In short

Greek has two negative words and they do different jobs. To say that a whole sentence is not the case, put δεν directly in front of the verb: δεν είμαι, δεν έχω, δεν μιλάω, δεν καταλαβαίνω. To answer “no”, or to cross out one single word rather than the whole sentence, use όχι: Όχι, δεν είμαι εδώ. Όχι εγώ. Όχι σήμερα.

The good news for an English speaker is that Greek negation needs no helper verb. English has to import do the moment it negates (I speak → I do not speak); Greek simply slides δεν in front of the verb it already has. There is no Greek counterpart of do at all, so a form such as δεν κάνω μιλάω is not a mistake in style — it is not a sentence.

A third negative word, μη(ν), exists but does not belong to this lesson: it is the negation used in να-clauses and in commands (να μην πας, μην ανησυχείς). Ordinary statements in the present take δεν and only δεν.

The rule

1. δεν negates the sentence, and stands immediately before the verb.

The order is fixed: δεν + verb. No subject, no adverb, no object noun and no auxiliary may be squeezed between them. Whatever else the sentence contains goes either before δεν or after the verb.

• Εγώ δεν καταλαβαίνω. / Δεν καταλαβαίνω εγώ.
• Σήμερα δεν δουλεύω. / Δεν δουλεύω σήμερα.

2. δεν never answers a question by itself.

δεν is glued to a verb; it cannot stand on its own the way English not can in “Not me” or “Certainly not”. The stand-alone negative word is όχι. The pair to learn is ναι / όχι.

3. όχι negates one constituent, not the sentence.

Put όχι directly in front of the word or phrase you are crossing out — a pronoun, a time word, a place word, a whole noun phrase. The verb is left untouched:

• Όχι εγώ. — Not me.
• Όχι σήμερα. — Not today.
• Όχι εδώ, εκεί. — Not here, over there.

4. The two combine in the natural answer.

Greek questions are usually marked by intonation alone, with no word order change: Είσαι Έλληνας; The full answer stacks the two negatives in their own roles — όχι answers the question, δεν negates the verb: Όχι, δεν είμαι.

5. δε or δεν?

You will meet both spellings, δεν and δε. This is the same word: the final -ν is kept or dropped according to the sound that follows, by the general final -ν rule of Greek, which the next lesson sets out. Until then, write δεν everywhere — it is always acceptable and never wrong.

Forms & patterns

The present tense of the four verbs of this lesson — the two basic verbs of lesson 4 (είμαι, έχω), one first-conjugation (καταλαβαίνω), one second-conjugation (μιλάω).

The negative is the same table with δεν in front. Nothing else changes: no ending moves, no accent moves, no helper verb appears.

Short answers to an intonation question:

And the two negators side by side:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Όχι μιλάω ελληνικά. -> Δεν μιλάω ελληνικά. — όχι never negates a verb; a verb is negated only by δεν.
• Είσαι Έλληνας; — Δεν. -> Είσαι Έλληνας; — Όχι. (or Όχι, δεν είμαι.) — δεν cannot stand alone; the answer word is όχι.
• Δεν κάνω μιλάω ελληνικά. -> Δεν μιλάω ελληνικά. — Greek has no auxiliary do; δεν attaches straight to the verb you already have.
• Καταλαβαίνω δεν. / Είμαι δεν εδώ. -> Δεν καταλαβαίνω. / Δεν είμαι εδώ. — the negator goes before the verb, never after it.
• Δεν εγώ καταλαβαίνω. -> Εγώ δεν καταλαβαίνω. — nothing separates δεν from its verb; the subject goes in front of δεν or after the verb.
• Δεν σήμερα, αύριο. -> Όχι σήμερα, αύριο. — when you cross out a single word and there is no verb to negate, use όχι.
• Ναι, δεν είμαι. -> Όχι, δεν είμαι. — a negative sentence is introduced by όχι; ναι and δεν do not pair up.

Tips

• Think of δεν as a prefix on the verb rather than a separate word: δενείμαι, δενέχω (a mental image only — in writing they stay two words: δεν είμαι, δεν έχω). That mental glue stops you from parking anything in the gap.
• English forces you to add do before not; Greek forces you to add nothing at all. If your Greek sentence has grown an extra verb, delete it.
• όχι is what you say with your head, δεν is what you say with your verb. A full answer usually needs both: Όχι, δεν έχω.
• όχι can also stand in front of a noun phrase, an adverb or a pronoun, and this is how Greek does contrast: καφέ, όχι τσάι.
• Write δεν until you have done the final -ν rule; δε is the same word with the -ν dropped before certain sounds, and you lose nothing by not using it yet.
• Later you will see two things that do slip between δεν and the verb: the future particle θα, as in δεν θα έρθω, and the weak (unstressed) pronouns, as in δεν το ξέρω (both together: δεν θα το ξέρω). Everything else stays outside.
• When you meet να-clauses and commands, the negator switches to μη(ν) — να μην αργήσεις, μην ξεχάσεις. Keep δεν for plain statements.