niemand
/ˈniːmant/
The German word for 'nobody' is niemand.
niemand is a pronoun used to refer to no person.
Which one should you use?
While niemand is the standard pronoun meaning 'no person', the capitalized noun ein Niemand refers to a person of no importance or social standing.
How does it change in a sentence?
niemand is declined like a masculine noun in the nominative, accusative and genitive cases. In the accusative case, it often takes the ending -en to become niemanden and the genitive form is niemands.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈniːmant/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes use keiner and niemand interchangeably. However, while keiner (none/no one) is common in spoken German, niemand is the standard pronoun for 'nobody'.
Did you know?
- German distinguishes between niemand as a general 'no person' and keiner when referring back to a specific group of people.
- The word niemand is a cognate of the Dutch word niemand and the Afrikaans word niemand.
- The phrase niemand is used in German literature to emphasize absolute isolation or the void of human presence.
Examples in context
- Es war niemand da.There was nobody there.This sentence is useful for showing the use of niemand to indicate absence.Tatoeba #724822 by Manfredo, translation #50961 by adjusting
- Es kam niemand her.Nobody came here.This sentence shows how niemand functions as the subject of the sentence.Tatoeba #9378941 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #5758127 by CM
- Er ist ein Niemand.He's a nobody.This sentence demonstrates the use of the capitalized noun Niemand to mean a person of no importance.Tatoeba #13921367 by Waldelfe, translation #6090580 by mailohilohi
- Keiner hat das Recht, Gesetze zu brechen.Nobody has the right to break the laws.
- Keiner der Anwesenden konnte die Frage beantworten.None of the present individuals could answer the question.
- Ist niemand bereit, mitzumachen?Is nobody willing to participate?
- Kein Mensch hat gedacht, dass das passieren würde.Nobody thought that would happen.
- Kein Mensch möchte langweilige Bücher lesen.Nobody wants to read boring books.
- Gar keiner von uns hat das gewusst.Not one person among us knew that.
- 1070 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maximilian and Sarah are looking for someone in a quiet office.
- MaximilianIst hier jemand?Is anyone here?
- SarahNein, es ist niemand da.No, nobody is here.
- MaximilianHat niemand angerufen?Did nobody call?
- SarahNein, niemand hat angerufen.No, nobody called.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry niemand, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries niemand, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
