Ich mag nicht / ich mag keine

closed-account

New Member
al
Should I say "Ich mag nicht motor" or "Ich mag kein motor"?
I still don't understand the difference between "nicht" and "kein".

For example; why do we say "Ich spreche kein Deutsch" and in some other cases we use "nicht" for negative?

Is "kein" used only for names?
 
  • Frank78

    Senior Member
    German
    Should I say "Ich mag nicht motor" or "Ich mag kein motor"?

    I'm not sure what you want to say. "Motor" means engine or motor. :confused:

    I still don't understand the difference between "nicht" and "kein".

    For example; why do we say "Ich spreche kein Deutsch" and in some other cases we use "nicht" for negative?

    Is "kein" used only for names?

    That's a rather broad topic, Have a look here:

    Negation (nicht/nein/kein) | German Grammar - EasyDeutsch
    Just Say No! The Ultimate Guide to German Negation | FluentU German
     

    Şafak

    Senior Member
    Russian
    "Motor" means motor
    I believe the meaning hasn't been clarified yet. "Motor" makes no sense at all in all the aforementioned examples because... literally no one will ever say this. As for the difference between "kein" and "nicht", you've got plenty of sources to draw new information from (thanks to the replies in the thread) but the engine part makes me scratch my head.

    Are you sure you mean engines? In what context do you want to use the sentence?
     

    closed-account

    New Member
    al
    I believe the meaning hasn't been clarified yet. "Motor" makes no sense at all in all the aforementioned examples because... literally no one will ever say this. As for the difference between "kein" and "nicht", you've got plenty of sources to draw new information from (thanks to the replies in the thread) but the engine part makes me scratch my head.

    Are you sure you mean engines? In what context do you want to use the sentence?
    Yes, you are right, maybe the meaning hasn't been clarified yet. Maybe I wasn't correct with the English word "motor", with which I meant this in the picture.
    Untitled.jpg
    Untitled.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    Kajjo

    Senior Member
    That's a "motorcycle" or "motorbike" in English and a "Motorrad" in German.
    Yes, and not even colloquial the abbreviation to "Motor" is possible. That is plain wrong and totally non-idiomatic.

    However, "Maschine" is a possible colloquial abbreviation, if the context is clear enough.
     

    closed-account

    New Member
    al
    In the website from which I'm learning German online, the part that explains German masculine gender gives examples: foreign nouns ending in "-or" like "direktor" and "motor".
    If I translate it from German to Albanian in google, the meaning of the German foreign word "Motor" results "motor" in Albanian. So I thought the meaning of the German word "Motor" was the same like in Albanian. Thanks of everybody's replies now I know is "Motorrad"
     
    Last edited:

    Frank78

    Senior Member
    German
    If I translate it from German to Albanian in google, the meaning of the German foreign word "Motor" results "motor" in Albanian. So I thought the meaning of the German word "Motor" was the same like in Albanian. Thanks of everybody's replies now I know is "Motorrad"

    You better use a proper dictionary. Google even struggles with major languages, let alone something "exotic" like Albanian:

    http://www.fjalor.de/?richtung=&suchtext=motor&szignorieren=1
     
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