niemanden

Niemanden is the accusative form of the German pronoun niemand, which means “no one” or “nobody.” It denotes the absence of any person and functions as the direct object in clauses or after prepositions that govern the accusative case, for example für niemanden (for no one) or durch niemanden (by no one).

Declension and forms are straightforward: nominative niemand, accusative niemanden, dative niemandem. The genitive form is rarely used in modern German; when genitive meaning is needed, speakers typically express it with a phrase such as von niemandem or ohne niemanden rather than a dedicated genitive form.

Usage notes and nuance are important. Niemand is common in both spoken and written German and can serve as a subject, as in Niemand hat Zeit. Niemanden is used as the direct object, as in Ich sehe niemanden. In everyday language, kein Mensch is a close, often more emphatic alternative. The choice between niemand and kein Mensch can convey different emphases or register.

Common constructions include phrases with negation and prepositions that require the accusative, such as für niemanden, gegen niemanden, or um niemanden. Conversely, with prepositions that require the dative, the form niemandem is used (e.g., mit niemandem; hier keeps niemandem as the standard form after mit).

Etymology and related terms. The word derives from Old High German and Middle High German forms that literally meant “no man.” It is conceptually related to similar negation pronouns in other Germanic languages and to the English “nobody.” In contemporary German, niemanden remains the standard accusative form of the pronoun niemand.