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No in 36 languages
No is one of the most widely shared words in the world, but there are exceptions, and some languages avoid saying it directly.
| Language | In its own writing | Romanisation |
|---|---|---|
| SpanishLatin | No | |
| FrenchLatin | Non | |
| ItalianLatin | No | |
| PortugueseLatin | Não | |
| RomanianLatin | Nu | |
| GermanLatin | Nein | |
| DutchLatin | Nee | |
| SwedishLatin | Nej | |
| Norwegian (Bokmål)Latin | Nei | |
| DanishLatin | Nej | |
| WelshLatin | Na | |
| PolishLatin | Nie | |
| CzechLatin | Ne | |
| HungarianLatin | Nem | |
| FinnishLatin | Ei | |
| GreekGreek | Όχι | Ochi |
| TurkishLatin | Hayır | |
| RussianCyrillic | Нет | Net |
| UkrainianCyrillic | Ні | Ni |
| Arabic (Modern Standard)Arabic script | لا | la |
| HebrewHebrew | לא | lo |
| Persian (Farsi)Arabic script | نه | na |
| HindiDevanagari | नहीं | nahin |
| BengaliBengali | না | na |
| UrduArabic script | نہیں | nahin |
| TamilTamil | இல்லை | illai |
| Mandarin Chinese (Simplified)Chinese characters (Simplified) | 不是 | bú shì |
| JapaneseJapanese (kanji and kana) | いいえ | iie |
| KoreanHangul | 아니요 | aniyo |
| ThaiThai | ไม่ | mai |
| VietnameseLatin | Không | |
| IndonesianLatin | Tidak | |
| Tagalog (Filipino)Latin | Hindi | |
| SwahiliLatin | Hapana | |
| ZuluLatin | Cha | |
| AfrikaansLatin | Nee |
Romanisation is a guide to the sounds. The speaker button appears only when your device has a voice for that language; computer voices may not sound like a native speaker. Phrases are cross-checked against independent sources but still await a native-speaker review.
About "No"
Many languages use a word close to English no: Spanish no, Italian no, Russian нет. Japanese いいえ is often softened or replaced by an indirect answer to avoid being blunt.
Using it
In cultures that avoid direct refusal, hearing "it is a little difficult" can mean no. Listen for that, not just the word.
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Questions
How do you say "No" in different languages?
There are 36 languages on this page. For example: No (Spanish), Non (French), No (Italian), Não (Portuguese), Nu (Romanian).
Are these translations checked?
Each phrase is written by us and published only when at least two independent sources agree. Native-speaker review is still to come; phrases that could not be confirmed twice are left out.