The Etymology & Origins of the Word “No” Around the World
Every language has a word for it. Some have many. Let’s explore the origins and meaning of no.
In English, the word no dates back to Middle English and means “not in any degree, not at all, not ever.” Though it’s a short word with only two letters, it’s actually formed from two elements, the first being the PIE (proto Indo European) root *ne- meaning “not,” and the second from the PIE root *aiw-, meaning “vital force, life, long life, eternity.”
In fact, the root *aiw- is where we get the word ever from, as well as the words eon, eternal, age, and the Old Norse word ævi, meaning “lifetime.” Thus the word no literally means, “not ever.”
I love this etymology because it shows the powerful refusal that no implies. It says, “Not now, not ever, not for my entire life, not for all eternity.”
Another formally popular refusal word in English is nay, which comes to English from the Old Norse word nei, but Old Norse got nei from the same PIE roots as no, so they’re basically the same word but nay sounds more like the original pronunciation.
Words For “No” Around the World
Many other languages use a similar sounding word to say “no” and those words all have the same etymology. In French it’s, non. In Italian, Spanish, and Nepalese, no. In Portuguese, nāo. In Russian and Serbian, net. In Polish, nie. In German, nein. In Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, and Latvian, it’s ne. In Ukranian, ni.
In Danish and Swedish, nej. In Icelandic and Norwegian, nei. In Persian, næh. In Hindi, nahin. In Punjabi, nahīṁ. In Bengali, nā. In Latin, nihil. In Irish, níl.
How to Say “No” in Different Languages
Then Greek comes along and is like, how about we make our word for “yes” be nai just to confuse the rest of Europe! Their word for “no” is ochi, which actually has the same PIE root *ne- that no uses, but rather than combining it with *aiw-, it was combined with *ko which is a root that’s used to form words having to do with pointing out things, for example, who, what, him, her, that sort of thing.
In the Maori language, the word for “no” is kāo, or kāore. This word is also used when making grand statements about things, for example, “How great is my anger!”
In Welsh, the word is either ni, nid (for vowels) or dim, and which one is used is entirely context related. It’s one of those “fun” linguistic curiosities where you really have to be a native speaker to understand when to use dim vs ni/nid and using one instead of the other would sound really weird, but it’s tough to explain why to a non-native speaker.
In Middle Welsh, dim meant “anything,” but it became common to use it to reinforce negative statements like, “she was anything but frail.” So it wound up as an additional way to say “no.”
How Do You Say “No” in the Languages You Speak?
When did you last use the powerful word NO in your life? Did it make you feel empowered or did it make you feel bad? How do you say “no” in the languages you speak?
I’d love to learn more about the etymology of words in more non-European languages. It’s often a challenge to investigate etymology in languages I’m not familiar with. Translations are possible, but diving into the construction and history of words isn’t easy for a non-native speaker. My curious mind often calls me to try though!
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Understanding The Word No!
Understanding The Word No!When it comes to understanding the word No, and the power that it is given inside of the Network Marketing Profession, there is no other word that compares.
There is no other word in the dictionary that causes more fear, causes more people to quit their businesses, and costs more people more money than the word “NO!”
Here is an article that I obtained many years ago through Network Marketing circles, from an unknown source, that addresses this topic very well. Also watch the video below, and I’ll explain what I mean when it comes to the word “No” and how it is treated inside of the Network Marketing Profession.
“No” – Here’s the Part You Don’t Understand
Learn The Truth about the most misunderstood word in the Network Marketing Dictionary.
by John Milton Fogg
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Great country music lyric: “What part of ‘No” don’t you understand?” Here’s one answer — and it’s critical to understanding your Network Marketing business and the people who get in…and quit.
“No,” is pervasive — it’s everywhere. It’s powerful.
It means: “not possible…forget it…go away…leave me alone…you’re crazy…[and] I hate you…”
It sucks the excitement and enthusiasm out of your most promising prospects. “No” is Public Enemy #1 in the previously undetected 
world- wide conspiracy to render 90 percent of all Network Marketing hopefuls, loser-quitter-failures who drop out before payday.
Do you think the failure rate and turnover in Network Marketing is due to the absence of a duplicatable business building system?
Perhaps you blame:
• Lack of training?
• Lackluster products?
• Dysfunctional comp plan?
Or are you so enlightened as to realize that the real reason so many people quit is it’s so easy to get in — and even easier to get out — that people come and go because they have nothing at stake…because quitting is cheap and easy to do?
Or maybe you think that all of the above are true to an extent.
The real reason people quit their businesses is that they cannot stand hearing the word “No.” And they WILL hear “No” more than any other word in the language.
Check this out: It’s excerpted from The Poundstone Report: Educating Madam Justice, taken off the MOJO wire from Mother Jones magazine on the Internet (http://www.mojones.com). Paula Poundstone is a nationally known stand-up comic who can think and write as well.
“I’m learning a lot about children. I’m required to take 12 hours of continuing education in order to maintain my foster parent certification. The last lecture I attended was by Dr. Charlotte Reznick, a child and educational psychologist. She said there had been some study that followed mothers with 2-year-olds for a day and recorded the number of negative and positive comments the mothers made. Not surprisingly, with all the things there are to tell a 2-year-old no about, the negative comments outweighed the positive. What’s startling is that they outweighed them 13 to 1…” That’s 13 Nos for every 1 Yes .”
Try this one: In Word-of-Mouth Marketing, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, available from Upline® Resources) author Jerry Wilson tells of how he sent out hundreds of requests for person-to-person business experiences for his book. He requested both positive and negative stories.
“…we received only a handful of positive stories. But we got stacks of horror tales. By a ratio of 100 to 1… From Wilson’s research came his Rule Two: “The rule of 3-33. For every three people willing to tell a positive story about an experience with your company, there are 33 others who will tell a horror story.”
The part of “No” that most of us don’t understand is that “No” is the way it is. It’s what you and I are thrown to. Majority rule. “No” is what we expect, and you know you always get what you expect.
“Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t touch that. Don’t do this. NO, you cannot have cake and ice cream for breakfast. No, no, no…” since we were babies. “Can I have $20?” “No!” “Can I borrow the car?” “No!” Can I succeed in my own Network Marketing business? No!
And 95 percent of all the people you know — whether they are aware of it or not — just can’t take it anymore! They have been “No-ed” to death. Their spirit has been shot. (So the fact that 90 percent of the people attrit’ in Network Marketing means we’re five percent ahead of the average!)
How would you like to increase your income five times…, decrease the attrition rate in your business by 25 percent or even cut it in 
half…, and literally, personally, transform the lives (through duplication) of thousands and thousands of human beings?
Teach your people how to hear the word “No,” and forget about it! Train your people to understand that “No” is normal. “No,” is the status quo.
Show your people how to be Yesmen and Yeswomen and that one thing alone will empower your Networking business to awesome new heights — guaranteed!
Learn to listen behind the “No” for what is really there, and then teach your people to do the same thing.
Ask and keep on asking past the “No’s.”
Look at this: Did you know that 50 percent of all salespeople — professionals who are in sales to earn their living — quit after they receive their first “No?” But if they’d simply keep asking, politely and in a sensitive and respectful way, they’d find out that…
• 20 percent of their prospects will say “Yes” after being asked for the fourth time.
• 50 percent will say “Yes” after being asked the eighth time.
• 70 percent will say “Yes” after being asked the 12th time.
• 90 percent will say “Yes” after being asked the 15th time.
• And 10 percent will never say “Yes” no matter how many times you ask.
And finally, research has shown that when people say “No,” 50 percent of them do not understand what you are offering, and the other half are having trouble making a decision.
Train the truth about “No” and teach your people how to ask questions to get to “Yes.” This is the single most important and empowering prospecting lesson to master.
Feel free to share this with your team, comment below, and let me hear from you.
Did This Help You? If so, I would greatly appreciate if you commented below and shared on Facebook
John Morrison’s Network Marketing Blog
Email: John@JohnMorrison.ws
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Know and no are homophones. That is, although they are spelled differently and have different meanings, they are both pronounced exactly the same: /nō/. The best way to use the correct form of the two words know and no is to learn to differentiate them by meaning.
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Consider the word’s context and meaning. Ask yourself: Is this word a verb? K-n-o-w is always a verb. A person can k-n-o-w something or someone, but they can’t n-o anything.[1]
To know means:- To be aware of: I know something is going to happen.
- To have knowledge of: I know it’s Suzy’s birthday.
- To be sure or certain about something: I know that there is a cake in the kitchen.
- To be familiar or acquainted with: Do Diane and Yao know Suzy?
- To recognize: Diane didn’t know Suzy’s voice, but she heard someone coming.
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Ask yourself whether the word can be put into other tenses. The word know, as a verb, may be conjugated into the forms knew, known, or knowing. If the word can’t be put into other tenses, it might be n-o.
- Knew is the past tense, for things that have already happened: Diane knew something was not right.
- Known uses «helping» or «auxiliary» verbs, such as have or do, to show shades of time in the past, or to show a hypothetical: If he had checked his watch, Yao might have known that he was late.
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Knowing is the gerund form, which means it can act as a subject: «Knowing that grammar sure helped me do better on my test.»[2]
#*If the word is not a verb, the correct spelling might be n-o.
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Check to see if the word is being used to negate something. No can be used as a determiner, an exclamation, an adverb or a noun, but it almost always is used to convey negative information, or to negate another word in the sentence.[3]
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Modify other words by using no as a determiner. When no is used to modify a noun, it generally serves to negate or alter the noun in a negative manner.[4]
- No can mean not any (or hardly any): No two people can come to complete agreement.
- The opposite of: She is no genius.
- Rules forbidding particular actions or behaviors: No smoking within 50 yards of the entrance.
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Express strong emotions using the word no. Used as an exclamation, no is an expression of strong emotion. It can be used within a larger sentence, or as a stand-alone response.
- A negative response to a direct question: «Do these jeans make me look fat?» «No.»
- An expressive response of disagreement: «I always look fat in these jeans.» «No, you don’t.»
- An agreement with a negative statement: «She’d never attend a friend’s birthday party, oh, no.»
- An expression of dismay or disappointment: «Oh, no! I spilled my drink!»
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Provide more information about a verb, adjective, or phrase by using no as an adverb. The word no is used here to negatively modify other words.
- «She was no more able to rouse herself than a cabbage.»
- «I asked Jackson what he’d seen, but he was no help at all.»
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Refer to a negative verbal response in shorthand by employing no as a noun. Though this may refer to one person’s response, it’s frequently used in the collective.
- A negative decision: «The bond issue was decided with a resounding no.»
- A negative response: «That would be a no, then?»
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Practice identifying the correct spelling of the words no and know. Both words are commonly used. You will easily find them in popular print or online. A great way to learn the difference between no and know is to practice recognizing the correct (or incorrect) spelling in other people’s writing. Because the word sounds exactly alike, reading aloud won’t help!
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Identify the correct spelling of know and no in the following sentences. This practice is an important step in learning to use the correct spelling for yourself. Remember to double-check your answers by referring to the definition of each word.
- I found know relief. I found no relief.
- «Do you want more cake?» «No, thank you.» «Know, thank you.»
- Suzy and Bob wanted know more of it. Suzy and Bob wanted no more of it.
- For a while, there was no noise. For a while, there was know noise.
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Try these sample sentences, completing each sentence with either k-n-o-w or n-o.
- She didn’t ____ how she would succeed.
- Frank left us with __ choice.
- There’s __ business like show business!
- I ____ you from someplace, don’t I?
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Check your understanding of the difference between know and no. The best way to know that you’ve learned to understand the difference between know and no is to use them in your own writing. Start by reviewing the two words’ meanings. Remember, if the word is a verb, it is know. If not, it is probably no.
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Write 5 sentences using the word no, and then write 5 sentences using the word know. These sentences can be short or long.You can use the sentences above as examples to follow, or you can write examples from your own life. You might recall something you’ve heard or said that includes the word no or know. It’s a word most of us use quite often!
- Carefully proofread the sentences you have written. Do your sentences make sense, given what you know now about the words no and know?
- Ask yourself: could another verb (such as understand, comprehend, or recognize) be substituted for my word no/know in this sentence? If the answer is yes, you probably want to use the word k-n-o-w. If the answer is no, then your answer is n-o.
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Ask a friend or family member to read your sentences. Do they understand what you mean to say? If they know what you mean, you’ve achieved your goal!
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Add New Question
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Question
Please just let me know or no?
Know. This is because «know» comes from the word «knowledge».
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Question
What is the correct usage? «Your birthday is tomorrow no?» or «your birthday is tomorrow know?»
What’s correct is, «Your birthday is tomorrow, isn’t it?» or «Isn’t your birthday tomorrow?»
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Question
Is it «That’s when you always get up, no?» Or «That’s when you always get up, know?»
«That’s when you always get up, isn’t it?»
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Be clear on what your meaning is. The proper spelling of a word follows the word’s meaning, not the other way around!
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Practice recognizing grammatical parts of speech to help with recognition of homophones. In this case, if the word is a verb, it’s automatically k-n-o-w.
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Notice the spelling of the words no and know in well-respected publications, both in print and online. Practice the proofreading steps above on other people’s writing.
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Most word programs have a spell check feature that will identify misspelled words, but they will not identify misplaced homophones. If you’ve used the wrong word, this won’t be caught by your spell check program!
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Learn how to use ‘no’ and ‘not’ properly in English. Confusing them while speaking is a serious mistake, but even many native speakers don’t know what the rules about this are. In this English grammar lesson, I give you some clear rules you can follow on when to use ‘no’, and when to use ‘not’. Oh, one note: in the lesson, I suggest not using these words in the same sentence. To be clear, they should usually not be used together in the same *clause*.
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