nicht viel
/nɪçt fiːl/word by word
The German phrase for "not much" is nicht viel.
nicht viel is used to indicate that a quantity or amount is small. It can be used as a standalone answer to a question regarding quantity, such as Wie viel Zeit haben wir? (How much time do we have?).
Which one should you use?
Use nicht viel for uncountable quantities, such as time or water and use nicht viele for countable quantities, such as people or books.
How do you pronounce it?
/nɪçt fiːl/
Did you know?
- The word nicht was originally a combination of 'never' and 'creature' or 'being'. It has evolved from a specific description of a non-existent entity into a general negation.
- While nicht viel means 'not much', Germans often use the phrase nicht besonders viel to sound more polite or modest when describing their own achievements.
- In some German dialects, you might hear ned viel or net viel instead of nicht viel. The 'ch' sound is dropped entirely in casual spoken Southern German and Austrian speech.
Examples in context
- Hier ist nicht viel los.There's not much happening here.This sentence is useful for describing the level of activity in a place using nicht viel.Tatoeba #4939052 by brauchinet, translation #4937848 by CK
- Es ist nicht viel zu sehen.There's not much to see.This sentence shows how to use nicht viel to describe a lack of things to see.Tatoeba #1500779 by Manfredo, translation #4013348 by CK
- Es verging nicht viel Zeit.Not much time passed.This sentence demonstrates using nicht viel to refer to an amount of time.Tatoeba #6402208 by Hannivar, translation #11173901 by sundown
- Hey, was geht ab? Nicht viel los hier, nur ein ruhiger Abend zuhause.Hey, what's up? Not much happening here, just a quiet evening at home.
- Gestern war ein ziemlich gewöhnlicher Tag. Nicht viel passiert, nur normale Routine.Yesterday was a pretty ordinary day. Not much happened, just regular routine.
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lukas and Hannah are talking about a recent party in a cafe.
- LukasWar die Party gut?Was the party good?
- HannahEs war nicht viel los.There was not much going on.
- LukasGab es viel Musik?Was there much music?
- HannahNein, es gab nicht viel.No, there was not much.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (nicht, viel) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nicht, viel, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
