weder

Weder is a German negative particle meaning “neither.” It is used to negate two or more alternatives within a sentence and is most commonly found in the correlative construction "weder ... noch ...," which corresponds to the English "neither ... nor ...".

Usage and examples: Weder can appear at the start of the first item in a list and is paired with "noch" to introduce the second item. Examples include: "Ich habe weder Geld noch Zeit." (I have neither money nor time.) "Er ist weder krank noch müde." (He is neither sick nor tired.) "Es war weder sicher noch sinnvoll." (It was neither safe nor sensible.) The form is productive in both spoken and written German, particularly in formal or careful speech.

Variations and notes: The phrase "weder ... noch ..." is the standard way to link two negative elements. In very casual speech, speakers may avoid the construction and negate items separately, but the "weder ... noch" form remains common in everyday usage as well. Weder can also appear in phrases like "Weder hier noch dort," meaning “neither here nor there,” where it functions as a general negator in a fixed expression.

Etymology and relations: Weder derives from older Germanic roots; it is cognate with negation words in related West Germanic languages. It is typically contrasted with "nicht" or "kein" in German, and its primary role is to introduce a paired negative statement rather than to negate a single item alone.