ekki

Not (Ekki)

Level 1

ekki means not. It comes right after the verb that changes for the person: Ég skil ekki (I don't understand), Hún er ekki heima (She isn't home).

How It Works

After the finite verb

  • Ég skil ekki. (I don't understand.)
  • Hún er ekki heima. (She isn't home.)
  • Við tölum ekki ensku. (We don't speak English.)

With two verbs
ekki follows the first verb, and the second verb comes after it: Ég vil ekki fara. (I don't want to go.) Ég ætla ekki að koma. (I'm not going to come.)

When the subject comes after the verb
In questions, and when another word comes first, ekki comes after the subject: Ertu ekki svangur? (Aren't you hungry?) Í dag vinn ég ekki. (Today I'm not working.) See The Verb Comes Second.

Short pronoun objects go first
An unstressed pronoun object such as það, hann, hana, mig, þig comes before ekki: Ég skil það ekki. Ég þekki hana ekki. This happens only when there is one verb. With two verbs, the pronoun stays after the second one: Ég vil ekki sjá hana. (I don't want to see her.) A longer noun object usually comes after ekki: Ég skil ekki spurninguna. (I don't understand the question.) There is more on this in Pronoun Before Ekki.

In clauses after að, af því að and other joining words
The verb still comes before ekki: af því að ég skil ekki. This is different from Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. See The Verb Before Ekki in Subordinate Clauses.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég skil ekki.

    I don't understand.

    Word by Word: I understand not.

  2. Hún er ekki heima.

    She isn't home.

    Word by Word: She is not at-home.

  3. Ég vil ekki fara heim.

    I don't want to go home.

    Word by Word: I want not go home.

    ekki comes after vil, the first verb.

  4. Ertu ekki svangur?

    Aren't you hungry?

    Word by Word: Are-you not hungry?

    In a question, ekki comes after the subject.

  5. Ég skil það ekki.

    I don't understand it.

    Word by Word: I understand it not.

    The short pronoun það comes before ekki.

  6. Ég þekki hana ekki.

    I don't know her.

    Word by Word: I know her not.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting ekki before the verb, as in English.

    Ég ekki skil.
    Ég skil ekki.

    In a main sentence ekki never comes between the subject and the finite verb. Put it after the verb: Ég skil ekki. There is no word like don't.

  • Putting a short pronoun after ekki.

    Ég skil ekki það.
    Ég skil það ekki.

    With one verb, unstressed pronouns such as það, hana and hann move in front of ekki, and only a stressed pronoun stays after it. With two verbs the pronoun stays at the end: Ég vil ekki gera það.

  • Putting ekki before the verb after af því að or að.

    Ég er heima af því að ég ekki er frískur.
    Ég er heima af því að ég er ekki frískur.

    In Icelandic the verb comes before ekki in these clauses too.

How It Connects

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

ekkiLevel 1Not (Ekki)

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ekki builds on verb-second word order.

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Words in This Pattern

ekkiég skil ekki