A1 Negation 1 min read Facile

Negation of 'Biti' (Nisam, Nisi, Nije)

Marquer comme appris
Entraîne-toi

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

To say 'I am not' in Croatian, use the special negative forms: nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu.

  • Use 'nisam' for 'I am not' (e.g., Nisam gladan).
  • Use 'nije' for 'he/she/it is not' (e.g., Nije hladno).
  • The negative particle 'ne' is merged directly into the verb 'biti'.
ni- + [biti conjugation] = Negative Verb

2. Negative Conjugation of 'Biti'

Person Affirmative Negative
Ja (I)
sam
nisam
Ti (You)
si
nisi
On/Ona/Ono (He/She/It)
je
nije
Mi (We)
smo
nismo
Vi (You all)
ste
niste
Oni/One/Ona (They)
su
nisu

Meanings

These forms are the mandatory negative equivalents of the verb 'biti' (to be). They are used to express non-existence, negation of identity, or negative states.

1

Identity Negation

Stating that someone or something is not a specific thing.

“Ja nisam umoran.”

“On nije liječnik.”

2

State/Condition Negation

Describing that a state is not currently true.

“Nije vruće.”

“Nismo sretni.”

3

Existence Negation

Denying the presence of something.

“Nije ovdje.”

“Nismo kod kuće.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Negation of 'Biti' (Nisam, Nisi, Nije)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Biti
Ja sam sretan.
Negative
Subject + Nisam/Nisi...
Ja nisam sretan.
Question
Biti + Subject?
Jesi li sretan?
Negative Question
Nisam/Nisi... + li?
Nisi li sretan?
Short Answer
Nisam
Nisam.
Location
Subject + Nisam + Location
Nisam kod kuće.

Spectre de formalité

Formel
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

Neutre
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

Informel
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

Argot
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

The 'Biti' Negative Tree

Biti (To be)

Affirmative

  • sam am

Negative

  • nisam am not
Inscris-toi gratuitement pour lire l'explication complète

Exemples par niveau

1

Ja nisam gladan.

I am not hungry.

2

On nije ovdje.

He is not here.

3

Mi nismo turisti.

We are not tourists.

4

Niste umorni?

Are you not tired?

1

Nije hladno danas.

It is not cold today.

2

Nismo sigurni u to.

We are not sure about that.

3

Nisu kod kuće.

They are not at home.

4

Nisi u pravu.

You are not right.

1

Nisam znao da dolaziš.

I didn't know you were coming.

2

Nije bilo lako to napraviti.

It wasn't easy to do that.

3

Nismo imali drugog izbora.

We had no other choice.

4

Nisu svi ljudi isti.

Not all people are the same.

1

Nije mi jasno zašto to rade.

It is not clear to me why they do that.

2

Nisam bio spreman na takvu reakciju.

I was not prepared for such a reaction.

3

Nismo se nadali ovakvom ishodu.

We were not hoping for this outcome.

4

Niste trebali to reći.

You should not have said that.

1

Nije nimalo čudno što se to dogodilo.

It is not at all strange that it happened.

2

Nisam ni slutio da će se situacija tako razviti.

I didn't even suspect the situation would develop like that.

3

Nismo mogli predvidjeti posljedice.

We could not have predicted the consequences.

4

Nisu to bile njihove namjere.

Those were not their intentions.

1

Nije li to upravo ono što smo tražili?

Isn't that exactly what we were looking for?

2

Nisam li ti rekao da će biti problema?

Didn't I tell you there would be problems?

3

Nismo li mi ovdje da riješimo problem?

Aren't we here to solve the problem?

4

Nisu li oni ti koji su donijeli odluku?

Aren't they the ones who made the decision?

Facile à confondre

Negation of 'Biti' (Nisam, Nisi, Nije) vs Negation of 'Biti' vs. Negation of other verbs

Learners think they can use 'ne' + 'biti'.

Negation of 'Biti' (Nisam, Nisi, Nije) vs Nije vs. Nema

Learners use 'nije' for 'there is not'.

Negation of 'Biti' (Nisam, Nisi, Nije) vs Nisam vs. Ne znam

Learners use 'nisam' for 'I don't know'.

Erreurs courantes

✗

Ja ne sam tu.

✓

Ja nisam tu.

Double negation error.
✗

On nije sretan.

✓

On nije sretan.

Correct, but ensure subject agreement.
✗

Mi nije tu.

✓

Mi nismo tu.

Wrong person conjugation.
✗

Ja nisam ne sretan.

✓

Ja nisam sretan.

Redundant negation.
✗

Nije oni tu.

✓

Nisu oni tu.

Wrong number agreement.
✗

Nisam ja ne znam.

✓

Ne znam.

Confusing 'biti' negation with verb negation.
✗

Niste vi umorni?

✓

Niste li vi umorni?

Missing 'li' in questions.
✗

Nisam bio ne spreman.

✓

Nisam bio spreman.

Double negation in past tense.
✗

Nije bilo ne lako.

✓

Nije bilo lako.

Double negation.
✗

Nismo mi ne htjeli.

✓

Nismo htjeli.

Confusing copula negation with modal negation.
✗

Nije da nisam ne znao.

✓

Nije da nisam znao.

Triple negation confusion.
✗

Nisam ne bio siguran.

✓

Nisam bio siguran.

Redundant negation.
✗

Nije neistina da...

✓

Nije istina da...

Double negation logic error.
✗

Nisu nepostojali.

✓

Nisu postojali.

Double negation.

Structures de phrases

Ja ___ ___.

On ___ ___.

Mi ___ ___ ___.

___ li ___ ___?

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Nije problem!

Ordering food common

Nisam gladan.

Job interview common

Nisam siguran.

Travel common

Nisam iz Hrvatske.

Social media very common

Nije fer.

Delivery app common

Nije stiglo.

Inscris-toi gratuitement pour voir tous les exemples
💡

Don't add 'ne'

The most important rule: never add 'ne' before 'nisam'.
⚠️

Check the person

Make sure you use 'nismo' for 'we' and 'nisu' for 'they'.
🎯

Use it for weather

Use 'Nije hladno' or 'Nije vruće' to talk about weather.
💬

Be polite

Use 'Nije problem' to show you are easy-going.

Smart Tips

Always use 'nisam' instead of 'ne sam'.

Ja ne sam gladan. → Ja nisam gladan.

Use 'nije' for he, she, or it.

On ne je tu. → On nije tu.

Use 'nismo'.

Mi ne smo tu. → Mi nismo tu.

Use 'nisu'.

Oni ne su tu. → Oni nisu tu.

Prononciation

NI-sam

Stress

The stress is on the first syllable: NI-sam, NI-si, NI-je.

Statement

Ja nisam gladan. ↘

Falling intonation for facts.

Question

Nisi li gladan? ↗

Rising intonation for questions.

Mémorise-le

Moyen mnémotechnique

Think of 'NI' as 'NO'. Since 'NI' starts the word, it means 'NO' is inside the verb.

Association visuelle

Imagine a giant 'NI' sign blocking the verb 'biti'. Whenever you see 'biti', the 'NI' sign pushes the 'b' away.

Rhyme

When you want to say you're not, just add NI to the spot.

Story

I wanted to be a hero, but I 'nisam'. My friend wanted to be a doctor, but he 'nije'. We both sat down and realized we 'nismo' ready yet.

Word Web

nisamnisinijenismonistenisu

Défi

Write 5 sentences about things you are NOT (e.g., I am not a doctor, I am not a pilot).

Notes culturelles

Using 'Nije problem' is a very common way to be polite.

The forms are contractions of the negative particle 'ne' and the verb 'biti'.

Amorces de conversation

“

Jesi li gladan?

“

Jesi li iz Zagreba?

“

Je li ovo tvoja knjiga?

“

Jeste li sigurni u to?

Sujets d'écriture

Describe 3 things you are not.
Describe a place you are not at right now.
Write about a mistake you made and why it wasn't your fault.
Discuss why you are not a fan of a specific activity.

Erreurs courantes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Sign up free to see all tips

Test Yourself

Fill in the correct form.

Ja ___ student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
Use 'nisam' for 'I am not'.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam tu.
No double negation.
Fix the error. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Mi nije tu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mi nismo tu.
Agreement error.
Make negative. Sentence Transformation

On je sretan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: On nije sretan.
Replace 'je' with 'nije'.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

Jesi li umoran? - ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam.
Match the person.
Order the words. Sentence Building

kuće / kod / nismo

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nismo kod kuće.
Correct word order.
Conjugate for 'they'. Conjugation Drill

Oni ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisu
Correct form for 'they'.
Match the person to the form. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nismo
Match the person.

Score: /8

Exercices pratiques

8 exercises
Fill in the correct form.

Ja ___ student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
Use 'nisam' for 'I am not'.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam tu.
No double negation.
Fix the error. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Mi nije tu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mi nismo tu.
Agreement error.
Make negative. Sentence Transformation

On je sretan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: On nije sretan.
Replace 'je' with 'nije'.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

Jesi li umoran? - ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam.
Match the person.
Order the words. Sentence Building

kuće / kod / nismo

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nismo kod kuće.
Correct word order.
Conjugate for 'they'. Conjugation Drill

Oni ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisu
Correct form for 'they'.
Match the person to the form. Match Pairs

Mi -> ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nismo
Match the person.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

No, that is incorrect. You must use 'nisam'.

Yes, 'nisam' is the same for masculine and feminine.

Use 'nije' for he, she, or it.

Say 'Ja nisam liječnik'.

It is neutral and used in all situations.

Use 'Nisam li...?' or 'Zar nisam...?'

It is a historical contraction that became the standard form.

Yes, you can combine them with 'bio/bila/bilo'.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

Inscris-toi gratuitement pour t'entraîner

In Other Languages

Spanish low

no soy

Croatian fuses them.

French low

ne suis pas

Croatian uses a single fused word.

German low

bin nicht

Croatian places the negative marker at the start.

Japanese low

dewa arimasen

Croatian uses a prefix-based fusion.

Arabic moderate

lastu

Arabic is a Semitic language, Croatian is Slavic.

Chinese low

bù shì

Croatian fuses them.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Short Forms of 'Biti' (Clitics)
Next
Question Forms with 'Biti'

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Genitive for Negation of Existence (Nema...)
A0

Basic Negation with 'Ne'
A1

Negating Verbs with 'Ne'
A1

Negating Nouns and Adjectives
A2

Negation of Perfekt (Nisam radio)
Was this helpful?

Commentaires (0)

Connectez-vous pour Commenter
Pas encore de commentaires. Soyez le premier à partager vos idées !