Word
not
US/ˈnɑt/
UK/nˈɒt/
Sentence adverb
Definitions
01negation
A1 · Beginner
adv. you use this to make a word or sentence negative.
adv. the primary particle used to negate the meaning of a modified verb, adjective, or adverb.
日本語:ない※
“She is not coming to the party tonight because she is tired.”
“The results were not as conclusive as the researchers had initially hoped, necessitating a second round of testing.”
Usage
usually follows an auxiliary verb or 'be'; contracted to n't in informal speech.
Pitfall
I not like coffee.
I do not like coffee.
In modern English, 'not' usually needs a helping verb like 'do', 'be', or 'have' when negating a main verb.
Synonyms
02opposite or understatement
B1 · Intermediate
adv. used to show the opposite of something, often to be polite or less direct.
adv. used to indicate the opposite or near-opposite of a quality, often functioning as a form of litotes or understatement.
日本語:ない※
“The food was not bad, but it was a bit expensive.”
“It was not the most professional response, though it certainly addressed the client's immediate concerns.”
Teaching tip
Common in phrases like 'not bad' or 'not exactly' to soften a statement.
Synonyms
03sarcasm
B2 · Upper Intermediate Slang · Informal
interj. used at the end of a sentence to show you were joking or being sarcastic.
interj. used as a post-positioned particle to signal that the preceding statement was intended ironically or sarcastically.
“I really love doing extra homework on a Friday night... not.”
“Oh sure, I'd love to spend my entire weekend filing these papers... not.”
Usage
placed at the very end of a sentence after a brief pause.
Teaching tip
This usage was very popular in the 1990s; it is still understood but can feel slightly dated to younger speakers.
Synonyms
04logical operator
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical
n. a rule in math or computers that changes 'true' to 'false'.
n. a unary operator that performs logical negation, inverting the truth value of its operand.
“The computer uses a NOT gate to flip the signal from on to off.”
“The algorithm applies a NOT operation to the boolean variable to ensure the loop terminates correctly.”
Usage
often written in all capitals (NOT) in programming and logic contexts.
Etymology
From Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), short for nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADVERB
Related words
Grammar
For Spanish speakers
Pronunciation Spanish restricts word-final /t/, so the final consonant of 'not' is dropped or dentalized to /θ/, giving /nɒθ/.
Grammar Spanish negates with pre-verbal 'no' and has no auxiliary 'do' ('no estudio'). Transferred directly, this drops do-support and produces 'I not study' or 'I not have'.
For Mandarin speakers
Grammar Mandarin places the negative particle 不 (bù) or 没有 (méiyǒu) directly before the verb regardless of aspect, which leads learners to omit the auxiliary 'do' in English. This creates errors like 'I not like' instead of 'I do not like' because there is no Mandarin equivalent to the dummy auxiliary.
Collocations In Mandarin, the phrase 'not at all' is often expressed as 一点也不 (yīdiǎn yě bù), which literally translates to 'one bit also not'. This frequently produces the non-standard English construction 'not even a bit' in contexts where 'not at all' or 'not in the least' is required.
For Japanese speakers
Pronunciation Japanese phonology lacks the /n/ onset followed by the low-back /ɑ/ vowel found in American English /nɑt/. Speakers often substitute the Japanese mora /no/ as in ノット (notto), resulting in an /o/ sound instead of the open /ɑ/.
Grammar In Japanese, the negation particle ない (nai) or suffix 〜ない (~nai) typically appears at the end of the sentence or verb phrase. This L1 word order frequently causes learners to place 'not' after the main verb (e.g., 'I like not') rather than before it in English auxiliary structures.
Collocations The Japanese phrase 全然〜ない (zenzen ~nai) is used to express 'not at all.' Learners often translate the structure literally into English as 'at all not' or 'total not,' misplacing the intensifying adverb relative to the negative particle.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/not
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0