Jeg forstår ingenting.

I understand nothing.

Breakdown of Jeg forstår ingenting.

• jeg: I
• forstå: to understand
• ingenting: nothing

Questions & Answers about Jeg forstår ingenting.

What does jeg mean in this sentence?

Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun in Norwegian. It simply means I. Like in English, it’s the subject of the sentence.

What does forstår mean?

Forstår is the present tense of the verb forstå, which means to understand. So jeg forstår translates to I understand.

What does ingenting mean here?

Ingenting is one word meaning nothing. In negative statements it works like English anything in “I don’t understand anything.” Literally, jeg forstår ingenting = “I understand nothing.”

Why isn’t there an ikke (not) in the sentence?

Because ingenting already carries the negation. Adding ikke would be a double negative, which Norwegian doesn’t use. You either say:
• Jeg forstår ingenting.
or
• Jeg forstår ikke noe.

What’s the difference between ingenting and ikke noe?