Etymology Explorer › Russian

Where does “нельзя́” come from?

нельзя́ (Russian) comes from Russian не, from Proto-Slavic ne, from Proto-Balto-Slavic nē, from Proto-Indo-European né — not; no.

Ancestry of “нельзя́”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianнеnot, no, -n't, without; Idiomatic negative usage;...
2Proto-Slavicnenot
3Proto-Balto-Slavicnē—
4Proto-Indo-Europeannénot; no

Words derived from “нельзя́”

  • донельзя
Every word from Proto-Indo-European né →