how to say no in different languages
How to Say 'No' in Different Languages
Saying 'no' is difficult most times, but sometimes the need of the hour. This Buzzle article is a guide for you to learn how to say 'no' in different languages.
"We should cultivate the ability to say no to activities for which we have no time, no talent, and which we have no interest or real concern. If we learn to say no to many things, then we will be able to say yes to the things that matter most."
There is no doubt that we all must be in agreement to the above quote. But, the moment we are about to utter the word 'no' in the context of rejection or refusal, our heart starts pounding louder, just by the thought of what the person (who would probably be expecting a 'yes' for an answer) would think about us. Saying 'no' is very difficult compared to saying 'yes', because we fear that we may lose our friendship or relationship if the other party gets hurt by our refusal. But this kind of an attitude will someday backfire and land us in deep trouble, if we don't gather up the courage to say 'no' (of course, not just for the sake of saying 'no'). Not always does the word 'no' make people judge you as a person. If someone asks you, 'do you have a brother?', and if you do not have one, your answer 'no' is not going to add any other dimension to its meaning. So, relax! Irrespective of how people are going to perceive your 'no' as an answer, you should clear your mind of all inhibitions and be loyal to your own self, be it any part of the world you go to. Here's how to say 'no' in different languages.
―Roy Blauss
NO in Various Languages
| Language | No |
| Afrikaans | nee |
| Albanian | jo |
| Arabic | laa |
| Armenian | voch' |
| Azerbaijani | yox /jox |
| Basque | ez |
| Belarusian | nie |
| Bengali | Nā |
| Bosnian | ne |
| Bulgarian | ne |
| Catalan | no |
| Cebuano | dili |
| Chinese | méiyǒu |
| Croatian | ne |
| Czech | ne |
| Danish | ingen |
| Dutch | geen |
| English | no |
| Esperanto | neniu |
| Estonian | ei |
| Filipino | hindi |
| Finnish | ei |
| French | non |
| Galician | non |
| Georgian | ar |
| German | keine |
| Greek | óchi |
| Gujarati | naa |
| Haitian | pa gen okenn |
| Hausa | babu |
| Hebrew | lo |
| Hindi | nahi |
| Hmong | tsis muaj |
| Hungarian | nincs |
| Icelandic | ekki |
| Igbo | ọ dịghị |
| Indonesian | tak ada |
| Irish | níl aon |
| Italian | no |
| Japanese | Īe |
| Javanese | ora |
| Language | No |
| Kannada | illa |
| Khmer | a-dtay |
| Korean | ani |
| Lao | bomi |
| Latin | non |
| Latvian | nē |
| Lithuanian | ne |
| Macedonian | ne |
| Malagasy | tsy |
| Malay | tidak |
| Maltese | ebda |
| Maori | kahore |
| Marathi | nāhī |
| Mongolian | ugui |
| Nepali | kunai |
| Norwegian | ikke |
| Polish | nie |
| Persian | nakheyr |
| Punjabi | naheen |
| Portuguese | não |
| Russian | net |
| Romanian | nu |
| Slovak | nie |
| Serbian | ne |
| Somali | no |
| Slovenian | no |
| Swahili | hakuna |
| Spanish | no |
| Swedish | ingen |
| Tamil | enta |
| Telugu | kaadu |
| Thai | mị̀ |
| Turkish | hayır |
| Ukrainian | nemaye |
| Urdu | jee nahin |
| Uzbek | yo'q |
| Vietnamese | không |
| Welsh | dim |
| Yiddish | qyyn |
| Yoruba | ko si |
| Zulu | no |