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Russian нечего vs ничего: Nothing to Do, or Did Nothing

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

and look like one word spelt two ways, and they mean different things. is I have nothing to say; is I said nothing. The не- words take no second , and the person who has nothing to do goes in the dative.

ни- word (with не)не- word (nothing to)dativeWhat do the colours mean?
Не- wordMeaningExample
nothing to . - I have nothing to do.
некогоnobody to некого . - I have nobody to ask.
некогдаno time to некогда. - I have no time.
некудаnowhere to go некуда . - I have nowhere to go.
негдеno place to негде . - We have nowhere to live.

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Нечего or ничего? Некогда or никогда?

  1. Мне сказать. (I have nothing to say.)

  2. Я не сказал. (I said nothing.)

  3. Мне . (I have no time.)

Нечего and ничего: two different jobs

The ни- word describes what happened, and it needs before the verb (Russian negation explains that double negative). The не- word says there is nothing available to do, and takes no second :

RussianEnglishWhat it says
.I said nothing.what happened
.I have nothing to say.nothing available
.I know nobody.what is the case
некого .I have nobody to ask.nobody available

You can also hear the difference. The не- words are stressed on the не-: NYE-che-vo. The ни- words are stressed later: ni-che-VO.

The pattern: dative, не- word, infinitive

The person goes in the dative, the не- word comes next, and the verb is an infinitive:

Who has nothing to do: three slots
Who (dative)
Не- word
Infinitive
некуда
некогда
empty

I have nothing to say. He has nowhere to go. We have no time.

  • некуда . - He has nowhere to go.
  • некогда. - We have no time. (the verb can go when it is obvious)

With no person, it is general: there is nothing to do, for anyone.

  • . - There's nothing to do.

Past and future: было and будет

Add for the past and for the future. They are always in this neuter form, because the sentence has no subject to agree with:

TenseRussianEnglish
present .I have nothing to do.
past .I had nothing to do.
future некуда .He will have nowhere to go.

Некогда and никогда: one letter apart

This is the pair learners confuse most, and a single letter decides it:

  • некогда. - I have no time. (I'm busy)
  • . - He never calls.

Некогда has no after it; must have one.

With a preposition, the не- splits off

When the word needs a preposition, the preposition goes in the middle, just as it does with the ни- words:

  • . - I have nobody to talk to.
  • . - There's nothing to talk about.

Compare the ни- version, which describes what happened: . - She isn't talking to anybody.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .nothing to say:
.no second after a - word
некогда .never is
. .what is the case:

What to do next

  1. Learn and as a pair.
  2. Say некогда the next time you are busy.
  3. Do the drill below.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/4

Нечего or ничего? Некогда or никогда?

  1. Мне сказать. (I have nothing to say.)

  2. Я не сказал. (I said nothing.)

  3. Мне . (I have no time.)

  4. Он не звонит. (He never calls.)

Sort into groups

0/6

Did nothing, or nothing to do? Sort each sentence.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake.

Put the words in order

0/2

Put the words in order.

  1. I have nothing to say.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. He had nowhere to go.

    Your sentence is empty.

Translation drill

0/3

Who is in the dative? That is who has nothing to do.

  1. Мне нечего делать.

  2. Нам некогда.

  3. Мне не с кем говорить.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between and ?
means there is nothing to do something, and it takes the person in the dative and an infinitive: , I have nothing to do. means nothing about what actually happens, and it needs before the verb: , I'm not doing anything.
What is the difference between некогда and ?
Некогда is there is no time: некогда, I'm busy, I have no time. is never, and takes before the verb: , he never calls. One letter, and the stress on the first syllable of некогда, decide it.
Does need before the verb?
No. The не- words already carry the negative, so the verb after them is a plain infinitive: , never . The double negative belongs to the ни- words ( , ), not to these.
How do you say I had nothing to do in Russian?
Add for the past and for the future, always in that neuter form: , I had nothing to do; некуда , he will have nowhere to go. The person stays in the dative.
Where does the stress fall in ?
On the не-: NYE-che-vo, NYE-ka-gda. The ни- words are stressed later: ni-che-VO, ni-KO-gda. Hearing the stress is often the quickest way to tell the two apart.