Learn English: 30+ ways to say NO!

Hey everyone, I'm Alex, thanks for clicking, and  welcome to this lesson on 30 plus ways to say  

"no" in English. So "no" is a very common word but  if you want to not only say "no" all the time if  

you're looking for some variety in your vocabulary  this video will help you do that. So, here we have  

a question, a very common yes/no question: Do you  want to see a movie with me? I've added the "with  

me", usually it's implied that it's with you,  right? But just for clarity, I've added the "with  

me." So, do you want to see a movie with me? Yeah?  Okay, let's imagine that it's no, because you're  

busy, or you don't have the money, or whatever  the reason is. So, of course, you can just start  

with "No." No is a very common word, right? But  like I said, we're doing more than "no" in this  

lesson. You can also say: nope, with the "p", you  gotta pop the "p". Nope. Did you repeat? Okay,  

let's try to repeat. You can also say: Nah.  Naw. So you have nah, naw. So you have "eh",  

like a baby, "aw", also like a baby, I guess. So,  nope, nah, naw, okay? And here we have some other  

ways. You can say "uh-uh". Uh-uh. Mm-mm. You don't  even have to open your mouth, that's the best part  

about this one. So just repeat after me: Mm-mm.  I'm shaking my head 'cause that's a "no" in North  

America, anyway. All right? So, uh-uh, mm-mm.  And if you want to say yes, you can actually say  

"mm-hm". Right? Mm-hm. But for no, it's mm-mm.  So just, mm-mm. Double m, double m. You can  

also just say "Negative". That's a little bit  more sarcastic of a way to say no. Want to see  

a movie? Negative. I don't. Sorry. Another way  to say negative: Negatory. That is a negatory,  

old buddy. Negative, negatory. Want to be polite?  No thanks. No siree. So it's like saying "no sir",  

right, but you can say "no siree". Or if you  want to go further, there's like, no siree Bob.  

I don't remember what movie that was from, I've  heard that in a movie before. The "no siree Bob",  

B-o-b. You can google "no siree Bob" and let me  know where that's from in the comments. All right.  

If you want to be a little stronger and have your  no be like never, you can say, wanna see a movie  

with me? Never. You're just not a good friend.  Why would that person ask you? You can say,  

No chance. There is zero, zero, zero chance that  I'm going to see a movie with you. No chance in  

hell. No chance or no chance in hell. Even if  we were in Hell, I wouldn't see a movie with  

you. That's the general meaning there. No way.  No way. There's no path that will let me see a  

movie with you. Not in a million years. Not in a  million years, okay? Maybe two million? But not  

one million. Not in a million years. Not on your  life. So, not on your life, never in your life  

would I ever see a movie with you. Not even if you  paid me. This is just very rude. So you're saying,  

if you gave me money, maybe you paid for me to see  the movie, and you paid me more on top of that,  

I still wouldn't see the movie with you. So  not even if you paid me. No. Okay? And finally,  

That's out of the question. Out of the question,  I cannot do it, that is impossible, no, nah,  

naw, uh-uh, mm-mm, negative, negatory, not on your  life, not in a million years, I can't do it. Okay,  

so we have some ways to say no, some more slang  ways to say never, no chance, no chance in hell,  

not in a million years, not even if you paid me,  and now let's look at some more idiomatic ways  

to say no. Other ways to say no include: I'll  pass. Or, I'm gonna pass. Now, most people know  

if you're learning English and you know a little  bit about grammar, that you can use "will" for a  

decision made in the moment, like, right now,  I'll pass. And that you use "be going to" when  

something is a plan. However, a lot of native  speakers don't make the distinction in this  

context between a decision in a moment and a plan,  and they use them interchangeably. So you can say,  

I'll pass, or I'm gonna pass, and the meaning is  I am passing on your offer. I am not going to say  

yes to your offer. You can also just say, Pass.  Or if you want to me a little cooler, Hard pass.  

Just mmh. Hard. Pass. Not interested at all. Fat  chance, or if you want to say the longer version  

of that, fat chance of THAT happening. It's like  saying, no way or no chance of that happening.  

Next, we have - wanna see a movie? I'm good. This  means, I don't need to see the movie, I'm okay,  

I'm fine, thanks, but no thanks. Should have added  that. Thanks, but no thanks is another one that  

you can add. So, I'm good, or I'm good, thanks.  Okay? If you want to be a little more sarcastic,  

if that's your personality, the next two are  a little more sarcastic. So you can say "Let's  

not," or "Let's not and say we did." So you  know, let's imagine that we went to the movies  

but we didn't go to the movies. Let's say we went  but I'm not going with you. And same idea here:  

Can we not and say we did? So can we not go to the  movies but say we went to the movies? So again,  

let's not and say we did? Can we not and say  we did? So if you want to be more sarcastic,  

you can use these two to say no to an offer of  some sort. And okay, there are a ton over here,  

and this will depend on what is the modal verb,  the auxiliary verb that is used in the question.  

Or the main verb that's used in the question.  So to be polite, you can say I'm afraid I... or  

Sorry, but I... Or you can just say I - I can't, I  don't, I won't, I shouldn't, I couldn't, I didn't,  

I wouldn't. So you can - if you want to make these  softer, instead of saying - Do you want to go to a  

movie? I can't. I'm afraid I can't, or Sorry, but  I can't. Do you want to go to a movie? I don't.  

That's very strong, if you just say sorry, but  I don't. I'm afraid I don't. I don't want to go  

to a movie. So hey, will you be at the party?  No, I won't. Sorry, but I won't. I'm afraid I  

won't. So these are different ways to say no,  but in a more polite way, and if the person  

uses a "should I" or "should you" or "should  we" or "could you" or "could I" or "could we",  

"did you," "do you," um, sorry, "did you, did  we", and you want to say no, you can just say  

"I didn't, I couldn't." Hey, did you talk to Frank  yesterday? I didn't. I'm afraid I didn't. Sorry,  

but I didn't. Okay?So you're saying no, but all  you're doing is repeating the auxiliary verb in  

the question, but using the negative form of  that auxiliary verb. So "should I?" or "should  

we?" "We shouldn't. No, no, we shouldn't."  Okay? "Would you?" "No, I wouldn't." "Would  

you do that?" Second conditional. "I wouldn't.  Mm-mm. Uh-uh." Uh-uh? No, uh-huh means yes. Mm-mm,  

uh-uh means no. Okay. That's it, guys. That's  everything. So hopefully after this lesson,  

you now have more words in your vocabulary  toolbox that will make you more comfortable  

and more confident to say "no" to people and use  more words than just "no". Because "no" is - it's  

a good word, it's a great word, but there are many  many many many more ways to say no in English,  

and you've seen a whole bunch of them today. So  please , review the lesson, check it out again,  

and if you want to make sure that you got  everything, as always, you can check out the quiz  

on engVid.com. While you're there, look at our  other content and if you really enjoy what we do,  

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turn on your notifications, and until next time,  mm-hm. Not mm-mm. Mm-hm. Thanks for clicking.