What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of nanimo (nothing) and okinakatta (the past negative form of the verb okiru, meaning to occur or happen).
Which one should you use?
You might use 何も起こりませんでした in formal settings. To emphasize that there was absolutely nothing in particular that occurred, you can use the formal expression 特に何もありませんでした. For more casual contexts, you can say 何もなかったよ to mean nothing happened, 何もなかったみたい to imply the situation looked as if nothing happened or 何もなかったことにしよう to suggest that both parties should act as if the situation never occurred.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase polite, replace the plain past negative okinakatta with the polite past negative okimasen deshita, resulting in 何も起きませんでした.
How do you pronounce it?
nanimo okinakatta
Did you know?
- The verb okiru used in 何も起きなかった is the same word used for 'to wake up'. In Japanese, the concept of an event 'happening' and a person 'waking up' both share the same root meaning of 'rising'.
- When using 何もなかった to describe a lack of progress or a 'nothingburger' situation, Japanese speakers might use the word 空振り (karaburi), which literally refers to a baseball player swinging and missing the ball.
- While 何も起きなかった describes events, if you want to say 'nothing happened' in terms of a person not being harmed or nothing being broken, Japanese speakers often use 大丈夫だった meaning 'it was okay'.
Examples in context
- 何も起きなかった。Nothing happened.This sentence is useful for stating a simple fact that nothing happened.Tatoeba #2224166 by tommy_san, translation #24616 by CK
- メアリーがね、おばあちゃんの本に載ってた魔法の呪文を使って、トムをリスにしちゃおうとしたんだけど、何も起きなかったのよ。Mary tried turning Tom into a squirrel using a magic formula she found in one of her grandma's books, but nothing happened.This sentence is useful for describing a situation where a magical attempt resulted in nothing happening.Tatoeba #10187681 by small_snow, translation #10042715 by DJ_Saidez
- いいえ、何もなかったですよ。No, nothing happened.
Example conversation
Two siblings are talking about a mysterious noise they heard outside.
- 陽葵 Himariさっき、変な音がしたけど、何があったの？Sakki, hen na oto ga shita kedo, nani ga atta no?There was a strange noise earlier, what happened?
- 陽太 Yota特に何も起きなかったよ。Tokuni nani mo okinakatta yo.Nothing happened in particular.
- 陽葵 Himari本当に？心配だったんだよ。Hontou ni? Shinpai datta n da yo.Really? I was worried.
- 陽太 Yota大丈夫、何も起きなかったから。Daijoubu, nani mo okinakatta kara.It's okay, because nothing happened.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
