Questions & Answers about Det er ingen vits i å vente her.
What does the word in bold mean here: vits?
In this idiom, vits means the same as English “point,” “use,” or “sense” (as in “There’s no point/use in …”). Outside this idiom, en vits most commonly means “a joke.” The collocation (ingen/noe) vits i cues the “point/use” meaning, not “joke.”
How does the pattern Det er (ingen/noe) vits i å + infinitive work, and can I reuse it?
Yes. It’s a productive template:
- Det er ingen vits i å + INF = “There’s no point in + -ing”
- Det er ikke (noe) vits i å + INF = same meaning, very common Examples:
- Det er ingen vits i å diskutere mer.
- Det er ikke noe vits i å klage.
Why is it ingen vits and not something like an article (en vits)?
Because you’re negating the existence of any “point/use.” You use the negative quantifier ingen (“no/none”) with count nouns in the singular here. Closely related is the fixed expression ikke (noe) vits:
- Det er ingen vits … (slightly more categorical)
- Det er ikke (noe) vits … (very common colloquially) Avoid an article here; en vits would sound like “a joke.”
What’s the difference between ingen vits and ikke (noe) vits?