Jahresrückblick auf 2020, so wenig wie ein Ausblick auf das kommende Jahr.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• In colloquial spoken German, the masculine nominative forms mein, dein, kein, etc may not be distinguished from the accusative forms meinen, deinen, keinen etc in adjectival use. The distinction is maintained in substantival use, i.e. without a following noun.

Declension

Declension of kein

	singular			plural
	m	f	n
nominative	kein	keine	kein	keine
genitive	keines	keiner	keines	keiner
dative	keinem	keiner	keinem	keinen
accusative	keinen	keine	kein	keine

The declension pattern for kein follows that of ein (“a”) and the possessive determiners, as does the declension of adjectives that follow kein. For the most part, the adjectives decline like those that appear after the definite article (the so-called weak declension pattern for German adjectives). However, kein lacks a masculine marker in the nominative case and a neuter marker in the nominative and accusative cases. Accordingly, adjectives following that plain form take an -er or -es to indicate the gender.

Derived terms

• kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen
• kein Jota
• kein Kommentar
• kein Problem
• kein unbeschriebenes Blatt sein
• kein Wässerchen trüben können
• kein Wunder

Related terms

• keiner

Further reading

• “kein” in Duden online
• “kein”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[2] (in German)

Low German

Alternative forms

• keen
• gien (some Dutch Low Saxon varieties)

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *nehw ainaz (“nor one”). Cognate with German kein, Dutch geen.

Pronoun

kein

1. no, none

Middle English

Noun

kein

1. (Hertfordshire) alternative form of kyn (“cows”)

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian *kēne, from Proto-West Germanic *kōnī, from Proto-Germanic *kōniz (“brave”). Cognate with English keen, Dutch koen, German kühn.

Pronunciation

• (Clay) IPA^(key): /kai̯n/
• (Wood) IPA^(key): /kɛi̯n/

Adjective

kein

1. proud, lively, perky
2. appropriate, neat
3. pretty, charming
4. prudish; chaste

Inflection

Inflection of kein
uninflected	kein
inflected	keine
comparative	keinder keiner
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		kein	keinder keiner	it keinst it keinste
indefinite	c. sing.	keine	keindere keinere	keinste
	n. sing.	kein	keinder keiner	keinste
	plural	keine	keindere keinere	keinste
definite		keine	keindere keinere	keinste
partitive		keins	keinders keiners	—

Further reading

• “kein”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011