οὐ
**οὐ** commonly negates a declarative assertion: it presents the proposition as not holding. Calling this 'factual' negation describes how the speaker presents the denial; it does not certify its truth. **οὐ** is common with the indicative, but the indicative is not its exclusive domain, nor does every indicative take οὐ. Questions and participial constructions provide further uses.
In Matthew 5:17, **οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι** denies coming to abolish and supplies the contrasting purpose. Read the whole construction rather than assigning the negative only to the immediately following word.
**Matthew 5:17, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι** ('I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill'). Earlier in the verse, **Μὴ νομίσητε** is a prohibition; the two negatives have different scopes.
οὐκ
In ordinary connected spelling, **οὐκ** is the form used before a vowel or diphthong with **smooth breathing**; **οὐχ** occurs before rough breathing, and **οὐ** ordinarily stands before a consonant. In Luke 24:6, **οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε** means 'he is not here'. Look at the immediately following word for this spelling alternation, even when the negative has scope over a larger expression.
These are forms of the same particle, not different degrees of negation. The κ is not an elided consonant. Independent, accented **οὔ** can serve as a reply: John 21:5 ends with **οὔ** ('no').
**Luke 24:6, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε**. **John 21:5, reply** — **ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ· οὔ.** ('They answered him, No.').
οὐχ
**οὐχ** normally occurs before a vowel or diphthong with **rough breathing**, as **οὐχ ἁρπάσει** in John 10:28. It is the same negative particle as οὐ/οὐκ. Do not confuse this spelling variant with the longer form **οὐχί**, which can be used in emphatic denial or questions.
The rough-breathing mark reflects the history of Greek spelling. In this project's **Modern Greek pronunciation**, it is **not pronounced as an h-sound**. The inherited spelling rule is not an instruction to add h when reading the NT aloud.
**John 10:28, excerpt** — **καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου** ('and no one will snatch them from my hand'). **ἁρπάσει** begins with rough breathing.
μή
**μή** commonly occurs in prohibitions, wishes, and many infinitival, participial, and other dependent constructions. Identify its function before translating: it can negate an action, contribute to a biased question, or introduce an apprehensive construction rather than simply mean 'not'.
**Μὴ νομίσητε** (Matthew 5:17) uses the aorist subjunctive in a prohibition. **μὴ φοβοῦ** (Luke 1:13) uses a present imperative. Aspect alone does not tell us whether an action has already begun: 'stop doing' and 'do not start' need contextual support. In John 21:5, μή occurs with the indicative **ἔχετε** in a question. Thus μή cannot be defined as an exclusively non-indicative or 'non-factual' negative.
**Matthew 5:17, excerpt** — **Μὴ νομίσητε** ('Do not think'): 2nd plural aorist active subjunctive.
**Luke 1:13, excerpt** — **μὴ φοβοῦ, Ζαχαρία** ('Do not fear, Zechariah'): 2nd singular present middle/passive imperative, used with the sense 'fear'.
**Matthew 6:25, excerpt** — **μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν** ('do not be anxious about your life'): present active imperative in this context.
Construction, Mood, and Negative Choice
A useful starting point is **οὐ** in declarative denial and **μή** in prohibitions and many dependent constructions. This is a guide to common distributions, not a rule assigning each mood its own negative.
**John 3:18** places **μὴ πεπίστευκεν** in a clause introduced by **ὅτι**: πεπίστευκεν is perfect active **indicative**, not subjunctive. Earlier in that verse **ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων** contains a participle. **Luke 6:42** has **οὐ βλέπων**, also a participle. These actual forms show why 'οὐ = indicative; μή = everything else' fails. Nor does μή imply that the described failure is unreal.
Apprehensive constructions need separate interpretation. In **Acts 27:29**, **φοβούμενοί τε μήπως** introduces fear that the ship might run onto rough ground; μήπως here does not deny that feared event. First identify the construction, then decide what is negated or questioned.
**John 3:18, excerpt** — **ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ** ('because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God'). **μή** occurs with a perfect indicative in this causal explanation.
Negation of Infinitives
**μή** commonly negates infinitives in NT Greek. **Luke 18:1**, **καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν** ('and not to lose heart'), provides an actual example within the instruction about praying. **ἐκκακεῖν** is present active infinitive in the checked teaching text.
**Matthew 5:17 does not contain μὴ καταλῦσαι.** It has **Μὴ νομίσητε** and later **οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι**. The first negative belongs to the prohibition 'do not think'; the second denies coming to abolish. An English translation containing 'not ... to' does not establish a Greek μή + infinitive construction.
Analyze both the governing expression and the infinitive's own scope. **Acts 4:20** combines **οὐ δυνάμεθα** ('we cannot') with **μὴ λαλεῖν** ('not to speak'): the result is 'we cannot refrain from speaking', not a reinforced denial of speaking.
**Luke 18:1, excerpt** — **πρὸς τὸ δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ μὴ ἐκκακεῖν** ('concerning their need always to pray and not lose heart').
**Acts 4:20** — **οὐ δυνάμεθα γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἃ εἴδομεν καὶ ἠκούσαμεν μὴ λαλεῖν.** ('For we cannot refrain from speaking what we saw and heard.').
Negation of Participles
Participles are commonly negated by **μή**, but **οὐ** also occurs. The participial construction, its scope, and its context matter; neither an exceptionless μή rule nor a factual/unreal division describes all NT uses.
In **John 3:18**, **ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων** means 'but the one who does not believe'; μή does not make the unbelief imaginary. In **Luke 6:42**, **οὐ βλέπων** describes the addressed person's failure to see the beam. The different particles do not change πιστεύων or βλέπων into finite indicative verbs. Read their relation to the surrounding clause; see Chapter 38.
**John 3:18, excerpt** — **ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται** ('but the one who does not believe has already been judged').
**Luke 6:42, excerpt** — **αὐτὸς τὴν ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ σου δοκὸν οὐ βλέπων** ('while you yourself do not see the beam in your eye'). Both πιστεύων and βλέπων are present active participles, nominative masculine singular.
Compound Negatives
**οὐδείς / μηδείς** and their inflected forms can function as negative pronouns ('no one', 'nothing') or modify a noun ('no ...'). The nominative forms are **οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν** and **μηδείς, μηδεμία, μηδέν**. Case, number, and gender belong to the inflected forms; they are not invariant particles.
The formations relate to **οὐδέ/μηδέ + εἷς** ('not even one'), not a suffix *δεί*. Distribution broadly follows the οὐ- and μή-constructions, but does not reduce to indicative versus non-indicative. In Mark 16:8, **οὐδενί** is dative ('to anyone') and **οὐδέν** accusative ('anything') within one negative statement.
οὐδείς ('no one, nothing')
**οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν** give the masculine, feminine, and neuter nominative singular forms. Used substantivally, they commonly mean 'no one' or 'nothing'; with a noun they can mean 'no ...'. Choose the case required by the construction.
**John 1:18** opens **Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε** ('No one has ever seen God'). **οὐδείς** is the nominative subject; **Θεόν** is the accusative object; **ἑώρακε** is perfect active indicative, 3rd singular. The checked text has **ἑώρακε**, without movable ν here. This is a declarative denial, not a rule that οὐδείς may only occur with an indicative.
**John 1:18, opening excerpt** — **Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε** ('No one has ever seen God'). The excerpt preserves the teaching edition's word order and form of ἑώρακε.
μηδείς ('no one, nothing')
**μηδείς, μηδεμία, μηδέν** commonly occur in prohibitions and other μή-constructions. **1 John 3:7**, **μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς** ('let no one deceive you'), contains a nominative subject and a **3rd singular present active imperative**. It is not a subjunctive merely because μηδείς is used.
**Matthew 24:4** instead has **βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς πλανήσῃ**: **μή** plus the indefinite **τις**, with a dependent 3rd singular aorist subjunctive after βλέπετε. It expresses a comparable warning, but does not contain the word μηδείς. Identify the actual form before assigning a glossary example.
**1 John 3:7, excerpt** — **Τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς** ('Little children, let no one deceive you').
**Matthew 24:4, excerpt** — **βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς πλανήσῃ** ('see that no one deceives you'). The checked HBS BYZ04 text uses μή τις here.
Double Negatives
'Double negative' is a surface description, not a single interpretation. Distinguish at least three patterns:
- **Negative concord:** in Mark 16:8, **οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον** means 'they said nothing to anyone'. Two negative pronouns contribute to one negation.
- **Separately scoped negatives:** in Acts 4:20, **οὐ δυνάμεθα** governs **μὴ λαλεῖν**: 'we cannot refrain from speaking'. Each negative has its own scope; the sense is not 'we certainly cannot speak'.
- **Emphatic οὐ μή:** in John 10:28 this is a conventional construction denying a future occurrence, not an arithmetic cancellation of two negatives.
Analyze syntax, scope, and word order before deciding whether negatives support one denial or have separate effects. Mere repetition does not establish a measurable increase in emphasis, and no universal 'always cancel' or 'never cancel' rule works.
Emphatic Negation: οὐ μή
**οὐ μή** with a subjunctive, commonly aorist, expresses a particularly emphatic denial, often directed toward the future: 'certainly not'. A **future indicative** also occurs: **οὐ μή σε ἀπαρνήσομαι** (Matthew 26:35). Words can intervene between the negative sequence and its verb.
Treat οὐ μή as a construction, not the sum of an 'indicative negative' and a 'subjunctive negative'. There is no need to rank it as the strongest possible negation in every Greek context. Its force does not establish that a speaker's claim will prove true: Matthew 26:35 records Peter's emphatic commitment.
In John 8:51 and 10:28, **εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα** contributes the enduring temporal scope naturally expressed by English 'never'. οὐ μή alone does not always mean 'never at any time'. Parse each verb: **θεωρήσῃ** is 3rd singular aorist active subjunctive; **ἀπόλωνται** is 3rd plural aorist middle subjunctive, with the intransitive sense 'perish'.
**John 8:51** — **ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐάν τις τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐμὸν τηρήσῃ, θάνατον οὐ μὴ θεωρήσῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.** ('Truly, truly, I tell you: if anyone keeps my word, he will certainly never see death.').
**John 10:28, excerpt** — **καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα** ('and they will certainly never perish').
**Matthew 26:35, excerpt** — **οὐ μή σε ἀπαρνήσομαι** ('I will certainly not deny you'): 1st singular future middle indicative, with the lexical sense 'deny'.
Scope of Negation
**Scope of negation** is the expression or proposition to which the negative applies. It can concern a whole clause, a predicate, or a contrastive constituent. Linear position is a clue, not a rule that only the next word is negated. Find dependencies and contrasts before translating.
In Matthew 5:17, **οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι** denies coming to abolish and contrasts fulfilling; it does not deny coming altogether. In Acts 4:20, **οὐ** negates ability while **μή** negates speaking within the complement. This yields 'we cannot refrain from speaking'. The two are not negative concord.
Use attested, grammatical examples when illustrating scope. Do not infer a reading such as 'not-God' merely from the presence of a negative elsewhere in a noun phrase or clause.
Negative Concord
**Negative concord** occurs when multiple negative expressions contribute to a single semantic negation. In **Mark 16:8**, **οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον** means 'they said nothing to anyone'. **οὐδενί** supplies the dative recipient and **οὐδέν** the accusative object; the meaning is not 'they told everyone something'.
This is a grammatical pattern, not an error to repair by deleting a negative. It can have contextual rhetorical force, but extra emphasis is not part of the definition. Nor does every sentence with two negatives show concord: compare the separately scoped negatives of Acts 4:20 and the specialized οὐ μή construction in §54.12. Form, ordering, syntactic domain, and context must be considered together.
**Mark 16:8, excerpt** — **καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον** ('and they said nothing to anyone'). The extent and narrative setting of the silence require contextual interpretation; the grammatical observation is the single negation expressed by the two negative pronouns.
μή in Questions
In many **yes/no questions**, **μή** frames a negative answer as expected or invites its confirmation. This is **question bias**, not a rule forcing the respondent to say no or proving the negative proposition true. Context determines whether the question expresses doubt, a challenge, or another conversational purpose.
**John 21:5**, **μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε;**, asks whether the disciples have food to accompany their meal; their recorded reply is **οὔ**. Here **ἔχετε** is present active indicative, 2nd plural. **John 18:25** likewise asks **μὴ καὶ σὺ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἶ;**; Peter's denial follows in verse 26 in this edition. Question framing and a speaker's answer must be distinguished from the narrative facts.
**John 21:5, excerpt** — **παιδία, μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ· οὔ.** ('Children, you have no food, do you? They answered him, No.'). The translation makes the usual negative bias explicit; μή is not a prohibition here.
οὐ in Questions
In many **yes/no questions**, **οὐ/οὐκ/οὐχ**, and often **οὐχί**, frame affirmation as expected: 'Is it not ...?' or 'Surely ...?' This describes the question's orientation, not a guaranteed reply or a grammatical proof that its proposition is true.
**John 6:70**, **οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην;**, invites acknowledgment: 'Did I not choose you, the twelve?' In **John 18:26**, **οὐκ ἐγώ σε εἶδον ἐν τῷ κήπῳ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ;** appeals to an eyewitness recognition, yet Peter denies again in verse 27. Thus an affirmative bias does not force an affirmative answer. Contrast the μή-question in John 18:25. Chapter 55 develops interrogative constructions.
**John 6:70, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς τοὺς δώδεκα ἐξελεξάμην;** ('Did I not choose you, the twelve?').
**John 18:26, excerpt** — **οὐκ ἐγώ σε εἶδον ἐν τῷ κήπῳ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ;** ('Did I not see you in the garden with him?'). Peter's renewed denial is recorded in 18:27.
Paradigms
The Greek Negatives
Read construction and scope together. οὐ/μή are not a factual/non-factual or indicative/non-indicative binary. Examples below are checked HBS BYZ04 excerpts; οὐ μή can take a subjunctive or future indicative.
| Negative | Function | Construction / form | Attested example |
| οὐ(κ/χ) | Common in declarative denial; also other constructions | οὐκ before smooth breathing; οὐχ before rough breathing | οὐκ ἔστιν ὧδε — 'he is not here' (Luke 24:6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| μή | Prohibitions and many dependent uses; also questions | Here: present middle/passive imperative, 2nd singular | μὴ φοβοῦ — 'do not fear' (Luke 1:13) |
| οὐδείς | Negative pronoun; case follows its role | Here: nominative subject with perfect indicative | Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε — 'no one has ever seen God' (John 1:18) |
| μηδείς | Negative pronoun in a prohibition | Here: nominative subject with 3rd singular imperative | μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς — 'let no one deceive you' (1 John 3:7) |
| οὐ μή | Emphatic denial | Here: aorist middle subjunctive, 3rd plural; future indicative also occurs | οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται — 'they will certainly not perish' (John 10:28) |
Chapter glossary
- οὐ — not (οὐ-type/assertive)
ou
particle
Negative particle common in declarative denials and also used in questions and other constructions; not restricted to the indicative and not a guarantee of truth. Ordinary connected forms: οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before smooth breathing, οὐχ before rough breathing. Independent οὔ means 'no'.- μή — not (μή-type)
mē
particle
Particle common in prohibitions and many infinitival, participial, and dependent constructions; also found with indicatives. Its role depends on construction, including question bias and apprehensive uses, so it cannot invariably be translated 'not' or defined as non-factual.- οὐδείς — no one, nothing (οὐ-type)
oudeis
pronoun
Inflected negative pronoun or pronominal adjective: οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν; 'no one', 'nothing', or 'no ...'. Common in οὐ-type denials, but not restricted to one mood. Its case depends on its syntactic role.- μηδείς — no one, nothing (μή-type)
mēdeis
pronoun
Inflected negative pronoun or pronominal adjective: μηδείς, μηδεμία, μηδέν; 'no one', 'nothing', or 'no ...'. Common in prohibitions and other μή-constructions; not restricted to the subjunctive or determined by mood alone.- — emphatic negation (οὐ μή)
syntax
A particularly emphatic negative construction, commonly οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive; future indicative also occurs (Matthew 26:35). Usually future-oriented in these examples. Temporal scope and truth of the claim cannot be inferred from emphasis alone.- — scope of negation
syntax
The expression or proposition to which a negative applies. Identify clause structure, dependent complements, and contrasts; scope is not mechanically limited to the immediately following word.- — negative concord
syntax
A construction in which multiple negative expressions contribute to one semantic negation, as οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον (Mark 16:8). Not every combination of negatives is concord, and additional emphasis is not required by the definition.