The negative pronoun ничего́ has several meanings and is frequently used in Russian. It's also commonly confused with another pronoun не́чего. In this lesson, we'll look at how ничего́ is used, what it means, and what it does in a sentence.
1st Meaning of ничего́
"Nothing" is the first meaning of ничего́.
Что у тебя́ но́вого? - Ничего́! What's new with you? - Nothing!
Он ничего́ не зна́ет. He knows nothing.
Что вы сказа́ли? - Ничего́, не обраща́йте внима́ния. What did you say? - Nothing. Never mind.
2nd Meaning of ничего́
"Not bad" is its second meaning.
Как твоя́ учёба в шко́ле? - Ничего́. How are your studies at school? - Not bad.
You can also use ничего́ in this meaning when you want to compliment someone or something.
Твой борщ на вкус получи́лся о́чень да́же ничего́. Your borscht turned out to be quite good / not so bad.
Note that о́чень да́же ничего́ is a set expression that is commonly used in daily conversation, but it is not appropriate for written Russian.
3rd Meaning of ничего́
Finally, the third meaning: ничего́ can be used to comfort someone by saying "it's nothing / okay, don't worry about it."
Ничего́, вре́мя ле́чит. It's okay. Time heals all wounds.
Ничего́ vs не́чего
It's common for students to confuse ничего́ with не́чего. The pronoun не́чего is also translated as "nothing" but the prefix не- is accented.
We use не́чего in the meaning of "there is nothing to do" or "one has nothing to do".
В э́том го́роде де́лать не́чего. There is nothing to do in this city.
Мне бо́льше не́чего сказа́ть. I have nothing more to say.
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