Saying no: nem, nincs, sem, and ne

nem ('not') goes directly in front of whatever it negates — usually the verb: Nem értem ('I don't understand'). But van ('is') can't be negated with nem: 'isn't there / isn't here' is its own word, nincs (plural nincsenek).

Hungarian happily uses double negatives: Senki sem tudja ('Nobody knows', literally 'nobody not knows'), Soha nem iszom kávét ('I never drink coffee'). And for 'me neither', 'not that either', you use sem: Én sem.