নকৰোঁ / নাখাওঁ / নিদিওঁ
Not Doing: The Prefix ন-
মই নকৰোঁ “I do not do”, মই নাখাওঁ “I do not eat” and তুমি নোখোৱা “you do not eat”.
How It Works
The prefix ন- joins the verb and takes its first vowel. The table shows what happens.
| Verb form | Negative | Vowel after ন |
|---|---|---|
| কৰোঁ “I do” | নকৰোঁ | ô (no sign) |
| খাওঁ “I eat” | নাখাওঁ | া |
| দিওঁ “I give” | নিদিওঁ | ি |
| খোৱা “you eat” | নোখোৱা | ো |
| খায় “he eats” | নাখায় | া |
Other examples: নুবুজোঁ “I do not understand” and নেদেখোঁ “I do not see”. The prefix works the same way for every person. Verbs with an apostrophe, such as হ’ল and ক’লে, keep a plain ন: নহ’ল, নক’লে. So do the short forms গৈ, কৈ and লৈ: নগৈ, নকৈ, নলৈ.
You may also see নে- before a verb with া, as in নেখাওঁ. It is a variant of না-.
Examples (5)
- মই কাম নকৰোঁ।
I do not work.
ন- before কৰোঁ takes no extra vowel sign.
- মই নাখাওঁ।
I do not eat.
ন- before খাওঁ takes া.
- মই টকা নিদিওঁ।
I do not give money.
ন- before দিওঁ takes ি.
- তুমি নোখোৱা।
You do not eat. (to a friend)
The form খোৱা makes the prefix take ো.
- সি নাখায়।
He does not eat.
ন- before খায় takes া.
Common Mistakes
Putting না after the verb, as in Bengali.
মই খাওঁ না।মই নাখাওঁ।Assamese puts the negative in front of the verb as a prefix.
Skipping the vowel the prefix copies.
মই নখাওঁ।মই নাখাওঁ।The prefix before খাওঁ takes া, so the form is নাখাওঁ.
How It Connects
Learn This First
ন- goes in front of a present verb to make it negative, so learners need the present endings first.
Related Patterns
- নাইThere Is Not
নাই says “there is not” and “does not have”.
Level 1 - নহয়Saying What Something Is Not
নহয় says that something is not a certain thing.
Level 1 - খাওঁ / খোৱা / খায়Eat: খাওঁ, খোৱা, খায়
That row gives the forms behind নাখাওঁ and নোখোৱা.
Level 1 - নকৰিব / নকৰিবাNot Doing Later and Telling Someone Not to
The same prefix also forms the negative of the future.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice নকৰোঁ / নাখাওঁ / নিদিওঁ in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Assamese lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
