οὐ
Transliteration
ou (Key)
Pronunciation
oo
Part of Speech
particle
Root Word (Etymology)
A primary word, the absolute negative [cf μή (G3361)] adverb
mGNT
1,623x in 5 unique form(s) TR
1,645x in 13 unique form(s) LXX
5,237x in 8 unique form(s)
Οὐ — 49x
Οὒ — 2x
Οὔ — 6x
οὐ — 633x
οὒ — 1x
οὔ — 6x
οὖ — 1x
οὗ — 2x
Οὐκ — 61x
οὐκ — 779x
οὖκ — 1x
Οὐχ — 8x
οὐχ — 96x
οὐ — 676x
οὒ — 3x
οὔ — 14x
οὐκ — 825x
οὐχ — 105x
οὐ — 1893x
οὔ — 11x
οὐκ — 2826x
οὔκ — 17x
οὖκ — 1x
οὐχ — 328x
οὐχὶ — 137x
οὐχί — 24x
Dictionary Aids

Vine's Expository Dictionary: View Entry

Strong’s Definitions

οὐ ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also G3364, G3372.

KJV Translation Count — Total: 1,537x

The KJV translates Strong's G3756 in the following manner: not (1,210x), no (147x), cannot (with G1410) (57x), miscellaneous (123x).

KJV Translation Count — Total: 1,537x
The KJV translates Strong's G3756 in the following manner: not (1,210x), no (147x), cannot (with G1410) (57x), miscellaneous (123x).

  1. no, not; in direct questions expecting an affirmative answer

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
οὐ ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also G3364, G3372.
STRONGS G3756:
οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and οὐχ before an aspirated vowel; but sometimes in the best manuscripts οὐχ occurs even before a smooth breathing; accordingly, L T WH marginal reading have adopted οὐχ ἰδού, Acts 2:7; L T οὐχ Ἰουδαϊκῶς, Galatians 2:14 (see WH, Introduction, § 409); L οὐχ ὀλίγος, Acts 19:23; οὐχ ἠγάπησαν, Revelation 12:11; and contrariwise οὐκ before an aspirate, as οὐκ ἕστηκεν, John 8:44 T; (οὐκ ἕνεκεν, 2 Corinthians 7:12 T); (οὐκ εὗρον, Luke 24:3; (οὐκ ὑπάρχει, Acts 3:6) in manuscript א (also C*; cf. the Alex. manuscript in 1 Esdr. 4:2, 12; Job 19:16; Job 38:11, 26)); cf. Winers Grammar, § 5, 1 d. 14; Buttmann, 7; (A. V. Schütz, Hist. Alphab. Art., Berol. 1875, pp. 54-58; Sophocles, Hist. of Greek Alphab., 1st edition 1848, p. 64f (on the breathing); Tdf., the Sept., edition 4, Proleg., pp. xxxiii. xxxiv.; Scrivener, Collation etc., 2nd edition, p. 55: no. 9; id. manuscript Bezae, p. xlvii. no. 11 (cf. p. xiii. no. 5); Kuenen and Cobet, N. T. etc., p. 87f; Tdf. Proleg., p. 90f; WH. Introductory §§ 405ff, and Appendix, p. 143f); the Sept. for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין; a particle of negation, not (how it differs from μή has been explained in μή, at the beginning); it is used:
1. absolutely and accented, οὐ, nay, no (Winer's Grammar, 476 (444)): in answers, ὁ δέ φησίν. οὐ, Matthew 13:29; ἀπεκρίθη. Οὐ, John 1:21; (John 21:5), cf. 7:12; repeated, οὐ οὐ, it strengthens the negation, nay, nay, by no means, Matthew 5:37; ἤτω ὑμῶν τό οὐ οὐ, let your denial be truthful, James 5:12; on 2 Corinthians 1:17-19, see ναί.
2. It is joined to other words — to a finite verb, simply to deny that what is declared in the verb applies to the subject of the sentence: Matthew 1:25 (οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτήν); Mark 3:25; Luke 6:43; John 10:28; Acts 7:5; Romans 1:16, and times without number. It has the same force when conjoined to participles: ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων, 1 Corinthians 9:26; οὐκ ὄντος αὐτῷ τέκνου, at the time when he had no child, Acts 7:5 (μή ὄντος would be, although he had no child); add, Romans 8:20; 1 Corinthians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 4:8; Galatians 4:8, 27; Colossians 2:19; Philippians 3:3; Hebrews 11:35; 1 Peter 1:8; ὁ... οὐκ ὤν ποιμήν, John 10:12 (where according to classical usage μή must have been employed, because such a person is imagined as is not a shepherd; (cf. Buttmann, 351 (301) and μή, I. 5 b.)). in relative sentences: εἰσιν... τινες οἱ οὐ πιστεύουσιν, John 6:64; add, Matthew 10:38; Matthew 12:2; Luke 6:2; Romans 15:21; Galatians 3:10, etc.; οὐκ ἐστιν ὅς and οὐδέν ἐστιν ὁ followed by a future: Matthew 10:26; Luke 8:17; Luke 12:2; τίς ἐστιν, ὅς οὐ followed by a present indicative: Acts 19:35; Hebrews 12:7; cf. Winers Grammar, 481 (448); Buttmann, 355 (305); in statements introduced by ὅτι after verbs of understanding, perceiving, saying, etc.: John 5:42; John 8:55, etc.; ὅτι οὐκ (where οὐκ is pleonastic) after ἀρνεῖσθαι, 1 John 2:22; cf. Buttmann, § 148, 13; (Winer's Grammar, § 65, 2 β.); — to an infinitive, where μή might have been expected: τίς ἔτι χρεία κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ ἕτερον ἀνίστασθαι ἱερέα καί οὐ κατά τήν τάξιν Ἀαρών λέγεσθαι, Hebrews 7:11 (where the difficulty is hardly removed by saying (e. g. with Winer's Grammar, 482 (449)) that οὐ belongs only to κατά τήν τάξιν Ἀαρών, not to the infinitive). it serves to deny other parts of statements: οὐκ ἐν σοφία λόγου, 1 Corinthians 1:17; οὐ μέλανι, οὐκ ἐν πλαξί λιθίναις, 2 Corinthians 3:3, and many other examples; — to deny the object, ἔλεος (R G ἔλεον) θέλω, οὐ θυσίαν, Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7; οὐκ ἐμέ δέχεται, Mark 9:37. It blends with the term to which it is prefixed into a single and that an affirmative idea (Winers Grammar, 476 (444); cf. Buttmann, 347 (298)); as, οὐκ ἐάω, to present, hinder, Acts 16:7; Acts 19:30 (cf., on this phrase, Herm. ad Vig., p. 887f); οὐκ ἔχω, to be poor, Matthew 13:12; Mark 4:25 (see ἔχω, I. 2 a., p. 266{b}); τά οὐκ ἀνήκοντα (or ἅ οὐκ ἀνῆκεν, L T Tr WH), unseemly, dishonorable, Ephesians 5:4 (see μή, I. 5 d. at the end, p. 410a; (cf. Buttmann, § 148, 7{a}.; Winer's Grammar, 486 (452))); often so as to form a litotes; as, οὐκ ἀγνοέω, to know well, 2 Corinthians 2:11 (Wis. 12:10); οὐκ ὀλίγοι, not a few, i. e. very many, Acts 17:4, 12; Acts 19:23; Acts 15:2; Acts 14:28; Acts 27:20; οὐ πολλαί ἡμέραι, a few days, Luke 15:13; John 2:12; Acts 1:5; οὐ πολύ, Acts 27:14; οὐ μετρίως, Acts 20:12; οὐκ ἄσημος, not undistinguished (A. V. no mean etc.), Acts 21:39; οὐκ ἐκ μέτρου, John 3:34. it serves to limit the term to which it is joined: οὐ πάντως, not altogether, not entirely (see πάντως, c. β.); οὐ πᾶς, not any and every one, Matthew 7:21; plural, οὐ πάντες, not all, Matthew 19:11; Romans 9:6; Romans 10:16; οὐ πᾶσα σάρξ, not every kind of flesh, 1 Corinthians 15:39; οὐ παντί τῷ λαῷ, not to all the people, Acts 10:41; on the other hand, when οὐ is joined to the verb, πᾶς... οὐ must be rendered no one, no (as in Hebrew, now כָּל... לֹא, now לֹא... כָּל; cf. Winer, Lex. Hebrew et Chald., p. 513f): Luke 1:31; Ephesians 5:5; 1 John 2:21; Revelation 22:3; πᾶσα σάρξ... οὐ with a verb, no flesh, no mortal, Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; cf. Winers Grammar, § 26, 1; (Buttmann, 121 (106)). Joined to a noun it denies and annuls the idea of the noun; as, τόν οὐ λαόν, a people that is not a people (German einNichtvolk, a no-people), Romans 9:25, cf. 1 Peter 2:10; ἐπ' οὐκ ἔθνει (R. V. with that which is no nation), Romans 10:19 (so עָם לֹא; אֵל לֹא, a no-god, Deuteronomy 32:21; עֵץ לֹא, a not-wood, Isaiah 10:15; οὐκ ἀρχιερεύς, 2 Macc. 4:13; ἡ οὐ διάλυσις, Thucydides 1, 137, 4; ἡ οὐ περιτείχισις 3, 95, 2; ἡ οὐκ ἐξουσία 5, 50, 3; δἰ ἀπειροσυναν... κουκ ἀπόδειξιν, Euripides, Hippolytus 196, and other examples in Greek writings; non sutor, Horace sat. 2, 3, 106; non corpus, Cicero, acad. 1, 39 at the end); cf. Winers Grammar, 476 (444); (Buttmann, § 148, 9); ἡ οὐκ ἠγαπημένη, Romans 9:25; οἱ οὐκ ἠλεημένοι, 1 Peter 2:10.
3. followed by another negative,
a. it strengthens the negation: οὐ κρίνω οὐδένα, John 8:15; add, Mark 5:37; 2 Corinthians 11:9 (8); οὗ οὐκ ἦν οὐδέπω οὐδείς κείμενος, Luke 23:53 (see οὐδέπω); οὐκ... οὐδέν, nothing at all, Luke 4:2; John 6:63; John 11:49; John 12:19; John 15:5; οὐ μέλει σοι περί οὐδενός, Matthew 22:16; οὐκ... οὐκέτι, Acts 8:39; cf. Matthiae, § 609, 3; Kühner, ii. § 516; Winers Grammar, § 55, 9{b}; (Buttmann, § 148, 11).
b. as in Latin, it changes a negation into an affirmation (cf. Matthiae, § 609, 2; Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2, p. 695f; Winers Grammar, § 55, 9 a.; Buttmann, § 148, 12); οὐ παρά τοῦτο οὐκ ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, not on this account is it not of the body, i. e. it belongs to the body, does not cease to be of the body, 1 Corinthians 12:15; οὐ δυνάμεθα ἅ εἴδομεν καί ἠκούσαμεν μή λαλεῖν, we are unable not to speak (A. V. we cannot but speak), Acts 4:20.
4. It is used in disjunctive statements where one thing is denied that another may be established (Winers Grammar, § 55, 8; cf. Buttmann, 356 (306)): οὐκ... ἀλλά, Luke 8:52; Luke 24:6 (WH reject the clause); John 1:33; John 7:10, 12, 16; John 8:49; Acts 10:41; Romans 8:20; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 8:5; Hebrews 2:16, etc.; see ἀλλά II. 1; οὐχ ἵνα... ἀλλ' ἵνα, John 3:17; οὐχ ἵνα... ἀλλά, John 6:38; οὐ μόνον... ἀλλά καί, see ἀλλά, II. 1 and μόνος, 2; οὐκ... εἰ μή, see εἰ, III. 8 c., p. 171{b}; οὐ μή with subjunctive aorist followed by εἰ μή, Revelation 21:27 (see εἰ as above, β.).
5. It is joined to other particles: οὐ μή, not at all, by no means, surely not, in no wise, see μή, IV.; οὐ μηκέτι with aorist subjunctive Matthew 21:19 L T Tr marginal reading WH. μή οὐ, where μή is interrogative (Latinnum) and οὐ negative (cf. Buttmann, 248 (214), 354 (304); Winer's Grammar, 511 (476)): Romans 10:18; 1 Corinthians 9:4; 1 Corinthians 11:22. εἰ οὐ, see εἰ, III. 11, p. 172a. οὐ γάρ (see γάρ, I., p. 109b), Acts 16:37.
6. As in Hebrew לֹא with imperfect, so in Biblical Greek οὐ with 2 person future is used in emphatic prohibition (in secular authors it is milder; cf. Winers Grammar, § 43, 5 c.; also 501f (467f); (Buttmann, § 139, 64); Fritzsche on Matthew, p. 259f (cf. p. 252f) thinks otherwise, but not correctly): Matthew 6:5; and besides in the moral precepts of the O. T., Matthew 4:7; Matthew 19:18; Luke 4:12; Acts 23:5; Romans 7:7; Romans 13:9.
7. οὐ is used interrogatively — when an affirmative answer is expected (Latinnonne; (Winers Grammar, § 57, 3{a}; Buttmann, 247 (213))): Matthew 6:26, 30; Matthew 17:24; Mark 4:21; Mark 12:24; Luke 11:40; John 4:35; John 7:25; Acts 9:21; Romans 9:21; 1 Corinthians 9:1, 6f, 12; James 2:4, and often; οὐκ οἴδατε κτλ.; and the like, see εἰδῶ, II. 1, p. 174{a}; ἀλλ' οὐ, Hebrews 3:16 (see ἀλλά, I. 10, p. 28{a}); οὐκ ἀποκρίνῃ οὐδέν; answerest thou nothing at all? Mark 14:60; Mark 15:4; — where an exclamation of reproach or wonder, which denies directly, may take the place of a negative question: Mark 4:13, 38; Luke 17:18; Acts 13:10 (cf. Buttmann, § 139, 65); Acts 21:38 (on which see ἄρα, 1); cf. Winer's Grammar, as above; οὐ μή πίω αὐτό; shall I not drink it? John 18:11; cf. Winers Grammar, p. 512 (477); (cf. Buttmann, § 139, 2).
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
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References

Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 32:21
Job
Job 19:16; Job 38:11; Job 38:26
Isaiah
Isaiah 10:15
Matthew
Matthew 1:25; Matthew 4:7; Matthew 5:37; Matthew 6:5; Matthew 6:26; Matthew 6:30; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 10:26; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 12:2; Matthew 12:7; Matthew 13:12; Matthew 13:29; Matthew 17:24; Matthew 19:11; Matthew 19:18; Matthew 21:19; Matthew 22:16; Matthew 24:22
Mark
Mark 3:25; Mark 4:13; Mark 4:21; Mark 4:25; Mark 4:38; Mark 5:37; Mark 9:37; Mark 12:24; Mark 13:20; Mark 14:60; Mark 15:4
Luke
Luke 1:31; Luke 4:2; Luke 4:12; Luke 6:2; Luke 6:43; Luke 8:17; Luke 8:52; Luke 11:40; Luke 12:2; Luke 15:13; Luke 17:18; Luke 23:53; Luke 24:3; Luke 24:6
John
John 1:21; John 1:33; John 2:12; John 3:17; John 3:34; John 4:35; John 5:42; John 6:38; John 6:63; John 6:64; John 7:10; John 7:12; John 7:16; John 7:25; John 8:15; John 8:44; John 8:49; John 8:55; John 10:12; John 10:28; John 11:49; John 12:19; John 15:5; John 18:11; John 21:5
Acts
Acts 1:5; Acts 2:7; Acts 3:6; Acts 4:20; Acts 7:5; Acts 7:5; Acts 8:39; Acts 9:21; Acts 10:41; Acts 10:41; Acts 13:10; Acts 14:28; Acts 15:2; Acts 16:7; Acts 16:37; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:12; Acts 19:23; Acts 19:23; Acts 19:30; Acts 19:35; Acts 20:12; Acts 21:38; Acts 21:39; Acts 23:5; Acts 27:14; Acts 27:20
Romans
Romans 1:16; Romans 3:20; Romans 7:7; Romans 8:20; Romans 8:20; Romans 9:6; Romans 9:21; Romans 9:25; Romans 9:25; Romans 10:16; Romans 10:18; Romans 10:19; Romans 13:9; Romans 15:21
1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 4:14; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 9:4; 1 Corinthians 9:6; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 1 Corinthians 9:26; 1 Corinthians 11:22; 1 Corinthians 12:15; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Corinthians 15:39
2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians 1:17; 2 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 1:19; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 7:12; 2 Corinthians 8:5; 2 Corinthians 11:9
Galatians
Galatians 2:14; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:10; Galatians 4:8; Galatians 4:27
Ephesians
Ephesians 5:4; Ephesians 5:5
Philippians
Philippians 3:3
Colossians
Colossians 2:19
Hebrews
Hebrews 2:16; Hebrews 3:16; Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 11:35; Hebrews 12:7
James
James 2:4; James 5:12
1 Peter
1 Peter 1:8; 1 Peter 2:10; 1 Peter 2:10
1 John
1 John 2:21; 1 John 2:22
Revelation
Revelation 12:11; Revelation 21:27; Revelation 22:3
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