rien
/ʁjɛ̃/pronoun★Beginner
general
Nothing; not anything
Il n'y a rien ici.
There is nothing here.
Je ne veux rien.
I don't want anything.
💡
Used to negate the existence or presence of something.
informal
Used to emphasize the absence of something
C'est rien !
It's nothing!
Je fais rien de spécial.
I'm not doing anything special.
💡
Often used in colloquial speech to downplay something.
Collocations
ne rien faireto do nothingrien denothingrien à voirnothing to do with
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related Phrases
ce n'est rienphrase
it's nothing
rien à fairephrase
nothing to do
💡Pro Tip
Negation with 'rien'
'Rien' is always used with 'ne' in formal contexts, but 'ne' is often omitted in spoken French.
⚡Gold Rule
Position in Sentence
'Rien' typically comes after the verb in negative sentences.
📖Word Origin
From Old French 'rien', from Latin 'rem' (thing) with the negative prefix 'ne'.
📝Usage Notes
In negative sentences, 'rien' often follows the verb and is preceded by 'ne'. In informal speech, 'ne' is often dropped.
Word Breakdown
rien
nothing
rootDictionnaire Français-Anglais