particle

ou

Greekοὔ (ou)

Strong’sG3756

no, not

stem ou-17 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books

Translated as

no12×not5×

What it means

οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Ac 2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., § 409; M, Pr., 44, 244),

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

not, no, used generally c. indic. and for a denial of fact (cf. μή);

1. absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mt 13:29, Jo 1:21 21:5; οὒ οὔ, Mt 5:37, Ja 5:12.

2. Most freq. negativing a verb or other word, Mt 1:25 10:26, 38, Mk 3:25 9:37, Jo 8:29, Ac 7:5, Ro 1:16, Phl 3:3, al.; in litotes, οὐκ ὀλίγοι (i.e. very many), Ac 17:4, al.; οὐκ ἄσημος, Ac 21:39; πᾶς... οὐ, c. verb, (like Heb. כֹּל... לֹא), no, none, Mt 24:22, Mk 13:20, Lk 1:37, Eph 5:5, al.; in disjunctive statements, οὐκ... ἀλλά, Lk 8:52, Jo 1:33, Ro 8:20, al.; c. 2 pers. fut. (like Heb. לֹא, c. impf.), as emphatic prohibition, Mt 4:7, Lk 4:12, Ro 7:7, al.

3. With another negative,

(a) strengthening the negation: Mk 5:37, Jo 8:15 12:19, Ac 8:39, al.;

(b) making an affirmative: Ac 4:20, I Co 12:15.

4. With other particles: οὐ μή (v.s. μή); οὐ μηκέτι, Mt 21:19; with μή interrog., Ro 10:18, I Co 9:4, 5 11:22.

5. Interrogative, expecting an affirmative answer (Lat. nonne): Mt 6:26, Mk 4:21, Lk 11:40, Jo 4:35, Ro 9:21, al.

G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.

Strong’s G3756 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from

Saidoo

the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not

Froma primary word;

King James+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.

James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.

Every form

This word never changes. It is spelled the same wherever it appears, so there is nothing to learn beyond the word itself.

Words built on the same stem

ouk — οὐ, no, not ouem — οὖς, the ear oua — οὐά, ah!, aha!

Where it appears

17 occurrences, every one of them listed

ou9×

Matthew 5:37“no”atōr de tos logos vu nai nai, ou ou; tem de perissem houteiu ek tou ponērou atō.Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

2 Corinthians 1:17“no”houtem oun boulerōtos mēti ara ta elafria chrema? ē heim bouleuemō kata sarxan bouleuemō, hina ateiō para mi tem Nai nai kai tem Ou ou?When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” and also “No, no”?

James 5:12“no”Pro panteiu de, adelfoir mu, mē omnuavōr, mēte ton ouranon mēte tan gēan mēte allon tinon horkon; atōr de vu tem Nai nai kai tem Ou ou, hina mē hupo krisian piptaveia.Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

Matthew 22:17“not”legasar oun ni tinem si dokatō; exestinatō dōara kēnson Kaisaro ē ou?So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Mark 12:14“not”kai ercharatois legalō auto; Didaskalor, oidanē hoti alēthos asō kai ouk meleiatō si peri oudenou, ouk gar blepasō eis prosōpem anthrōpoiu, alla epi alētheiau tan hodan tou theou didaskasō; exestinatō dōara kēnson Kaisaro ē ou? dōaneia ē mē dōaneia?“Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”

Luke 14:3“not”kai apokriniratos tos Iēsus legata pros toin nomikoin kai Farisaioin legarōtos; Exestinatō te sabbate therapeuara ē ou?So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”

Luke 20:22“not”exestinatō nin Kaisaro foron dōara ē ou?Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Romans 7:18“not”oidamē gar hoti ouk oikatō en mi, houtem atō en ta sarxa mu, agathem; tem gar thelarō parakeietō mi, tem de katergazerō tem kalem ou;I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Ou8×

Matthew 13:29“no”tos de fēatō; Ou, mēpote sullegarōtois teim zizanieim ekrizaveia hama autoi ton siton;‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.

John 1:21“no”kai erōtala auton; Tinem oun? sis Ēliaos asō? kai legatō; Ouk amō. Tos profētos asō sis? kai apokrinita; Ou.“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

John 7:12“no”kai gongusmos peri autou ate pollos en toi ochloi; tois men legale hoti Agathos atō, allois de legale; Ou, alla planatō ton ochlon.Many in the crowds were whispering about Him. Some said, “He is a good man.” But others replied, “No, He deceives the people.”

John 21:5“no”legatō oun autoi tos Iēsus; Paidieim, mē tinem prosfagiem echavō? apokrinila auto; Ou.So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered.

2 Corinthians 1:18“no”pistos de tos theos hoti tos logos nu tos pros vin ouk atō Nai kai Ou.But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.”

2 Corinthians 1:19“no”tos tou theou gar huios Iēsus Christos tos en vi dia nu kērussiratos, dia mu kai Silouanou kai Timotheou, ouk gineta Nai kai Ou, alla Nai en auto ginatē;For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.”