Я никому не даю свой пароль.

I

Breakdown of Я никому не даю свой пароль.

• не: not
• свой: my
• давать: to give

Questions & Answers about Я никому не даю свой пароль.

Why is никому used here, and what does it literally mean?

Никому means to nobody or to no one.

It is the dative case form of никто (nobody). Russian uses the dative here because давать means to give, and the person who receives something goes in the dative:

• давать кому? — to give to whom?

So:

• Я никому не даю свой пароль = I give my password to no one / I don’t give my password to anyone

Why are both никому and не negative? Isn’t that a double negative?

Yes, it is a double negative by English standards, but in Russian this is normal and required.

With negative pronouns like никто, ничто, никому, никогда, Russian normally also uses не with the verb:

• Я никому не даю...
• Он ничего не знает.
• Мы никогда не спорим.

So in Russian, никому не даю is the correct standard pattern. You would not normally say Я никому даю...

Why is it даю and not дам?