ничто
Russian edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *ničьto. By surface analysis, ни (ni, “not”) + что́ (štó, “what”).
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
ничто́ • (ništó) n
- (indefinite pronoun) nothing
Usage notes edit
- The nominative and accusative are usually replaced by the genitive ничего́ (ničevó) in colloquial speech, and may be considered synonyms.
- With prepositions, ничто́ (ništó) is split into ни (ni) and что (što), with the preposition in between, such as in ни за что (ni za što, “not for anything”).