nul
/nyl/
Translation
useless, rubbish; no, none (formal)
Grammar
Examples
, l'.
This film is rubbish, we should have picked the other one.
maths, j' .
I'm hopeless at maths, I've always hated it.
' .
No one is supposed to be ignorant of the law.
Nul has two register-distinct senses. In everyday colloquial French it means "rubbish, useless, hopeless" - the most common use ("c'est nul", "je suis nul en..."). In formal/legal French it means "no, none, void", surviving in fixed expressions: nul n'est cense ignorer la loi ("no one is supposed to be ignorant of the law"), vote nul ("invalid ballot"), et non avenu ("null and void").
The feminine nulle and plurals nuls/nulles inflect regularly. Often paired with part: nulle part means "nowhere" - a high-frequency adverb pair.
Related words
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 26.