Breakdown of Ich weiß nichts davon.
ich
I
nichts
nothing
wissen
to know (a fact)
davon
of it, from it, about it
Questions & Answers about Ich weiß nichts davon.
Why is the verb wissen used here instead of kennen? Both mean "to know".
Wissen is used for knowing facts or having information about something, like knowing a secret or a piece of news. Kennen is used for being familiar with a person, place, or thing. Since you are saying you do not have information about a situation, wissen is the right choice.
The English translation says "about it", so why does the German sentence use von (which usually means "from" or "of")?
Many German verbs pair up with a specific preposition, and you just have to memorize the combination. The verb wissen (to know a fact) pairs with von to mean "to know about". Because von always takes the Dative case, any noun following it would need to be in the Dative case.
What exactly is davon, and why do we not just say von es for "about it"?
In German, when a preposition like von is combined with "it" to refer to an object, idea, or situation, you combine them into a "da-word". Instead of saying von es, you attach da- to the front of the preposition, making davon. Note that you only use da-words for things or concepts, never for people!
Why is it nichts with an "s" at the end, rather than just nicht?
Nicht means "not", which is used to make a sentence negative (like "I do not know"). Nichts is a pronoun that means "nothing". So Ich weiß nichts davon translates exactly to "I know nothing of it."
Learn Ich weiß nichts davon and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free