rien/ʁjɛ̃/
pronoun / noun · A1 · Frequency 104
pronouncommon
Meanings
nothing
Used in negative sentences to indicate the absence of anything, common in both spoken and written language.
anything
Used in interrogative or conditional sentences to indicate an unspecified thing, common in both spoken and written language.
Examples
Je n'ai rien trouvé dans le tiroir.
I found nothing in the drawer.
As-tu besoin de rien pour le voyage ?
Do you need anything for the trip?
Rien ne peut remplacer une bonne nuit de sommeil.
Nothing can replace a good night's sleep.
Collocations
- ne rien faireto do nothing
- dire rien du toutto say nothing at all
- rien à direnothing to say
Common mistakes
Je ne veux pas rien.
Je ne veux rien.
In standard French, rien already expresses negation and is normally used with ne; adding pas here creates a common learner double negation.
Related words
synonymrien du toutnothing at all
- antonymtouteverything
Grammar note
As a negative pronoun, rien is typically used with ne to form the negation structure ne…rien.
nounmasculine
Meanings
a nothing
Used as a noun meaning the absence of anything. Commonly used in negative sentences.
nothing, not anything (used in negative sentences)
Used as a negative pronoun to indicate the absence of anything, commonly found in negative sentences.
Examples
Un rien lui suffit pour retrouver le sourire.
The smallest thing is enough to make him smile again.
Elle s'est vexée pour un rien pendant le dîner.
She got offended over nothing during dinner.
Ce cadeau ne coûte presque rien, mais il a beaucoup de valeur pour moi.
This gift costs almost nothing, but it means a lot to me.
Collocations
- un riena trifle
Common mistakes
rien n'est pas
rien n'est
When ‘rien’ is used as a negative pronoun, the negative structure should not include an additional ‘pas’.
je ne sais rien pas
je ne sais rien
‘rien’ already conveys negation in a sentence and should not be combined with ‘pas’.
Related words
synonymnéantnothingness, void, emptiness
- synonymzérothe number zero, representing none or nothing
- antonymtoutwhole, entirety, total
nounmasculine
Meanings
a nothing
Used as a noun meaning the absence of anything. Commonly used in negative sentences.
nothing, not anything (used in negative sentences)
Used as a negative pronoun to indicate the absence of anything, commonly found in negative sentences.
Examples
Il ne se fâche jamais pour des riens.
He never gets angry over trifles.
Après le déménagement, il ne restait que des riens dans les placards.
After the move, only insignificant little things remained in the cupboards.
Ils se disputent souvent pour des riens.
They often argue over trifles.