Questions & Answers about Κανείς δεν ξέρει τα πάντα.
What is the word‑for‑word breakdown of Κανείς δεν ξέρει τα πάντα?
- Κανείς = nobody / no one
- δεν = not (negative particle used with verbs)
- ξέρει = (he/she/it) knows
- τα = the (neuter plural)
- πάντα = everything (here; literally “all things”)
So a very literal gloss would be: “No one not knows the everything.” In natural English: “Nobody knows everything.”
Why do we have both κανείς and δεν? Isn’t that a double negative?
In Greek this is normal and correct; it’s called negative concord.
- κανείς is a negative pronoun (“nobody”),
- δεν is the normal negative particle used with verbs (“not”).
When you use κανείς as “nobody”, you must also use δεν with the verb:
- ✅ Κανείς δεν ξέρει. = Nobody knows.
- ❌ Κανείς ξέρει. (ungrammatical in standard Greek)
So unlike in standard English, Greek allows and requires what looks like a “double negative” to express a single negation.
Can κανείς ever mean “anyone”, not “nobody”?