Basic Negation with "ekki"
To make a statement negative in Icelandic, place ekki (not) directly after the verb.
| not | ekki |
| The teacher is not at home. | Kennarinn er ekki heima. |
To answer a yes/no question negatively, start with nei (no):
| Is the window closed? No, it is not closed. | Er glugginn lokaður? Nei, hann er ekki lokaður. |
Contrasting Ideas
You can use ekki to contrast descriptions or locations within a single sentence.
| The window is open, but it is not big. | Glugginn er opinn en hann er ekki stór. |
| The man is at home, but the friend is not at home. | Maðurinn er heima en vinurinn er ekki heima. |
When explaining what is actually true instead, use bara (just / only). Like ekki, it directly follows the verb.
| The cat is not outside, it is just inside. | Kötturinn er ekki úti, hann er bara inni. |
| I am not sick, but I am just hungry. | Ég er ekki veikur en ég er bara svangur. |
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