एको ... नहि

Not a Single One

Level 3Sounds Like ēkō ... nahi

एको with नहि means "not even one".

How It Works

The pattern is एको + noun + नहि + verb.

PhraseMeaning
एको पाइ नहिnot a single paisa
एको गोटे नहिnot one person
एको शब्द नहिnot a single word
एको बेर नहिnot even once

The noun can drop its counter when it is clear: एको बादल नहि अछि (There isn't one cloud).

Use it for strong feeling. Without एको, हमरा लग पाइ नहि अछि only means "I have no money". With एको, it means none at all.

Compare the other negative words: किछु नहि (nothing), कियो नहि (nobody), कहियो नहि (never). एको नहि counts things one at a time.

It is different from एकेटा, which means "only one".

Examples (5)

  1. हमरा लग एको पाइ नहि अछि।

    I don't have a single paisa.

    एको पाइ नहि: none at all.

  2. एको गोटे नहि अएलाह।

    Not one person came.

    एको गोटे counts people.

  3. ओ एको शब्द नहि बाजल।

    He didn't say a single word.

    एको शब्द नहि.

  4. आइ एको बादल नहि अछि।

    There is not one cloud today.

    एको with a thing.

  5. हम एको बेर नहि गेलहुँ।

    I didn't go even once.

    एको बेर: even once.

How It Connects

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

एको ... नहिLevel 3Not a Single One

Learn This First

एको comes from एक and always needs नहि with it.

Words in This Pattern

एकोनहिएकेटाकिछुकियोकहियो