οὐ G3756
ou -- the Greek objective negation particle, denying facts and statements
The particle ou (with its phonological variants ouk before smooth breathing and ouch before rough breathing) is the standard Greek negation for indicative, factual statements. It contrasts sharply with me, which negates wishes, commands, and hypotheticals. Where me says 'may it not be so,' ou flatly declares 'it is not so.' Appearing 1,635 times in the New Testament, it is essential grammatical scaffolding: negating verbs, modifying adjectives, and forming rhetorical questions that expect a positive answer. Spanish no, French ne...pas, and German nicht all map consistently to this single function, confirming its monosemous character.
Senses
1. not (negation particle) — The objective negation particle used with indicative mood verbs and factual assertions, forming the counterpart to me (subjective/volitional negation). In passages like Matt 5:14 ('a city set on a hill cannot be hidden') and Matt 1:25 ('he did not know her'), ou flatly negates reality rather than expressing prohibition. All target languages map it uniformly -- Spanish no, French ne-pas, German nicht -- reflecting its single, unambiguous grammatical function across 1,635 New Testament occurrences. 1635×
AR["أَلَيسَ", "لا", "لَا", "لَسْتُ", "لَم", "لَمْ", "لَنْ", "لَيسَ"]·ben["নয়", "না", "না-কি", "নেই"]·DE["nicht"]·EN["not", "not-"]·FR["ne-pas"]·heb["אֵינוֹ", "הֲלֹא", "לֹא"]·HI["क्या-नहीं", "न", "नहिन", "नहीं", "मत"]·ID["bukan", "jangan", "tidak"]·IT["non"]·jav["boten", "ingkang-mboten", "mboten", "punapa-boten", "sampun"]·KO["-아니", "~아니니", "~않는다", "~않다", "~않았다", "~않으니", "~않으리라", "결코", "아니다", "않게", "않겠느냐", "않느냐", "않다"]·PT["de-modo-algum", "não"]·RU["Не", "не"]·ES["no"]·SW["ha-stahili", "haiwezi", "hakita-", "haku", "hamku-", "hamta", "hamta-", "hapakuwa-na", "haruhusiwi", "hata-", "hawa", "hawafungi", "hawana", "msi", "si"]·TR["bağışlanmayacaktır", "bilinmeyecek", "caiz-değildir", "dans-etmediniz", "değil", "değil-mi", "değildi", "değildir", "kesinlikle", "tutmuyorlar", "çekişmeyecek", "çıkarmıyor"]·urd["نہ", "نہیں", "کیا-نہیں"]
Matt 1:25, Matt 3:11, Matt 5:14, Matt 5:20, Matt 6:5, Matt 6:26, Matt 6:30, Matt 7:29, Matt 9:14, Matt 10:23, Matt 10:26, Matt 10:37 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)G1519 2. purpose: for, in order to (561×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
οὐ, the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAGRefs 5th c.BC+ __I as the negative of single words, __II as the negative of the sentence. __I οὐ…