nē

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ne"

Japanese

Romanization

nē

1. Rōmaji transcription of ねぇ

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *nē, from Proto-Indo-European *nē, a parallel form to *ne “no, not,” the sentence negation particle. Cognates include Lithuanian nè, nė̃ (“neither, nor”), Old Church Slavonic не (ne), Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian не (ne), Czech ne, Polish nie, Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni), 𐌽𐌴 (nē), Hittite 𒈾𒀜𒋫 (/⁠natta⁠/, “not”), [Term?] (/⁠nāwi⁠/, “not yet”), Sanskrit न (ná), Latin ne-, nē.

Particle

nē

1. used to deny or disagree with what was said in the preceding affirmative statement; no

   “Vai tu biji teātrī?” “Nē” ― “Were you at the theater?” “No”

   “Vai viņš ir slims?” “Nē” ― “Is he sick?” “No”

2. used to confirm or agree with what was said in the preceding negative statement; no

   “Avīzi neatvedi?” “Nē”, es iesaucos; “avīzes mums nav.” ― “Didn't you bring the newspaper?” “No,” I exclaimed; “we don't have newspapers.”

   “Tu esi klāt!” viņa sacīja. “Jā, esmu klāt.” “Nenomaldījies?” “Nē, nenomaldījos.”

   “You are here!” she said. “Yes, I am here.” “You didn't get lost?” “No, I didn't get lost.”

3. used to negate a previous assumption; no

   Atskan telefona zvans: tai vajag būt viņai! Nē, nav. ― The telephone bell rang: it must be her! No, it isn't.

   Ja viss sils izdegtu!... Nē, nē, to Andrikssons nebija gribējis ― If the whole forest burned!... No, no, Andrikssons had not wanted that

4. used to correct, precise or reinforce what was said in the preceding utterance; no, rather, actually

   Jūra bija zila. Nē, dzīzāk zaļa ― The sea was blue. No, rather (it was) green.

   Atnākšu rīt. Nē, parīt. ― I'll come tomorrow. No, actually, the day after tomorrow

   Kāds nāca. Nē, tur sarunādamies nāca vairāki vīri. ― Someone was coming. No, actually, several men came talking.

   Ieva reizēm palūkojās: zēns soļoja, rokas šūpodams, šaurajā sejā apņēmīga izteiksme. Nē, Aivars atradīs sev vietu dzīvē ― Ieva looked a few times: the boy walked, arms swinging, a resolute expression in (his) narrow face. No, Aivars will find a place for himself in life

5. used to reinforce a negative statement; no

   Nē, neiesim! ― No, we're not going!

   Nē, nevar. ― No, (you) can't (do this).

   Nē, tas patiesi nav saprotams. ― No, this is really not clear

   Nē, citādi tu nevarēji rīkoties. ― No, you could not have acted differently

6. used instead of a negative verb form; no, ...not

   vienam ieteicams sauļoties, otrs turpretī nedrīkst; viens var peldēties, cits nē ― to one it is recommended to sit in the sun, the other, however, is not allowed; one may swim, the other no (= may not)

7. used as a noun, to indicate a negative answer to a question, or to a proposal

   Kristaps gribēja apprecēties... bet te nu Līvija pateica: nē ― Kristaps wanted to get married... but here Līvija said: no.

   viņai iztapa, viņu lutināja, nekad viņai nebija gadījies dzirdēt “nē”, kad viņa kaut ko vēlējās ― they pleased her, they indulged her, she never had happened to hear “no” when she wanted something

Antonyms

• jā

Related terms

• ne
• ne-
• nedz

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• ne — nonstandard

Romanization

nē (ne¹, Zhuyin ㄋㄜ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of N