particle
ouchi
Strong’sG3780
by no means, not at all
stem ouchi-53 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 booksnever changes form
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
οὐχί is an emphatic, strengthened form of the ordinary negative οὐ, meaning not, not at all 124. As an intensified negative, it can function as a strong denial or refusal, close to English "no" or "nay" 23.
In plain negative statements it simply denies something, "not, not at all" 1.
In questions, it is more often used to introduce a question that expects a positive answer, functioning like the English "isn't it...?" or "don't you...?" 1.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
οὐχί,
strengthened form of οὐ,
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3780 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidoo-khee'
not indeed
Fromintensive of G3756;
King Jamesnay, not.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
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 adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, Refs; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, Refs; οὔ φημι deny, Refs 4th c.BC+; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε Refs 8th c.BC+ —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below Refs 5th c.BC+
II as negativing the whole sentence,
II.1 οὐ is frequently used alone, sometimes with the ellipsis of a definite Verb, οὔκ (i.e. ἀποκερῇ), ἄν γε ἐμοὶ πείθῃ Refs 5th c.BC+: sometimes as negativing the preceding sentence, Refs 5th c.BC+ and the accusative; sometimes without μά, οὐ τὸν πάντων θεῶν θεὸν πρόμον Ἅλιον Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 with indicative of statement, τὴν δ᾽ ἐγὼ οὐ λύσω Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐ φθίνει Κροίσου φιλόφρων ἀρετά Refs 8th c.BC+
II.3 with subjunctive in future sense, only in Epic dialect, οὐ γάρ τίς με βίῃ γε ἑκὼν ἀέκοντα δίηται Refs
II.4 with optative in potential sense (without ἄν or κεν), also Epic dialect, ὃ οὐ δύο γ᾽ ἄνδρε φέροιεν Refs
II.5 with optative and ἄν, κείνοισι δ᾽ ἂν οὔ τις.. μαχέοιτο Refs 5th c.BC+
II.6 in dependent clauses οὐ is used,
II.6.a with ὅτι or ὡς, after Verbs of saying, knowing, and showing, ἐκ μέν τοι ἐρέω.. ὡς ἐγὼ οὔ τι ἑκὼν κατερύκομαι Refs 8th c.BC+: so with indicative or optative and ἄν, ἀπελογοῦντο ὡς οὐκ ἄν ποτε οὕτω μωροὶ ἦσαν Refs 5th c.BC+ in such sentences, see at {μή} Refs 5th c.BC+
II.6.b in all causal sentences, and in temporal and Relat. sentences unless there is conditional or final meaning, χωσαμένη, ὅ οἱ οὔ τι θαλύσια.. ῥέξε Refs 8th c.BC+: in causal relative sentences, οἵτινές σε οὐχὶ ἐσώσαμεν Refs 5th c.BC+; especially in the combinations, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις οὐ.., as οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἐραστὴς ὅστις οὐκ ἀεὶ φιλεῖ Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐδείς ἐστιν ὅστις οὐ.. Refs 5th c.BC+
II.6.c after ὥστε with indicative or optative with ἄν, ὥστ᾽ οὐ δυνατόν σ᾽ εἵργειν ἔσται Refs 5th c.BC+infinitive is almost invariably due to indirect speech, ὥστ᾽ οὐκ αἰσχύνεσθαι (for οὐκ αἰσχύνονται) Refs 5th c.BC+—Rarely not in indirect speech, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.7 in a conditional clause μή is necessary, except,
II.7.a in Refs 8th c.BC+ clause precedes the apodosis and the verb is indicative, εἰ δέ μοι οὐκ ἐπέεσσ᾽ ἐπιπείσεται Refs 8th c.BC+
II.7.b when the εἰ clause is really causal, as after Verbs expressing surprise or emotion, μὴ θαυμάσῃς, εἰ πολλὰ τῶν εἰρημένων οὐ πρέπει σοι Refs 5th c.BC+
II.7.c when οὐ belongs closely to the next word (see. Refs 4th c.BC+, or is quoted unchanged, εἰ, ὡς νῦν φήσει, οὐ παρεσκευάσατο Refs 4th c.BC+; εἰ δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστί (i.e. ὥσπερ λέγεις), τίνι τρόπῳ διεφθάρη ; Refs 5th c.BC+
II.8 οὐ is used with infinitive in indirect speech, when it represents the indicative of orat. recta, φαμὲν δέ οἱ οὐ τελέεσθαι Refs 8th c.BC+; sometimes we have οὐ and μή in consecutive clauses, οἶμαι σοῦ κάκιον οὐδὲν ἂν τούτων κρατύνειν μηδ᾽ ἐπιθύνειν χερί Refs 5th c.BC+
II.9 οὐ is used with the participle, when it can be resolved into a finite sentence with οὐ, as after Verbs of knowing and showing, τὸν κατθανόνθ᾽ ὁρῶντες οὐ τιμώμενον Refs 5th c.BC+; or into a causal sentence, τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ πολλοὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ διεφθάρησαν νέειν οὐκ ἐπιστάμενοι Refs 5th c.BC+; or into a concessive sentence, δόξω γυναῖκα καίπερ οὐκ ἔχων ἔχειν Refs 5th c.BC+ and participle, ὡς οὐχὶ συνδράσουσα νουθετεῖς τάδε Refs 5th c.BC+:—for exceptions, see at {μή} Refs 5th c.BC+
II.9.b when the participle is used with the Article, μή is generally used, unless there is a distinct reference to a fact, when οὐ is occasionally found, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς οὐκ οὔσης ἔτι [πόλεως] ὁρμώμενοι Refs 5th c.BC+
II.10 Adjectives and abstract Substantives with the article commonly take μή (see. μή Refs 5th c.BC+ is occasionally used, τὰς οὐκ ἀναγκαίας πόσεις Refs 5th c.BC+; τὴν τῶν γεφυρῶν οὐ διάλυσιν the non- dissolution of the bridges, the fact of their notbeing broken up, Refs 5th c.BC+; so without the article, ἐν οὐ καιπῷ Refs
II.11 for οὐ μή, see entry
II.12 in questions οὐ ordinarily expects a positive answer, οὔ νυ καὶ ἄλλοι ἔασι..; Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐχ ὁράᾳς..; dost thou not see? Refs 8th c.BC+: so as a strong form of imperative,;Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐμὸς μὲν οὐχί NT+5th c.BC+: the diphthong is genuine and always written ου (ουκ, ουδε, etc.) in early Inscrr., Refs 4th c.BC+; οὐ abbreviated ο, Suid. see at {Φιλοξένου γραμμάτιον}.
H ACCENTUATION. οὐ is oxytone accusative to Hdn.Gr.1.494 (text doubtfulin 504): Refs 8th c.BC+
H.I οὐ in connexion with other Particles will be found in alphabetical order, οὐ γάρ, οὐ μή, etc.—The corresponding forms of μή should be compared.
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
53 occurrences, every one of them listed
ouchi44×
Matthew 5:46… toin agaparōntoin vin, tinon misthon echavō? ouchi kai tois telōnois tem autem poialō?… what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?
Matthew 5:47… adelfoin vu monem, tinem perissem poiavō? ouchi kai tois ethnikois tem autem poialō?… you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?
Matthew 6:25… mēde te sōme vu tinem endueveia; ouchi tas psuchas polloterem atō tau trofēau …… body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the …
Matthew 10:29ouchi duo strouthieim assarieu pōlotō? kai henem …Are not two sparrows sold for a penny …
Matthew 12:11… empiptateia houtem tei sabbatei eis bothunon, ouchi kratati autem kai egerati?… pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift …
Matthew 13:27“not”… doulois tou oikodespotou legala auto; Kurior, ouchi kalem spermem sperasa en to so …The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come …
Matthew 13:56“not”kai tais adelfais autou ouchi pantais pros nin alō? pothen oun …Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this …
Matthew 18:12… probateim kai planiteia henem ek auteiu, ouchi afiēkati teim enenēkonta ennea epi teim …… of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills …
Matthew 20:13… autoiu legata; Hetairor, ouk adikamō sin; ouchi dēnarieu sumfōnasa mi?… being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius?
Luke 6:39… autoi; Mēti dunotō tuflos tuflon hodēgarō? ouchi amfoterois eis bothunon empipteli?… lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
Luke 12:6ouchi pente strouthieim pōlolō assarieiu duo? kai …Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies …
Luke 14:28… gar ek vu thelarōntos purgon oikodomara ouchi prōtem kathizarantos psēfizatō tan dapanan, ei …… wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the …
Luke 14:31… poreuorōntos hetero basilevo sumballara eis polemon ouchi kathizarantos prōtem bouleueti ei dunatos atō …… to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether …
Luke 15:8… echarōntas deka, ean apolateia drachman henan, ouchi haptatō luchnon kai saratō tan oikian …… and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house …
Luke 17:8“not”alla ouchi legati auto; Hetoimazasar tinem deipnameia kai …… he tell him, ‘Prepare my meal and dress yourself …
Luke 22:27… megoteros, tos anakeiorōntos ē tos diakonarōntos? ouchi tos anakeiorōntos? mis de en mese …… the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I …
Luke 24:26ouchi houteim date paschara ton christon kai …Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer …
Acts 5:4ouchi menarōntem si menate kai pipraskirantem en …… after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you …
Acts 7:50ouchi tas cheiras mu poiata houteim panteim?Has not My hand made all these things?’
Romans 3:29ē Ioudaioiu tos theos monem? ouchi kai ethneiu? nai kai ethneiu,… God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes …
1 Corinthians 1:20… grammatevos? pou suzētētos tou aiōnou houtou? ouchi mōranata tos theos tan sofian tou …… the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of …
1 Corinthians 3:3… gar en vi zēlos kai eridas, ouchi sarkikois avō kai kata anthrōpon peripatavō?… and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in …
1 Corinthians 5:12tinem gar mi toin exō krinarō? ouchi toin esō vis krinavō,… those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
1 Corinthians 8:10… ton echarōnton gnōsian en eidōleie katakeiorōnton, ouchi tas suneidēsias autou asthenou arōntou oikodomiti …… in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed …
1 Corinthians 9:1Ouk amō eleutheros? ouk amō apostolos? ouchi Iēsun ton kurion nu horamē? ouk …… I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you …
1 Corinthians 10:16tem potēriem tau eulogiau hem euloganō, ouchi koinōnias atō teu haimeu tou Christou? …Is not the cup of blessing that we …
1 Corinthians 10:16… tou Christou? ton arton hon klanō, ouchi koinōnias teu sōmeu tou Christou atō?… the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a …
1 Thessalonians 2:19… ē charas ē stefanos kauchēsiau ē ouchi kai vis emprosthen tou kuriou nu …… crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of …
Hebrews 1:14ouchi pantois alō leitourgikeim pneumeim eis diakonian …Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to …
Hebrews 3:17tinoi de prosochthizata tesserakonta eteim? ouchi toi hamartarantoi, hoiu teim kōleim piptata …… angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies …
Luke 12:51… eirēnan paragenema dōara en ta gēa? ouchi, legamō vi, alla ē diamerismon.… to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
Luke 13:3ouchi, legamō vi, alla ean mē metanoaveiō …No, I tell you. But unless you …
Luke 13:5ouchi, legamō vi, alla ean mē metanoaveiō …No, I tell you. But unless you …
Luke 18:30“not”hos ouchi mē apolabateia pollaplasiōneim en to kairo …… fail to receive many times more in this age …
John 13:10… holos; kai vis katharois avō, alla ouchi pantois.… clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
John 14:22… hoti ni mellasō emfanizarō siauton kai ouchi to kosmo?… to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Romans 3:27… ekkleiita. dia poiou nomou? teiu ergeiu? ouchi, alla dia nomou pistiau.… what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.
Romans 8:32… huper nu pantoiu paradōata auton, pōs ouchi kai sun auto teim panteim ni …… for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give …
1 Corinthians 5:2“not”kai vis fusiorēntois avō, kai ouchi mallon penthava, hina airiteia ek meseu …And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship …
1 Corinthians 6:1“not”… heteron krinorō epi toiu adikoiu, kai ouchi epi toiu hagioiu?… grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!
1 Corinthians 6:7… krimeim echavō meta heautoiu; dia tinem ouchi mallon adikovō? dia tinem ouchi mallon …… you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather …
1 Corinthians 6:7… tinem ouchi mallon adikovō? dia tinem ouchi mallon aposterovō?… Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
1 Corinthians 10:29suneidēsian de legamō ouchi tan heautou alla tan tou heterou; …the other one’s conscience, I mean, not your own. For why should my …
2 Corinthians 3:8pōs ouchi mallon tas diakonias teu pneumeu eti …will not the ministry of the Spirit be …
Ouchi9×
Luke 4:22“not”… ek teu stomeu autou, kai legale; Ouchi huios atō Iōsēf houtos?… that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph …
Luke 17:17apokrinirantos de tos Iēsus legata; Ouchi tois deka katharizila? tois de ennea …“Were not all ten cleansed?” Jesus asked. “Where …
Luke 23:39… toiu kremannuirantoiu kakourgoiu blasfēmate auton legarōntos; Ouchi sis asō tos christos? sōzasar siauton …… heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself …
Luke 24:32kai legala pros allēloin; Ouchi tas kardias nu kaiorōntas ate en …They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as …
John 11:9apokrinita Iēsus; Ouchi dōdeka hōrais alō tau hēmerau? ean …Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone …
Luke 1:60kai apokrinirantas tas mētēras autou legata; Ouchi, alla kaliti Iōannos.But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.”
Luke 16:30tos de legata; Ouchi, patror Abraam, alla ean tinos apo …‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if …
John 9:9… legale hoti Houtos atō; allosois legale; Ouchi, alla homoios auto atō. ekeinos legate …… that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But …
John 13:11… paradōarōnton auton; dia houtem legata hoti Ouchi pantois katharois avō.… Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”