Learn Hardcore Russian: Я нигде не могу найти свой кошелёк.

Russian has negative concord: negative words with ни- (никто, ничего, нигде, никогда, никак, etc.) must be accompanied by a negated verb (usually with не, or the negative verb нет). They don’t cancel each other; they reinforce the negation. So нигде не могу is the normal way to say “can’t … anywhere.” Compare: Нигде его нет (“He is nowhere”), Я никого не вижу (“I don’t see anyone”).

Can I use никуда instead of нигде?

No. Нигде answers “where?” (location: nowhere). Никуда answers “to where?” (direction: to nowhere) and is used with motion verbs: Я никуда не иду (“I’m not going anywhere”). With найти (“to find”), you want location, so нигде is correct.

Why is найти used instead of искать or находить?

Найти is perfective: “to find (achieve the result).” Не могу найти = “I can’t manage to find.”
Искать is “to look for, to search.” Я ищу кошелёк = “I’m looking for my wallet.”
Находить is the imperfective partner of найти and would describe a repeated/habitual result (“to find (habitually)”). Не могу находить would mean “I’m unable to find (as a rule),” which is not what you want here.

Why use свой instead of мой?

Свой is the default possessive when the possessor is the subject of the clause; it means “one’s own” and removes ambiguity. Я не могу найти свой кошелёк means it’s my own wallet. Мой is possible but often used only for emphasis or contrast: Я не могу найти мой кошелёк, а твой я нашёл (“I can’t find my wallet, but I found yours”).

Why is it свой кошелёк and not своего кошелька?

Because кошелёк is masculine and inanimate, and as a direct object it takes the accusative, which for masculine inanimates matches the nominative: свой кошелёк. The form своего кошелька is genitive, which leads to the next question.

Does the object switch to genitive under negation (своего кошелька)?

Russian allows the “genitive of negation.” Here both are used:

Я не могу найти свой кошелёк (accusative) — very common, the wallet is a specific item.
Я не могу найти своего кошелька (genitive) — also common; can sound a bit more like “I can’t find any trace of my wallet,” emphasizing absence. In modern speech the accusative is extremely frequent with specific objects; the genitive is also correct and stylistically fine here.

Can I change the word order? For example: Я не могу нигде найти свой кошелёк or Нигде не могу найти свой кошелёк.

Yes. All of these are natural, with subtle shifts of emphasis:

Я нигде не могу найти свой кошелёк (neutral emphasis).
Я не могу нигде найти свой кошелёк (focus on “can’t find anywhere”).
Нигде не могу найти свой кошелёк (fronting нигде for strong emphasis; very idiomatic). You can also drop я if context makes the subject clear: Нигде не могу найти свой кошелёк.

Can нигде appear without не?

It must co-occur with a negative predicate. That can be не on a finite verb (Я нигде не могу найти…) or the inherently negative verb нет (Нигде его нет). Using нигде with a positive verb (e.g., Я нигде могу найти…) is ungrammatical.

Is there a difference between не могу найти and могу не найти?

Yes:

Не могу найти = “I can’t find (it).” Current inability.
Могу не найти = “I might fail to find (it),” i.e., it’s possible I won’t find it. This is about a potential negative outcome, not a present inability.

How do I pronounce and stress the sentence?

Key stresses: нигде [nig-DYE], не [nye], могу [ma-GU], найти [nay-TEE], свой [svoy], кошелёк [ka-she-LYOK]. The letter ё in кошелёк is always pronounced “yo,” even when it’s printed as е (кошелек); the stress is on that syllable: -лёк.

Is it okay to omit нигде and just say Я не могу найти свой кошелёк?

Yes. That simply means “I can’t find my wallet.” Adding нигде (“anywhere”) emphasizes that you’ve searched in many places without success.

Could I say Я нигде не могу его найти, using a pronoun?

Yes, if кошелёк has already been mentioned. Его refers back to a masculine noun like кошелёк. Without context, его could also mean “his,” so make sure the referent is clear.

What’s the difference between нигде and никак here? Can I say Никак не могу найти свой кошелёк?

Нигде = “nowhere,” about place: you can’t find it in any location.
Никак = “in no way/just can’t,” about manner/degree of difficulty. Никак не могу найти… means “I just can’t manage to find…,” expressing frustration rather than location. Both are common; they emphasize different things.

Are there synonyms for кошелёк?

Кошелёк: the most common, general “wallet.”
Бумажник: also “wallet,” often associated with a billfold (traditionally more “men’s wallet”).
Портмоне: a loanword (“portmanteau”), a small, elegant wallet. All three are understood; кошелёк is the safest default.

How would this change in the past or future?

Past: Я нигде не мог найти свой кошелёк (“I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere” at that time).
Future: Я, наверное, нигде не смогу найти свой кошелёк (“I probably won’t be able to find my wallet anywhere”).