Nu este nimeni la ușă acum.

not

Breakdown of Nu este nimeni la ușă acum.

• a fi: to be
• acum: now
• la: at

Questions & Answers about Nu este nimeni la ușă acum.

Why does Romanian use both nu and nimeni in Nu este nimeni?

Romanian normally uses negative concord, which means multiple negative words appear together in the same sentence.

So:

• nu = not
• nimeni = nobody / no one

Together, Nu este nimeni literally looks like Not is nobody, but it simply means There is nobody or No one is there.

This is normal in Romanian.
You should not drop nu and say Este nimeni for this meaning.

Could I also say Nimeni nu este la ușă acum?

Yes. Nimeni nu este la ușă acum is also correct.

Both are natural, but the emphasis is slightly different:

• Nu este nimeni la ușă acum = There’s nobody at the door now
• Nimeni nu este la ușă acum = Nobody is at the door now

The first version often feels a bit more like an existential statement, similar to English there is/there are.

What is este here?