някакъв/никакъв/всякакъв

Some Kind, No Kind and All Kinds

Level 3Sounds Like nâkakʺv/nikakʺv/vsâkakʺv

Three words built on какъв: някакъв проблем (some problem), Нямам никаква идея (I have no idea at all), всякакви хора (all kinds of people).

How It Works

1. The forms. The ъ drops out in the feminine, neuter and plural:

  • някакъв град, някаква жена, някакво момиче, някакви хора
  • никакъв, никаква, никакво, никакви
  • всякакъв, всякаква, всякакво, всякакви

2. Някакъв: some, some kind of, any. It points to something the speaker cannot or does not want to identify: Има някакъв проблем с колата. (There is some problem with the car.) Обади се някаква жена. (Some woman called.) In questions it works like English any: Имаш ли някакви въпроси? Compare някой and нещо: нещо stands alone, while някой can also describe a noun.

3. Никакъв: no ... at all. Like all ни- words, it needs a negative verb: Нямам никаква идея. Не е никакъв проблем. (It's no problem at all.) It is stronger than a plain negation: Нямам идея (I have no idea) vs Нямам никаква идея (I have no idea at all).

4. Всякакъв: all kinds of, any kind. It is most common in the plural: всякакви хора (all kinds of people). In the singular it often means any kind of or every possible: по всякакъв начин (in every possible way). Do not confuse it with всеки, which means every single one.

Examples (6)

  1. Има някакъв проблем с колата.

    There is some problem with the car.

    Masculine някакъв agrees with проблем.

  2. Нямам никаква идея.

    I have no idea at all.

    Feminine никаква with идея, and нямам supplies the negation.

  3. В града има всякакви хора.

    There are all kinds of people in the city.

  4. Обади се някаква жена.

    Some woman called.

    The speaker does not know who she was.

  5. Не е никакъв проблем.

    It's no problem at all.

  6. Имаш ли някакви въпроси?

    Do you have any questions?

    In questions, някакви works like English any.

Common Mistakes

  • Using никакъв without a negative verb.

    Имам никаква идея.
    Нямам никаква идея.

    Никакъв always needs не or a negative verb such as нямам.

  • Forgetting to make the word agree with its noun.

    Обади се някакъв жена.
    Обади се някаква жена.

    Жена is feminine, so the form is някаква.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

някакъв/никакъв/всякакъвLevel 3Some Kind, No Kind and All Kinds

Learn This First

Some kind, no kind and all kinds combine какъв with indefinites.

Words in This Pattern

някакъвникакъввсякакъв