Nincs

Nincs is a Hungarian word that serves as the contracted form of nem van, used to express nonexistence in the present tense. It translates roughly as there is not or there are none. Grammatically, nincs is the third-person singular present indicative negated form of the verb lenni (to be), and it is used with singular nouns. For plural subjects, the corresponding form is nincsenek, meaning there are none. In other tenses Hungarian uses different constructions, for example nem volt (there was not) for the past.

Nincs is extremely common in everyday speech and writing. Examples include “Nincs kenyér az asztalon” (There is no bread on the table), “Nincs időm rá” (I don’t have time for it), and “Nincs mit tenni” (There is nothing to be done). It also appears in fixed phrases like “Nincs mit” and in idiomatic expressions such as “Nincs más dolgom” (I have no other task to do). For negated questions one may say “Nincs valami hír?” (Is there no news?).

Etymology and usage notes: the form originates from combining nem (not) with van (is/are) and has undergone contraction in modern Hungarian. Nincs is one of the most frequent negation forms and a basic tool for indicating the absence or nonexistence of something in discourse. See also Hungarian language and Negation in Hungarian for broader context.