Difference between revisions of "Say No in Various Languages"

[[Category: Multiple Language Guides]]

#Say ''nee'' in Afrikaans to say no. No in Afrikaans is pronounced differently than it is spelled and should sound like ''nee-yu''. <ref name="rf1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXfEiSYpmzM</ref> To say yes  you say ''ja.'' It is a long and low sound with an h sound like ''ya-hu''. <ref name="rf2">https://translate.google.com/</ref> Afrikaans is one of the languages of South Africa. It is a descendant of Dutch, a West Germanic language, brought to the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope in Africa by European settlers in the 17th century.<ref name="rf3">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Afrikaans-language</ref> Afrikaans evolved from a mixture of Dutch and other languages including Bantu, Khoisan languages, and English. <ref name="rf4">http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Afrikaans.aspx</ref> There are approximately 10 million people total who speak Afrikaans as a native language. It is spoken mostly in South Africa, but it is also spoken some in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland.<ref name="rf5">http://www.ethnologue.com/language/afr</ref>

#Say ''não'' in Portuguese to say no. The pronunciation of ''não'' is ''nõw,'' and you say it as you would in English but the ''ow'' is more nasalized. In Portuguese yes is ''sim,'' and it is pronounced as ''see'' or as if you are saying the first half of the word ''sing'' in English. Portuguese is a Romance language with Latin roots spoken by around 220 million people in the world mainly in Portugal and Brazil but also in other countries like Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Angola Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe.<ref name="rf6">http://www.omniglot.com/writing/portuguese.htm</ref> Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world. <ref name="rf7">http://www.vistawide.com/languages/top_30_languages.htm</ref>

#*A Portuguese quote containing the word no is, ''Não há remédio para o amor, exceto amar ainda mais,'' meaning that there is no remedy for love but to love more.<ref name="rf8">http://multilingualbooks.com/wp/soundandvision/portuguese-quotes-english-translation-proverbs/</ref>

#Say ''niet'' to say no in Russian. No is pronounced ''nyet.'' <ref name="rf9">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNlGyGeSjt4</ref> ''Niet'' is written ''Нет'' in Russian and is the most common Russian word. The Russian word for yes is ''da''. It is pronounced ''duh.'' Yes written in Russian is ''Да''. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world with 145 million native speakers and 110 second language speakers. It is an official language in the following countries: Abkhazia, which is a part of Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Transnistria, which is a part of Moldova.<ref name="rf7" />

#Say ''nein'' to say no in German. The emphasis is on the "ei" sound when you pronounce the word ''nein''. ''Ja'' is how you say yes in German. German is the tenth most spoken language in the world with 101 million native speakers and 128 million second language speakers. It is an official language of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy (South Tyrol), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Switzerland.<ref name="rf7" />

#*You can say “no way” in German by saying, ''Auf keinen Fall''. <ref name="rf10">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNxk0Bzjzs</ref>

#*''Kein'' is another word for no and can mean not any, no one, nobody, none, and not.<ref name="rf11">http://german.about.com/od/grammar/a/German-Negation.htm</ref> ''Niemals'' means never in German. <ref name="rf10" />

#Say ''nahi'' to say no in Hindi. In Hindi, no is written नहीं. No is pronounced ''nahin'' and the pronunciation is soft. The emphasis is on the ''na'' at the beginning of the word, and the ''n'' is nasal. Yes in Hindi is pronounced ''haa'' and is spelled हाँ. Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world. 370 million people speak Hindi as their native language and 120 million speak it as a second language. It is an official language in Fiji and India. <ref name="rf7" />

#*To say no more politely, add ''ji'' to the beginning or end of ''nahi''. This is the same for yes, ''haa''.<ref name="rf12">http://www.unilang.org/course.php?res=69&id=hindi&pagenum=2</ref>

#*Although Hindi is the official language of India, there are 22 major languages and 720 dialects spoken in India. <ref name="rf13">https://www.justlanded.com/english/India/India-Guide/Language/Languages-in-India</ref>

#*A quote that says no in Hindi is, ''जल में रहकर मगर से बैर ठीक नहीं'' which translates to ''you should not have enmity with the crocodile if you are living in the water'' and means that you should strive to have good relationships with the people you have to live or work with.<ref name="rf14">https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hindi_proverbs</ref>  

#*There are 3 stylistic varieties of Hindi: one used in high courts, journalism, literature, philosophy and religion; another Persianized version that is used in lower courts, films and some genres of literature; and a third Anglicized version for business administration, colleges, and science and technical journals. <ref name="rf15">http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hindi.aspx</ref>   

#*In Modern Armenian there are two written versions, Western Armenian, Arewmtahayerên, and Eastern Armenian, Arewelahayerên. There are also many dialects of Armenian although the number has been drastically reduced since 1915 when the massacres in Turkey began an exodus.<ref name="rf16">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Armenian-language</ref>  

#*A quote that includes no in Armenian is, ''Ոչ իմ հալը, ոչ քո հարսանիք գալը,'' or ''Voch im hal, voch qo harsaniq gal.'' The literal translation means, neither my situation, nor you coming to a wedding. And it means something like, I am not in the mood for what you're doing right now.<ref name="rf17">https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Armenian_proverbs</ref>

#Say ''lo'' to say no in Hebrew. Lo is pronounced ''loh.'' The ''oh'' has a low tone, and the emphasis in the pronunciation is on the "L" sound. In Hebrew, yes is written  '' כן'', and it is pronounced ''ken''. In ancient times, Hebrew was spoken in Palestine and was starting to be replaced by the Western Aramaic dialect by the 3rd century. In the 9th century, the spoken language of Hebrew declined except in liturgical practices and literature. It wasn't until the 19th and 20th century that the language was revived and made the official language of Israel when it became a nation in 1948. There approximately 5 million native speakers of Hebrew.<ref name="rf18">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Hebrew-language</ref>

#*Hebrew has 22 letters and is written from right to left in a Semitic script. <ref name="rf18" />

#*In Hebrew, “I have no idea” is transliterated as, ''ein li mu-sag'' and is written, ''אין לי מושג.''<ref name="rf19">http://www.teachmehebrew.com/100-basic-hebrew-phrases.html</ref>

#*A Hebrew saying with ''lo'' is, ''מרוב עצים לא רואים את היער,'' and it is transliterated as ''merov etzim lo ro’im eth ha’ya’ar.'' Directly translated it means that the trees can’t see the forest,and is the same as the English saying that means you should be careful to keep the big picture in mind when struggling through day-to-day life.<ref name="rf20">http://multilingualbooks.com/wp/soundandvision/2014/03/10/hebrew-proverbs/</ref>

#Say ''la'' in Arabic to say no. You pronounce  ''la '' with a glottal stop at the end of the word ''laa''’. An example of a glottal stop is between the words “uh” and “oh” in “uh-oh.”<ref name="rf21">http://wikitravel.org/en/Lebanese_Arabic_phrasebook</ref> To say “no thank you” in the Lebanese dialect of Arabic you would say ''la` cukran''. It is written in Arabic, '' لا شكرا.'' To say yes in Arabic is  ''na’am’'' or '' نعم'' and is pronounced ''naäam''. The middle “a” has a sound like a soft ''aargh''.<ref name="rf22">http://www.transparent.com/learn-arabic/phrases.html</ref> Arabic is the language of the ''Qurʾān'' and the religious language of all muslim people, and it is the most developed of the Semitic languages.<ref name="rf23">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Arabic-languagef</ref>

#*Arabic is spoken in Northern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and parts of the Middle East.<ref name="rf23" />There are many countries with Arabic as an official language including Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, and Yemen.  

#*Arabic is the fifth most spoken language in the world with 206 million native speakers and 24 million second language speakers.<ref name="rf7" />

#*A quote in Egyptian Arabic with ''la'' is transliterated as ''la yuldaġ il-mo'men min goHr marratein.'' Written in Arabic it is, ''لا يلدغ المؤمن من جحر مرتين'', and it literally means the believer is not bitten from the same hole twice. Which is the equivalent to the saying in English, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.''<ref name="rf24">http://arabic.desert-sky.net/coll_proverbs.html</ref>

#Say ''le'' in Maltese to say no. ''Le'' is pronounced as it looks. <ref name="rf25">http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/maltese.php</ref> ''Iva'' is yes in Maltese and it is pronounced ''Eve-a''. The Maltese language is close to being a dialect of Arabic, being most closely related to Algerian or Tunisian dialects of Arabic, and it is a Semitic language spoken on the island of Malta. Unlike dialects of Arabic, however, Maltese is heavily influenced by Italian and Sicilian. Also unlike Arabic, Maltese is written in a Latin script. There are two dominant variations of Maltese split by class between the educated upper and middle classes living near cities like the capital, Valletta, and the industrial and agricultural classes that speak a dialect closer to the Arabic roots of Maltese. There are roughly half a million people who speak Maltese in the world. <ref name="rf26">http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=160</ref>

#*A quote from Maltese is, ''Hadd ma jiehu xejn mieghu,'' and it means something like no one takes anything with him after he dies.<ref name="rf27">http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/Maltese.html</ref>

#Say ''hapana'' in Swahili to say no. The emphasis is on the "AP" when you pronounce the word ''hapana''. To say ''yes'' in Swahili, you would say ''ndiyo''. Swahili is a Bantu language that is the native language of around 10 million people. Most importantly, Swahili is the ''lingua franca'' of Eastern Africa and is used to as a bridge language for Africans of different dialects and languages that is used to communicate all the way from Kenya to Tanzania, including the African Great Lakes region.<ref name="rf28">https://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Swahili/</ref><ref name="rf29">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Swahili-language</ref><ref name="rf30">http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Episodes/Epi2/2_cult1a.htm</ref>

#*Swahili is a hybrid between the Arabic and Bantu languages. In its beginning, Swahili developed through the contact of Arabic traders with the Bantu speaking tribes. Much of its vocabulary is borrowed from Arabic while the grammar is from the Bantu language. The original scripts that are found of Swahili were written in Arabic but Swahili now uses the Roman alphabet.<ref name="rf29" />

#*To say, "No thank you" in Swahili you would say, ''Hapana asante''. <ref name="rf31">http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/swahili/nothanks_swahili.mp3</ref>

#Say ''Bù'' to say no in Mandarin Chinese. No is written 不 and pronounced ''bu4''. <ref name="rf32">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kj8NYDi-to</ref> "Not" in mandarin is very similar and is written 不是 and pronounced ''bu2shi4''. The 4 in the pronunciation means that it is a high tone falling and should be said like a curt command in English. In Mandarin, there are five tones which determine the meaning of words. The tone determines the meaning of the word as much as the difference between the words horse and mother. For example, depending on the tone given to the word "ma" in Mandarin, it could mean mother, hemp, horse, scold or could be a question participle.  <ref name="rf33">https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese_(Mandarin)/Everyday_Phrases#Yes_and_No</ref><ref name="rf34">https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chinese_(Mandarin)/Using_Tones</ref>

#*There are four types of Mandarin spoken in China with the most prominent form being the form in the capital, Beijing. The form in Beijing is considered Modern Standard Chinese or Guoyu.<ref name="rf35">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Mandarin-language</ref>

#*A quote with bù in Mandarin is 不作死就不会死 or ''bù zuō sǐ jiù bú huì sǐ.'' Literally translated it means "no zuo no die" which means that if you don’t do foolish things, you won’t be in danger of the repercussions of your folly. <ref name="rf36">http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/learning-chinese/chinese-sayings.htm</ref>

#Say ''ma ho bu'' in Burmese, or Myanmar, to say no. When using a negation in Burmese, you use the structures, ''ma + ___ + bu'' or ''ma + ___ + neh.'' The first indicates that the verb did not accomplish what it does, for example, ''nei ma kaing bu'' means you did not touch it. ''Nei ma kaing neh'' structure means that the verb must not be successful, and the translation is “you do not touch it.” To say yes in Burmese, you say ''ho de''.<ref name="rf37">http://wikitravel.org/en/Burmese_phrasebook</ref> Burmese is spoken in Myanmar, which was formally known as Burma, and it is located in the western part of mainland Southeast Asia.<ref name="rf38">http://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar</ref>

#*The rounded script of written Burmese comes from the use of palm leaves as the original writing materials. Early Burmese script can be found from as early as the 11th century, and this script was a derivative of the Pāli alphabet of India and Taiwan.<ref name="rf39">http://www.omniglot.com/writing/burmese.htm</ref>

#Say ''không'' to say no in Vietnamese. No is pronounced ''khong''. To say “No, thank you” in Vietnamese you would say, ''Da Không Cảm ơn'' which is pronounced "Ya'a kohng gam uhhn." <ref name="rf40">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=funAgxkPXRg</ref> The respectful way to say yes in Vietnamese is to say, ''da'' pronounced ''ya'a''. Another way to give an affirmative is ''vâng'' pronounced ''vuhng''.<ref name="rf41">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Vietnamese-language</ref>

#*A quote with ''Không'' is, ''Điếc không sợ súng'' and it means that he who knows nothing doubts nothing. <ref name="rf42">https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vietnamese_proverbs</ref>