没什么 meaning in English
it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're welcome
Meaning of 没什么
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind
- think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're welcome
How to use 没什么
People say 没什么 to brush off thanks or an apology, or to tell someone nothing is wrong. It also works inside a sentence to mean "there's nothing much," as in 没什么问题 (méi shénme wèntí), "no big problem." Example: A: 谢谢你。B: 没什么。(Xièxie nǐ. Méi shénme.) Thank you. It's nothing.
Break it into its parts: 没 (méi) means "there isn't" and 什么 (shénme) means "what" or "anything." Put together, 没什么 is literally "there isn't anything," which is a natural way to say "it's nothing."
Common mistake: Learners often say 不什么 (bù shénme), but the negative here must be 没 (méi), because it negates having or existing. Also, 什么 in this phrase is usually said lightly, so don't stress shén too hard.
没什么 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
没 méi · have not · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
什 shén · what? mixed · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
么 me · interrogative particle · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 没什么.
| 什么 | shénme | what?; something; anything |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | haven't; hasn't |
| 怎么 | zěnme | how?; what? |
| 干什么 | gàn shénme | what are you doing?; what's he up to? |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 为什么 | wèi shénme | why?; for what reason? |
| 这么 | zhème | so much; this much |
| 那么 | nàme | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ... |
| 怎么样 | zěnmeyàng | how?; how about? |
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what's to be done |
| 多么 | duōme | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc) |
Questions about 没什么
What does 没什么 mean?
没什么 (méi shénme) means "it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're welcome".
How do you write 没什么?
没什么 is made of 3 characters: 没 (7 strokes), 什 (4 strokes), 么 (3 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 没什么 an HSK word?
Yes. 没什么 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 没什么 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 没什么 is written 沒什麼.
What is the difference between 没什么 and 没关系?
没关系 (méi guānxi) is the standard reply to an apology and means "it doesn't matter." 没什么 is broader. It answers thanks, apologies, or "what's wrong?" with "it's nothing."
Can 没什么 be used to say something is not interesting or not special?
Yes. Followed by an adjective or noun, it means "not very" or "not much." For example, 这个电影没什么意思 (zhège diànyǐng méi shénme yìsi) means "this movie isn't very interesting."